Monthly Archives: July 2015

Updated Full Strength Henna Paste and How To Make Henna (Ice) Blocks

Hey Maicurlies,

Today I’ve got another DIY and this also sort of ties in with my recent re-addiction to all things henna 😀

I first want to share my updated henna paste (full strength henna) which focuses only on ayurvedic herbs – Henna, Amla and Hibiscus mixed with Green Tea.

This mix is somewhat similar to my “old” henna paste which you can read about (here) except that I now add hibiscus. I have already written about the wonders of hibiscus here p.s. it is awesome for a number of different reasons! Another aspect that is different is that I keep my henna paste “clean” by not adding anything additional e.g. conditioner, coconut milk etc after I see dye release. There is no harm in adding conditioner/coconut milk/oil etc to the paste, they actually help to make your hair feel less dry after you rinse out the henna however, at the moment I am more focused on the ayurvedic benefits which is why I opt not to add anything to the mix.

(I turn to my DIY Henna Gloss Bars on days when I want to henna without the punch that is packed in my full strength henna paste).

Henna Paste

Ingredients/Tools:

Henna 5 oz
Amla 0.7 oz
Hibiscus 1.2 oz
Green Tea 6 oz
Glass Bowl
Spatula
Old material/newspaper to cover the work space

Mixing:

I first combine all the dry ingredients and then add my warm green tea (not boiling hot – I let it cool down first) and stir. I like making my paste quite thick because I don’t like the henna to drip down my face/neck.

After mixing I will cover the paste with Clingfilm and wait for dye release. When I start to see dye release I add a tiny bit of lukewarm tea (no more than 1.5 oz) just so the paste isn’t too thick and will spread easily on my hair. It usually takes my henna no more than 4 hours to see the initial stages of dye release and I like to apply it when I start to see dye release since I leave the henna on overnight and the dye will continue to release while I sleep.

Application:

I always apply henna on damp detangled and cleansed hair, starting at the back working my way to the front. I cover my hair with Clingfilm, a shower cap, sometimes a plastic bag and then a scarf to make sure everything is really nice and warm. ALWAYS USE GLOVES otherwise your palms and nails will get stained! After I have left the henna on overnight I rinse out the henna with water first, follow up with rinses with conditioner and then I apply a Moisturizing Deep Conditioner (DC) once the water runs clear. I leave the DC on for no less than 2 hours and then I am done!

Henna (Ice) Blocks

Frozen Henna (Ice) Blocks

What I now love doing is turning my henna paste into henna (Ice) Blocks. I like making the blocks because:

I mix up quite a bit of henna and store it in my freezer waiting for it to be used. This makes it less time consuming in the long run since everything is ready and just needs to be melted.
Whenever I have henna in my freezer, the red dye is much more intense compared to when I just use my paste after dye release.

Ingredients/Tools:

Henna Paste (recipe above)
Silicone moulds
Spatula
Clingfilm
Sandwich bag
Old material/newspaper to cover the work space

Making the bars:

Henna (Ice) Blocks before freezing them

After making the henna paste I simply pour the paste into silicone molds, cover with Clingfilm and then place them in my freezer. (If you do not have silicone molds you can use ice cube trays but I would keep the moulds and ice cube trays separate from those you use to make normal ice blocks, bake etc. I keep everything I use for my hair separate from other tools in my kitchen).

Clingfilm covered henna (Ice) Blocks

I recommend letting the bars freeze for no less than 12 hours ideally letting them sit in the freezer for longer because the longer you let them sit the more intense the red dye! Once the bars have frozen I cover each bar with Clingfilm and store them in a sandwich bag until they are needed. I have left mine in the freezer for 2 months and still got great dye release and conditioning benefits. (You might get away with more storage time but I have not tried).

Melting the bars:

Melting Frozen Henna (Ice) Blocks

Heatproof bowl
A little water
Spatula
Henna Bars
Green tea (no more than 2 oz)
Gloves
Old Piece of cloth/newspaper to cover the work space

Put a pot on the stove with a little bit of water. Place the bars in the heatproof bowl and put the bowl over the pot. Allow the bars to slowly melt down on low heat for 7 – 10 minutes while stirring. Once the bars have melted I tend to add a little bit of lukewarm tea (no more than 2 oz) just to make sure the paste is neither too thick/thin. I apply & rinse as normal (see above) and that is it!

I have a video of the whole process:

Would love to hear what you think!

Thanks

Maicurls

Aurélia Zierre – Natural Skin Care In Business on Maicurles

Twisted Flexi Rod Set

7 Replies

Hey Maicurlies,

(Cheat) Twisted Flexi Rod Set

So I have recently become a little obsessed with Flexi Rod sets and wanted to share a method that I like to refer to as the (cheat) Twisted Flexi Rod set. I say “cheat” because I basically wear my hair in twists first for a few days and then instead of just taking down my hair for a twist-out I twirl my hair around Flexi Rods overnight and then have a Twisted Flexi Rod set the following day.

In this particular example I had my hair in 23 twists for 5 days and remoisturized them two days before putting in the Flexi Rods. To remoisturize I took them down at night, applied my DIY Moisturizing and Curl Activating Spray and retwisted. I felt no need to add moisture before using the Flexi Rods so I just went straight into setting my hair with a little gel. I literally rubbed some DIY Rosewater Flaxseed Gel (FSG) over my twisted hair (without undoing the twists) and then followed up with some oil. The FSG does two things: helps provide hold and has moisturizing properties of its own. The oil helps to seal in the moisture from the FSG and also adds shine.

I covered my hair with a scarf overnight and then took down the Flexi Rods, unraveled the twists, separated my hair and then lifted my roots a little with an Afro comb. Le fin!

Twisted Flexi Rod Set

Twisted Flexi Rod Set (back)

Twisted Flexi Rod Set

Products/ Tools

DIY Rosewater Flaxseed Gel
Vanilla Infused Almond Oil
Flexi Rods (12 Orange 10 yellow)
Afro Comb

Here is a video tutorial of the whole process.

I would love to hear what you think!

Thanks

Maicurls

Finger Twirled Wash And Go

5 Replies

Hey Maicurlies,

Today I have an updated styling video today which is my “Finger Twirled Wash and Go”. The method I use basically helps to enhance the curl pattern of my hair. For whatever reason, it tends to allow me to get more days out of a Wash and Go which is always welcomed.

Finger Twirled Wash and Go

In the tutorial I started off with wet freshly co-washed hair that I already sectioned into twists to make it easier to get through my hair.

Products Used:

Water (in spray bottle to keep my hair damp)
DIY Creamy Leave-In Conditioner
DIY Rosewater Flaxseed Spray Gel (I also added Aloe Vera Juice to this mix)
Vanilla Infused Almond Oil

Method:

I first made sure my hair was damp, applied the Leave-In, followed by a few pumps from the FSG and then the oil to seal in everything. My hair was already detangled before I started so when I raked the products through my hair I didn’t have any issues with tangles. Once the products were raked in I twirled small sections of hair around my finger to enhance the curls and then let my hair air dry.

While Damp

After 3 hours my hair was dry. Even after my hair was dry it still looked mousey! I have fine natural hair so it always looks mousey when wet, when I use Gel, if I use too much product etc especially on the initial day of styling. I get rid of this unwanted look by massaging my scalp with my fingertips to lift my roots, head bang (a lot), scrunch and basically just try to make my hair have life!

Dried (Day 1)

The image below is on day 2. I get a little more “ompf” in my hair as the days go on (I also had frizz with the “ompf” but I am happy to get frizz if I also get fullness!)

Day 2

Here is a video of my method:

I would love to hear what you think!

P.S. I am going to go on a Henna Journey soon (I have probably mentioned this before LOL). I use to do a lot of henna treatments (a few years ago) and at the time my hair was soooo happy, thick, shiny etc and I have been meaning to do some kind of challenge. I will keep you updated!

Thanks

Maicurls

Melting DIY Henna Gloss Bars

7 Replies

Hey Maicurlies,

DIY Henna Gloss

This is a long overdue post. A couple of months ago I shared a DIY Henna Gloss Bar recipe on both my Blog and in a YouTube Video demonstrating the “how to” part without melting down the bars, so this is what I want to share today!

The process of how to melt down the bars is open to your preference but I just wanted to share how I melt mine down. But please remember this is not the only method that can be used. I use conditioner because it makes rinsing out the henna so much easier, my hair tends not to feel overly dry and it also helps to keep the henna paste really thick which is what I prefer. (I can not stand it if henna runs down my neck or forehead!)

Products/Tools:

Heat Proof Bowl
Spatula (do not use metal while mixing)
Henna Bars (I used 3 bars – 5.3 oz)
Moisturizing Conditioner (5.3 oz)
Gloves
Clingfilm/shower cap/plastic bag & scarf
(I use an old piece of material to cover the area where I am working – you can use old newspapers etc)

Process:

I first gently melt down the henna gloss bars in a double broiler for no more than 7 minutes on low heat. The low heat allows the bars to melt down without loosing their conditioning properties.

After it has melted I add the conditioner one step at a time and mix everything really well.

Melted Henna Gloss Bars

Super thick conditioner

You can use tea/coconut milk/cream, conditioner or whatever other “liquid” you like. If you do opt for a conditioner I recommend using a moisturizing conditioner over one with protein simply because henna (even as a gloss) can make the hair feel dry and the protein can heighten that.

DIY Henna Gloss with Conditioner

Application/Rinsing:

I apply the gloss on wet/damp cleansed and detangled hair starting from the back, making sure my hair is coated from root to tip. I cover my hair with a clingfilm, a shower cap, a plastic bag and then finally a scarf. The layers keeps my scalp & the henna gloss nice and warm…really warm! I leave the mix on for 30 minutes – 1 hour (but it can left on for longer/shorter depending on your hair needs) and then rinse. Once I am ready to rinse it out, I loosen the henna by doing a really long run through with plain water, followed by rinsing with conditioner until the water runs clear and the final step is a moisturizing Deep Conditioner (DC). ALWAYS DO A MOISTURIZING DC AFTERWARDS even if your hair feels wonderful since henna can make the hair feel brittle and dry.

Pros & Cons:

As with anything there are pros & Cons to using a henna even as a gloss. These are some of the ones I have noticed:

Benefits:

Easier to rinse out (compared to full strength henna due to the extra slip from the conditioner and other additional ingredients used to make the henna bars e.g. butter, oil).
Reduces frizz.
Softens the hair
Less drying than full strength henna due to the additional ingredients used to make the bars.
Strengthens the hair.
Less time consuming (left on for less time than a full strength henna).

Cons:

Less red dye (lawsone) due to the additional ingredients used.
Not as strengthening or conditioning as a full strength henna (due to the additional ingredients & limited application time).
Still requires a moisturizing DC afterwards (even if your hair feels great you should ALWAYS do one!)

That is it!

I would love to hear what you think!

Maicurls