A disgustingly fun day

Some may say that my friend and I are devoid of common sense. Others may say that we are crazy. But to my friend and I? Well, it may be all of the above, but at least we're having fun... ;)

Both of us being herb nuts, we eventually had to try using an herb that brings mixed thoughts the the public: Henna.

When most people think of this herb, it's usually not thought of in a good way. My friend and I use it in a blend for our hair. Henna is a colorant, but not exactly a dye; It doesn't change your hair color, it instead brings out undertones that you already have. You can get a rainbow of shades from the plant everything from neutral to almost black, but again, these are shades to use for hair color that you already have. It's also really nice that it isn't permanent; it lasts about a month before you are once more back to your original shade. I love using it, not only for it's coloring abilities, but because it leaves your hair so shiny that when you're in the sunlight it shimmers brilliantly! :D

But there's a catch. In order to use it in your hair, you have to make a sludge that, I'm sorry to say, resembles a cow pie very well. :-/

So my friend and I began! Unfortunately, there were three cameras documenting everything from start to finish.... ;)

Here we are, mixing up our "sludge". ;D This is a mix of horsetail (the herb!), oat straw (yup, same thing that you find in a barn), stinging nettle (see! It has a use!), cinnamon and of course, henna. Our liquid ingredients included olive oil, eggs and black tea.

Applying henna is the funniest thing. We (I had sisters and another friend watching) were all laughing so hard because we looked so comical! We do it outside as it is a very messy process.

You just have to wrestle your victim to the ground (Ooops! I meant to say "politely ask them to lay down ;D) Get a nice disgusting handful of your mixture and start rubbing it in! Yes, it is as gross as it looks. ;)

After it is completely rubbed in, and your head feels ten pounds heavier that when you began, you have to stay "turbaned" for 1 to 2 hours.

Oh dear, then it was my turn. By the look on my friends face, I figured I was in for it (and I was). To keep a teeny shred of dignity, I threw a towel over my face. With three cameras clicking, I really didn't care to be their sole object of interest. ;D

Yummy....

We kept our lovely up-does in for about an hour, then began the next step. Rinsing. We've learned that the best way to get henna out is to just grab a hose and start washing. You can kind of see in the picture my "new" hair color (blue shirt). My hair used to be a dark brown, now it's got a lovely mahogany tone to it.

And sure enough, when our hair dried, we were rewarded with shimmery, soft beautiful hair.

As disgusting as the process is, my friend and I love doing this to each other, and can't wait until next time....

~Caitlyn