LIGHT MOUNTAINHenna Hair Color & Conditioner - Bright Red Hair Dye for Men/Women, Organic Henna Leaf Powder and Botanicals, Chemical-Free, Semi-Permanent Hair Color, 4 Oz (Pack of 3)

Beautiful Color…works great! Many compliments on my color. I’ve been using over a few years Now!

First of all, let's get this out of the way. This is NOT a dye! If you've been dying your hair for years or even decades, don't expect this to be anything like a chemical dye. Think of it more like a mud mask that stains your hair. This will not look like a dye, it will not go on like a dye and it will not rinse out like a dye. But that's OK, it really is. The trade off is it doesn't smell like chemicals, it doesn't burn your skin and it doesn't ruin everything it plops on the minute it lands! Plus it adds a little something extra to the color that I can't quite define.I absolutely recommend doing the allergy and strand test. Only for the strand test I would recommend following the same curing step as for the actual application. Then go ahead and cake it on, like you will for your whole head application. When I did the strand test, I was disappointed. It didn't look like it would do much for my hair. But for the full application, I let the henna cure for 1 hour as suggested in the instructions, then left it on my head for 1 hour, applying heat with a hair dryer as instructed. The result was fabulous! This gave my hair a shine and dimension not possible with chemical dyes.As I said in the beginning, you should be aware that this is not your traditional dye. It is gritty like a mud mask. (Actually its very much like what comes out of a babies hinnie, but I'm too much of a lady to say it!)This won't apply like a traditional dye. My daughter (who's 16) who applies my dye when I'm too busy or broke to visit my hair dresser, moaned and groaned for about the first five minutes then finally got the hang of it when she accepted it wasn't going to go on like a traditional dye and changed her application method. I'm not sure I could have applied it myself. She spent about an hour just getting it on, then another ten or so minutes working it into my hair and making sure everything was covered. I don't think I'll be asking my regular beauty technician to take this on.All in all, the process took 3 to 3 1/2 hours. 1 hour to mix the henna and let it cure, 1 hour to apply , 1 hour to cure on my head (don't forget to heat your head up with a blow dryer every 10 minutes or so!) and half and hour to rinse (Rinse once, put in conditioner, let that sit for 10 to 20 minutes, then rinse again.)So don't think you can slap this stuff on in an afternoon. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. I'd set aside half a day, especially if this is your first time.Oh, one more thing you should know. Since this is not a chemical dye, it will not erase roots! You know, that line of demarcation you get when your hair is dyed a completely different color than it was meant to be. I'm a dark brown with chemically altered red, so my dark brown roots pop up after about 2 weeks. Thiswon't completely erase them like a chemical dye would. But it will blend them in.Also, if your a blonde or a lighter brown, I would urge caution! If this took so well on my hair, I would think it would take even more on lighter hair! You may want to pay close attention on that strand test and maybe not let it cure so much. Also, I noticed that this color (bright red) had a lot of orange in it, which my dark hair can take and in fact, I think its that orange that gives my hair that extra dimension I was talking about. However, my guess would be that on lighter hair, that orange my be more prevalent than anyone would desire. In fact I'm planning on stepping down to red instead of the bright red on my next purchase.Bottom line is, this is natural and worth the work! I plan on using this from now on. Besides, it appeals to my inner hippie!

Very easy to use product. The instructions are clear, and the gloves provided worked well. I have never dyed my hair before, and wasn't sure what to expect, especially since everything I had read about henna hair dye explained that the colors vary, depending on your own hair color. I am not savvy to hair dye, so my method to trying henna for the first time was to just go all in.The instructions suggest using distilled water, doing a strand test, and placing some of the henna product on an inner elbow for an allergen test.For the strand test, I took hair out of a hair brush, put it in a plastic baggy, then mixed in the suggested amount of henna indicated on the box. The box recommends waiting 45min-4hrs to see how the test hair does. I waited 30min, satisfied with the results that were showing.For the allergen test, I put some of the henna mixture from the strand test onto my inner left elbow and let it stay there for 30min (same amount of time I did the strand test). Again, the box recommends more time, but I was excited and lost some self control.I did not use distilled water, but bottled water. I don't know if that makes a huge difference, but I am happy with the results, so no complaints.Some people use hair dye application brushes to put on the henna. I did not. I put the gloves on that came in the box and rubbed it into my roots, then worked my way down. A bit messy, but not terrible. After applying it all, I used plastic wrap to put around my head, then put a beanie on top of that to keep my head warm. The heat helps the color develop. About 2-3 hours later, I rinsed it out in the shower. It did not stain my body or the shower.The only con would be the hay/wheatgrass/tea/barnyard smell of the henna once you add water to it. I didn't mind, but it's worth mentioning if you're sensitive to smells.This was a wonderful experience. I am satisfied with the quality of the product and fully plan on buying it again in about a month to boost the color/make the red more vibrant. The benefits to my hair are noticeable as well; the hair is thicker and stronger. I haven't noticed a change in the amount that falls out, though that isn't a concern for me.Shipping was quicker than I expected, though the box was a little beat up when it arrived. Not something I minded since it didn't affect the products efficiency at all. But again, if it's something you care about, it's good to be aware of.