I was feeling dull and lackluster; here it is beautiful Spring and my hair was still stuck in winter–a little dull, a little gray, a little dry. A girl needs a little lift, from time to time, so I henna’d my hair!

I know some people have a whole litany of rules and reasons why henna is bad, why henna won’t work, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I’ll get to that later… *

For now, here’s how to do it right, using my recipe (tested on me), which I call “Best Henna Ever”.

step 1: Get your henna. I’ve always been pleased with Light Mountain Henna, and generally use Mahogany or Chestnut. **

step 1a: Read the directions that came with your henna, if their instructions directly contradict my recommendations–follow their advice, it’s their product!

step 2: Wash your hair with a gentle soap. I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Liquid Soap .

Now for the magic!

step 3: Place the following into a pyrex measuring cup: 8-ounces of strong, brewed chai tea (I make & use my own Chai Spice Blend, and use that brewed with black tea); 3-tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (helps cover gray–not that I have any, now); 4-tablespoons of olive oil (helps moisturize hair); 1 egg (helps rebuild hair).

step 4: Add the henna to the measuring cup and stir slowly and thoroughly (I use a plastic chop stick whose mate my daughter liberated some time ago).

step 5: Apply a thick oil (I use Castor Oil) or moisturizer to your hairline, neck and ears, put on gloves and a t-shirt you don’t care about; move your bathroom rug and get muddy

step 6: Once you’ve fully covered your hair with the henna mixture, following the application directions in the product literature, and you’re sporting your new Nefertiti cone-head, it’s time to cover it up.

I prefer not to be tethered to a hair dryer while my henna sets, and so I use a plastic produce bag from the grocery store (reusable, free, recyclable and fits my head perfectly); over this I wear a beret and a hand-knit hat (for passive heating / heat retention).

I like to continue puttering around the house while the henna “cooks in”, so I tend to apply henna while it’s warm.

step 7: If this is your first time applying henna to your hair, do a strand test and follow the timing in the directions. Don’t get wild until you know what you’re getting!

** I’ve used red in the past, but it’s not as rich an effect with dark hair; red creates brassy tones, where the darker hennas fill with an analogous color and add rich highlights, and luster, rather than brassy high tones.

One of the nice things about henna is that it really does appear to be your “natural color”, if you stay in your hair’s color family.

* Used properly, henna is not drying, and will not strip your hair or make it brittle; it is of course possible to do anything badly or incompletely and get a bad result, but so too is that an avoidable outcome.

If you use harsh shampoos–and let’s face it, most shampoos are harsh these days, since the addition of sodium lauryl sulfate and the like–and if your hair is already dry or brittle before you henna it, it will be that way once henna’d.

Think of your hair as if it is wood, and think of henna as if it were the final sealant of that wood. Ideally, you’d want to seal wood that was neither too dry nor too oily; so it is with hair… For a good henna experience, your hair should be clean and ready to receive henna.