No dye release? What am I doing wrong or is it the powderaa/

I have Mumtaz allroosa powder from india. Not past date on box. I have mixed it with pure lemon juice and sugar and let it rest for over 24 hours....tested on skin for color and nothing!!! Is it bad? Should I wait another 12-24 hours? Should I throw it out? Is it the brand or me or method?

Did you add a terp (essential oils) to it?
Like cajuput oil or lavender oil? if you don't the henna won't release the dye.
It is my understanding that they also help make a darker stain.

Could be bad box or some henna's take longer to dye release than others. Put plastic film over the paste so that is touches the paste and put a paper towl on top of that. Push the paper towel down with a bowl or object so it is smooth against the plastic. I've seen henna take 3 days in a cool room to dye release. You may try to 'boost' the color that has released with a bit of oil, but don't waste too much oil. Make a small sample. If it never does, then it is dead. Are you sure there is NO color? Sometimes on some people the yellow is super light to the eye but can darken up nicely on day two.

Oils with terpinol in them (lavendar, tea tree, cajeput, eucalyptus globulous, ravensara, etc) help the henna darken but dyes that stain the skin are released with the sour (Ph 5.5).

Hard to trouble shoot when you were not there for the mixing event!! LOL

There is some great info here:
http://www.hennapage.com/henna/how/sour.html

Thanks Kim and LInda,
I have studied the Henna Pages...and learned that the acidic solution releases the dye and the terps can intensify it...so...now I am giving the batch the covered treatment and if no show in 12 more hours...I may wait another 24 before discarding it . I did mix it in a glass bowl and a pottery bowl, no metal. The liquid was made with lemon juice, earl gray tea and whole cloves, heated in the micro wave...wondering if micro waving has any effect on the acidity of the lemon juice? I doubt it. I did add some sugar and tea tree oil. I am staying clear of cinnamon. pepper and clove oil. ,
My bf just gave me a new box of henna, Mangal, Mehendi Powderfrom India, manufacture date Jan 2011 and expiration ? date 2013. I mixed it up tonight wiht just lemon juice and sugar, strained it through a knee hi and and letting it rest. the box said to wait at least 60 minutes before applying!! All the youtube videos and henna websites usually have you wait a day or so... If this shows dye release then I will add tea tree oil from Australia. It is a VERY green paste...not sure if its so fresh or color added.
Will let the forum know results...I am also referring to patterns from Cathrine...Wright..or ?
Thanks for suggestion not to waste oil...my thoughts too.

I still have batches that I add a tad too much lemon. (you can never take it back out, LOL!) Not sure how it even happens, because I measure EVERYTHING!
I wish my henna was a bit more consistant, although I will say that I'm getting better with practice! The last 2 batches have been damn-near perfect.
Now if I could just get the hang of rolling a good cone!

Be sure to Let us know what happens!

OK! The additional details help! If you heat up your liquid too much you could end up 'cooking' the henna. Microwaves can super heat the liquid, and then you have killed the paste.

Be careful with cloves as it can be a strong irritant.

If your paste is bright green and grainy it has been colored. This process is common in lesser henna brands. If you put some of the henna in a baggie and look closely you will see blueish and greenish color spots and bursts. That is the artificial color they put in the powder to make it appear fresher. (although it is not natural, there has been no reaction to this... it is harmless as far as we know) This process is sometimes referred to as 'polishing'. MDH does this alot. Demise of the henna does appear a bit sickly green undertone color on some people but unsure which aspect causes this.

Also they will weigh down the box with some sand grains and twigs. You can tell the sand when you put some of the powder on a plate and using the back of the spoon, moosh it around and you will 'feel' the scritching and grinding of the sand against the plate. This is so that your 100 gram box only contains 80 or so grams of useful henna BUT the BOX contains 100 grams of stuff.

I get consistant color using the best henna that I can get and great oils. My recipe is lemon juice, table sugar, henna and essential oils. Thats it. Waiting for proper dye release and proper aftercare is all you need.





Hang in there and your henna will look like this too!!!!!!! DON'T give up and deprive the world of your soon-to-be mastery of the art!

@Linda - You are doing fantastic and the cone rolling really really will come!!! You may never like it, but you'll be cone pro before you know it. Sneaks up on you like that!! LOL

Linda Adams wrote:I still have batches that I add a tad too much lemon. (you can never take it back out, LOL!) Not sure how it even happens, because I measure EVERYTHING!

Measuring everything may be part of the problem! Humidity and the actual henna itself can run amok with being very firm about your amounts of anything. One crop may need more liquid while a different crop needs more sugar. If it's really humid outside and you've used dextrose, you may have the issue where it never seems to dry and almost appears to be getting runny! Developing a 'feel' for it being 'just right' means tweeking your recipe just a hair each time. BUT soon this is very much second nature. I don't even think about measurements anymore. Can't even tell you how much of anything I put in!!

I KNOW...and I'm sorry...not very helpful. It is a science and an art. Knowing about the henna is the science, but mixing is almost an art in itself! But if you just really pay attention each time and maybe even take notes on how well it fell off the spoon, the stirring, how much/little it stuck to the bowl and then how well it came out of the cone, maybe that would be helpful? AND you are pretty much already there and you say you are consistant almost every time so just doing it will resolve this issue more than likely without any note taking fuss. I hope this helped a *little* bit.

I know.....clear as mud!

Clear as mud....I LOVE that!

Kim,
Thank you.
Your explanation actually makes perfect sense why I haven't been able to get it the same two times in a row. The heat & humidity here in North Carolina is ridiculous right now, but I mix it inside the house (with the AC on 24/7) so it's different than when I mixed it a month ago when I had the windows to the house open all the time!

Funny you mentioned dextrose. I used it this last time because I heard it helps to make the henna "stringier". I was going to try my hand at some more intricate designs and thought it might come in handy. I wasn't sure it if would help the henna stay stuck to the skin longer either. I didn't notice a huge difference from when I used table sugar.
Linda
aka."future cone-pro in training!"

Dextrose is a total stand by for some, and a 'toy' for others. I'm in the 'toy' catagory. I mix two hennas so I get my stringy and stick to just table sugar as I find it more stable and less weather dependent. I would really suggest that you stick to the KISS method of mixing until you get perfect results EVERY time and then you can play kitchen witch and boil and trouble all of the different variations and ingredients out there. You will find that most of us that have been around forever keep it simple. Tons of ingredients do not equal a better or more sophisticated paste or better results. Often it can even mean more things to go wrong for no reason. AND beware of youtube vids for mixing...some are just babble with no substance or go so far as to serve up misinformation.

Hopefully this thread helps someone!!

PS "aka."future cone-pro in training!" Too cute!! AND very true!

HI ladies,
thanks for for all your info. I adore your designs, Kim and Linda I hope to see you again (we met in La Fete, NOLA) and I too live in NC.
I have used henna, lemon juice, table sugar (sucrose) and tea tree oil. Did try a witches brew using early gray tea and whole cloves...I wonder if micro waving lemon juice nullifies its acidity? I did NOT microwave the henna ever.
Our weather is humid here and raining....I am experiencing a henna design that is not drying!! SO now I wondering how to get it off, its its just anothe 'failure".
Thanks, Kim, for encouraging me to continue learning about this new world of henna....it is alot more involved than I thought! I have gotten good at the cone rolling,...keeping them small!! Soon I will be ready to go wild on my friends and have a henna party!
Thanks for your help

I microwave my juice all the time to a warm temperature, but never too hot. If you cannot put your finger in it comfortably, cooking your henna does not necessarily mean actually cooking it, but super heat is not always a good thing. UNLESS that is what you are going for. I know of someone in the UK who gets great results using very hot liquid, but he also uses it right away that day and tosses the remainder because it demises quickly.

Not drying probably means a bit too much sugar for the humidity. You can always save a valid paste where the only issue is too wet by adding some more dry henna.

It can be frustrating for the learning curve. BUT a good source of reliable fresh henna that you know is always quality...(and not because some ethnic shop keeper told you so ) and a consistant mix is right around the corner for sure! Just don't give up!!!! Your results will come! If it's one thing mehndi teaches someone it's patience!!
XXOO