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heyitskynya asked: How do you Henna your hair? Like what does that mean?.. It's kinda sad 'cuz I've been natural my whole life and I just now started doing hairstyles and taking care of it..

what a timely question!  i bought my first box of henna recently, and will be trying it out for the first time pretty soon.

what it means:  henna is a flowering plant that is often powdered and used to dye the hair, skin, and nails.  have you ever seen pictures of indian brides with beautiful, elaborate brown/red designs on their hands and/or feet?  that’s henna!  to henna your hair basically means to mix up a paste of henna powder and apply it to the hair to dye it.  here are some quick facts:

• it’s it’s true and pure form, henna is 100% natural and botanical.  it’s not difficult to find, but it is easy to  be fooled—lots of henna products also contain other chemicals, so be sure to read the ingredients carefully.
• henna CANNOT lighten the hair.  it can only darken or tint your hair, and the extent to which is dependent on your hair color (the lighter your hair is, the better it will display the dye—blonde hair can turn a bright red, while dark brown hair may only display a dark red tint, etc.).  any henna that claims it can lighten your hair is not henna—it has some chemicals added.
• there is really only one color of henna—red.  often times, henna is packaged and sold in “colors”—brown henna, black henna, etc.  these powders are not 100% henna—they have an added plant dye, like indigo or cassia.  these plants are just as safe as henna is for the hair, and are 100% natural (but again, be sure to look at the ingredients to be sure there are no chemical additives).
• there’s chance that henna may loosen the curl pattern—keep this in mind.  doesn’t happen for everybody, and it may not happen immediately.  everyone’s hair is different.

as far as the process of applying henna, i’m not too qualified to speak on that.  below are some links to tutorials and further information on what to buy, how to do it, what to expect, etc.:

• How to Henna Hair - a free e-book from the brainiacs at HennaforHair.com
• Curly Nikki’s Henna Forum - tons of articles and information.. you can probably find everything you need there
• Henna for African American Hair - an FAQ at HairLiberty.com
• Henna Basics - at HennaforHair.com

as always, research research research!  good luck!