Lesson Learned

You get what you pay for.

No really.

Lemme say it again.

With henna, as with many things, you get what you pay for.

Normally I buy Rajasthani henna from hennalounge.com I've always been pleased with the outcomes, the fine sift like baby powder, and the customer service.

Tomorrow's fall festival at my school snuck up on me. The girls of our school's Henna Club will be helping to henna other kids as a school fundraiser. They get to keep their cones at the end of the day (the best part to many of them!)

Not wanting to use my entire stash of Raj, I erroneously thought I could cut time (hennalounge ships from San Fran) by purchasing a box of henna powder from a local store. I'd had a good experience with one prior that a friend brought me.

The iffy thing about buying powders from local stores, is you never really know how old the powder is, or if it contains any additives. Such is the case with this one. Henna powder has a viable life span in which it stains the darkest. During this time, the powder should be kept cool (or frozen) and in the dark. After the "peak" stain time, the powder will still stain, just not as strong.

The store I went to didn't have that brand, and I picked out what I thought would be good instead, one in a yellow box made in Rajasthan, India.

I get it home and I'm pleasantly surprised at first by the "fresh" green color of the powder. But then I'm suspicious. I rubbed some between my fingers, but nothing felt out of place. No noticeable grit, or particles that stood out as being different in color or texture.

Once I added the water though, it was apparent. The henna sludge, rather than be an Army Green Mud, was a Christmas Green Mud. I went and made my usual recipe, just to see how it would stain. (The extra green dye didn't stain the skin, by the way). The stain was the same as if I had used old, worn henna powder- weaksauce.

I took a photo of the plastic that covers my paste while it's in the warm oven (not cooking, just warm and dark)

You can see in the photo, where the green dye separated from the paste. The residue is clearly not what henna should look like just before it gets coned.

So rather than cone up a bunch of henna tonight, I'm dipping into my Raj stash and restarting a new batch. I can save the cheap stuff for next January's club members to practice with, but I won't be using it on any clients- or myself.

Lesson learned.