in which i become a redhead
I love red hair. I love the real stuff, the stuff you see on those lucky Irish gals, the lush curls, all of it. But I also adore the fake stuff. Like this
That is Franka Potente in the fabulous “Run Lola Run.” What? You haven’t see it? Get thee to your netflix queue at once! And be sure to get the subtitled version, yes, it’s German, stop whining, NOT the dubbed version, which sucks. It’s one of my favorite movies, ever.
I adore the bozo, bright red, crazy punk hair. Here’s some more:
Tori Amos
Robin Wright Penn in the lovely “At Home at the End of the World”
Milla Jovovich as Leeloo in “The Fifth Element”
Jennifer Garner in the 1st ep of “Alias”
Isn’t it grand?
These gals are all worldclass beauties–I’ve never had the guts to go for the full Run Lola Run look because, well, I live where I live and I’ve had the jobs that I’ve had, but also I just don’t think I’m pretty enough, you know? I think it would be more bozo and less punk-sexy on me. Sigh. Sometimes you just have to face the facts.
On the other hand, screw it. It’s my hair, right? I had this friend for a while, a fabulous woman, 60 years old, had just gotten her black belt in karate (she started when she was 50), incredibly elegant in these slinky white dresses and HIGH heels wherever she went. And SHE had the full on REDREDRED hair. Oh man, I loved it. If she can do it, maybe one day I’ll get the courage.
But you know, I’m also Ms. Natural about most things and you don’t exactly get Run Lola Run hair without ponying up for the industrial strength chemicals. So, my compromise, both in toning down the punk and the cancer-risk, is henna.
No, not that crap henna mixed with who knows what you can get at the health food store. The REAL henna. Body art quality henna. I get mine from Mehadi.com , this really cool site with everything you could ever possibly want to know about henna, the tattoos, for hair, medicinal purposes, all of it. Pure, intense dye content, henna from Yemen. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
Anyway, this weekend, my cousin and I went for it.
You mix the henna powder the night before with lemon juice and let it sit until the dye is released from the crushed henna leaves. At that point it looks like this:
You glop it on, thick, like making mud patties. It’s really messy, you just have to go with it. Gloves help, because the henna will stain your hands pretty much on contact. Here’s what it looks like glopped on:
You leave it on as long as you want. My cousin waited about 45 minutes. I left it on a couple of hours. Some people sleep in it. No, I will not torture you with a photo of me with a plastic bag on my head.
Here are my cousin’s before and after shots:
Here are mine:
Woohoo! I mean, it’s not Run Lola Run hair, but it’s pretty freaking red. Now I need some combat boots and a gun.
So, a little later, the kids and I are playing outside and I am designated, by Luc, as The Monster. Then he changes it to “The Red Haired Monster.” And then Sophie runs inside and makes this sign for the door of thier fort:
The International No Red Haired Monsters Sign.
That’s me. Rawr!
ETA 6/15/2009: I did my cousin’s hair again for her wedding and it came out so well, I wanted to post the picture here. Henna is amazing.
Category: adventures
Hey, I found you blog searching for henna info on google! I think your hair is beautiful after the henna! I’m thinking about doing the same, and your hair looks like it was medium/dark brown before (which is what mine is) and I would love to have the color you ended up with!
Did you just use the first type of henna for hair on the site, Body Art Quality Henna: Punjabi Prime? Or did you mix another color with it? What recipe did you use? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca, thanks so much for stopping by! I use the ‘henna for African hair’ because the sift is so fine, making a smoother paste. My hair is really fine, so it works well for me. But really, any of the hennas they sell are great. I’ve used several and never been disappointed.
The recipe was just henna and lemon juice, left over night, then thinned with warm water the next day to make it toothpaste consistency.
Good luck with your hair!
I’m dying. This is great stuff. You don’t need to write a novel, Maya (I mean if the passion putters out). Just keep writing your life.
Awww, thanks, John. I’m delighted you’re enjoying it.
You know I have a little tip as a long hair dyer– you coat your ears in vasolinne, and also the area around your forehead as it meets your hairline (don’t get any hair into it though! the vasoline blocks the dye from dying your skin as well, and having weird blotchy looking spots around your forehead. Just apply generously but not globby, and voila! Afterwards, when you’re done rinsing your hair of henna or (heaven forbid!) cheapo boxed peroxide dye, simply wipe the vasoline off gently. this is great if your helper is not very exact or gets overly vigorous!
Also, you can do this trick for eyebrows, although to do this safely you must make the person who’s eyebrows are to be done wear some swimmer goggles, the tiny ones that aren’t like the snorkling masks with the nose. Once the goggles are protecting your eyes from the fumes, you can apply vasoline around the areas of the eye which will not need dye, such as the eyelid and above the eyebrow into the forehead area. Make sure the vasoline is not getting on ANY of the hair you want dyed–if it does you must wipe it off and then gently cleanse with face soap/hand soap and rinse before re starting that eye. Then, lie down on your back for a while while the dye sets into your eyebrows. You won’t want it to set for too long, since eyebrows are naturally usually a slightly different (and usually darker, so don’t even think about bleaching the eyebrows too much or you’ll make them virtually disappear on your face!) shade of color than the hair itself.
Really, it doesn’t matter if you dye the eyebrows since you can always buy an appropriate eyebrow pencil for more exactitude for special occasions and photo opportunities
Hi Phyllis, thanks for stopping by and for the tip! We’re doing another round of henna this weekend, maybe we’ll give it a try…