Surya Nature, Inc Henna Chocolate Cream - 2.31 oz

I used to color my hair with any drugstore color - and I'd color on a whim. If I didn't have anything better to do on the weekend, I'd change my hair color. Red, black, various shades of brown and blonde, with the occasional fuschia or burgundy thrown in for good measure. Then, about 15 years ago I used a popular drugstore brand (no names, they're no different than any other) to go a gorgeous sunset red and about 6 hours after application, I had open, running sores on my scalp. I figured, oh well, I'll live through it. I left it alone for the rest of the weekend, just rinsing with cool water and leaving it be until the ickiness went away. Then, three days later, my forehead started to swell a bit. Just a little pointy bit in-between my eyes, like I was sprouting a unicorn horn. I stopped by the emergency clinic on the way home from work and was told I had probably developed an infection secondary to my allergic reaction to the color. They gave me a script for antibiotics and sent me home.I woke up at 3 in the morning with my eyes swelled shut and my face resembling nothing less than a Klingon! I holed up at home for a couple of days, bugging the nurses at the clinic about how long it would take the antibiotics to take effect, until I could put neither my loving (and concerned) boyfriend nor my demanding job off another day. At that point, I called the clinic and insisted on immediate relief. They gave me a course of Prednisone to take the swelling down.You really haven't experienced fear until you've seen your forehead go from a mild unicorn affliction into full-blown, shut-eyed, bumpy-faced Klingon mode overnight. To say it wasn't pretty is the understatement of a lifetime!I tried a couple more times after that, always having antibiotics on hand to start a couple of days before. The symptoms persisted, although lessened by my precaution. A tightness of the scalp, a persistent itchiness, and finally, a feeling of heat with some mild swelling. At first it seemed I would tolerate it okay with the help of antibiotics, but continued use worsened the symptoms until I was afraid to keep trying.My hairdresser tried every exotic coloring he could get his hands on...and they all followed the same pattern. Mild symptoms the first time or two, with more pronounced effect after that. I resigned myself to a colorless life.Now, I don't have a lot of gray to cover up. Even now, without color the guy who cuts my hair is pretty much the only one who notices besides me.But I missed the pretty.I stumbled across this product about 10 years ago. I know it's not entirely natural. Nothing this easy to use could be. However, the chocolate brown is an exact match for my natural color, it's quick and easy, and it covers the gray. It lasts as long as any semi-permanent color - and, best of all, it doesn't make me swell up like a Klingon!So far. Fingers crossed. Truth is, at this point in life, if it stops working, I'll just make peace with the gray. Until then, I'm a Surya Henna fan.

I LOVE this henna! For a couple of years now, I have been using good-quality customized hair colors like E-Salon and Madison Reed, which I was happy with, but still, the damage to my hair was undeniable. No matter how good the color is, it burns and damages your hair follicles and scalp. So I have been looking for other solutions. This henna was exactly what I wanted. It's easy to apply, yields a beautiful, shiny color, and stays on my hair longer than the colors I used in the past. Plus, it seems to have a beneficial effect on the thickness of my hair - which is the exact opposite of the effect of salon colors. No matter how good they are, your hair gets thinner. With this henna, my hair seems to be growing faster, breaking a lot less, and even getting thicker.I don't have a lot of gray hair, but the ones I do have tend to be pretty stubborn. I also have an odd combination of having voluminous but fine hair - meaning, I have a lot of hair but each individual hair follicle is pretty fine, which makes for a challenge when coloring my hair. Because I have a lot of hair, the process of coloring them takes a while. But since they are also fine in structure, it's very easy to overprocess. This henna solved this issue as well. First of all, it is very easy to apply. And secondly, it's not a problem if it stays on your hair longer. It doesn't damage your hair or scalp.Highly recommend.

I bought this henna cream after doing a lot of research. I have colored my hair since my late teens and I am now in my 40's. I have about 25% gray hair and had to stop coloring on the recommendation of my dermatologist. I have scalp psoriasis and the chemicals in my hair color were causing severe issues with my scalp. I finally decided to try a more natural hair color and decided on this brand. I figured it could not hurt to try it out. I was amazed. The applicator bottle and cream inside were much like any other over the counter hair color. It went on easily and any color on my skin was easily removed with a washcloth and soap. I used my own shower cap as the one in the box was not much help. I left the color on for 60 minutes due to gray coverage and rinsed thoroughly in the shower. I did one other step besides what was recommended by the company - I also shampooed after the color and before conditioning my hair to make sure I got all the residual color out of my hair. I used a SLS free shampoo and conditioner. So far, I have gotten rave compliments and the cream covered all of my grays. I use the Chocolate color and was afraid of it dying my gray hair too reddish, but it turned out beautiful. I will update my review after I see how long the color lasts.Update 6/8/15 - The first application of this product lasted 4 1/2 weeks before I needed to recolor. I may have gotten another week out of it, but had my hair washed at the salon for a haircut. It stripped all this hair color out. I wash my hair 2-3 times a week with a SLS free shampoo and conditioner and lukewarm water. That seems to work really well. I have used this color again and no noticeable issues with my scalp psoriasis. I even got my hair wet at the pool and did not have any issues. I was really worried about that. I got splashed by my daugther repeatedly for 1 hour and no change to my hair color. I was afraid it would bleed out into the pool, but no issues.

I got this for my mom. She said it’s the gentlest hair color for her hair and especially her scalp. It is so easy to use, and it totally flatters her. It can cost close to $20 at the health food stores. The downside is it isn’t as long lasting as the more chemical based hair color, but it is natural.