How to Remove Henna From Hair in 3 Quick Ways [Step-by-Step Guide]
Published by Aida Turner
Fact checked by Annie
Do you badly want to get rid of your henna-dyed hair but don’t know how?
In this article, we’ll give you all the methods (and specific steps) to remove henna from hair.
Key takeaways:
- Henna is a permanent hair dye, so it is very hard to remove it from your hair.
- Normally, henna is vivid for about 6 weeks, then it slowly starts to fade away.
- There are three natural and safe ways to remove henna from your hair: using oils (olive, coconut, argan, etc)., lemon juice, or raw honey.
- Among the 3 methods above, the best one would be using oil. The oil method has been proven effective and used by many for quite some time. It also has an easy process to follow and does not require much money and resources.
Let’s see the exact steps for each method:
1. Use Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Other Oils
The safest way to remove the permanent hair coloring of henna dye is by using oil treatment. Oil treatment involves soaking your entire hair with henna in a reasonably large amount of oil.
Following this treatment means using one, two, or more of these oils:
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Grape seed oil
- Argan oil
- Mineral oil
You also can mix and match the olive, grape seed, argan, mineral, and coconut oils to come up with your own oil solution that can fit your hair preference.
However, the most recommended mixture is an equal proportion of argan, olive oil, and coconut oil.
More importantly, note that even if your hair may get lighter by the end of a single process, you still need to do this consistently before getting your original hair color back.
Also, if you have allergies to any of the oils, you may have an adverse reaction if you still use it as a henna hair color remover.
What You’ll Need:
- Your own oil solution (argan, olive oil, coconut oil, mineral oil, grape seed oil)
- High-powered clarifying shampoo
- Plastic shower cap or plastic wrap
- Hair dryer (optional)
How to remove henna using oils:
- First, combine your own oil mixture, preferably equal parts of argan oil, olive oil, and coconut oil.
- Second, apply the oil to your hair from the scalp, the roots, and tips through a massage to ensure it’s completely saturated. Also, make sure to put more oil to the point that it drips.
- Third, get your plastic shower cap or just plastic wrap and cover your oiled hair. You can double the hair cover to ensure your oily hair is secured and appropriately soaked.
- Fourth, leave the oil for an extended period of 2 to 3 hours so that your hair can absorb oil enough to lighten the color. Yet, if you leave the oil on your hair overnight, you can have better results.
- An optional step after leaving oil on hair would be to apply heat to the oil-wet hair through blow drying or staying under the natural sunlight.
- Sixth, remove the oil from your hair using the clarifying shampoo. Massage the product on your scalp until your roots, and rinse it with hot water. You can reapply the clarifying shampoo and rinse several times until your hair no longer feels oily.
- Lastly, if you want your hair color to be lighter, you can repeat this entire oiling process after a week from your initial application to give time for your hair to produce its own natural moisture.
2. Use Lemon Juice
When life gives you lemons, make some lemon juice to lighten the henna from your hair!
If you don’t want the sticky feeling from oil treatments, you can choose another natural option: Lemon juice.
Lemon has a natural bleaching agent in citric acid, which helps gradually lighten skin and hair.
The acidic properties paired with direct sunshine can strip henna off your hair. However, the same properties can also make your hair dry throughout the process.
Also, it is suggested that you use freshly squeezed lemons rather than concentrated lemon juice.
What You’ll Need:
- Lemon
- Water
- Moisturizer or conditioner
- Lemon squeezer (optional)
- Spray bottle (optional)
How to remove henna using lemon juice:
- First, squeeze enough lemons for your hair using a lemon squeezer or by hand. The number will depend on the thickness of your hair and on how long or short haircuts are.
- Second, combine lemon juice 1/4 with 2/4 of water. If you use a spray bottle, you can put the mixture inside.
- Third, apply the lemon juice mixture to your hair. Make sure to spread evenly on all parts with henna hair dye.
- Fourth, go under the sun for at least 1 to 2 hours. Remember to apply sunscreen on the skin before immersing under the sun, or use long sleeves and pants.
- Fifth, rinse the lemon juice from your hair with water. Then, moisturize your hair using a deep conditioning treatment or hot wax hair treatment to restore lost moisture and repair damaged hair.
- Lastly, if you want to repeat the same process, make sure you do it three to four weeks apart not to dry your hair.
3. Use Raw Honey
When you don’t have a good relationship with lemons, you can always use natural hair color removers, other than harsh acidic strippers, to remove henna hair dye.
With this, we recommend honey.
Honey, aside from the fact that it tastes sweet, produces hydrogen peroxide when mixed with other components, such as water. In turn, hydrogen peroxide helps in removing henna from hair.
You can also have great results pairing honey with olive oil (fading stronger).
The only problem you can get with this is if you are allergic to honey. Nevertheless, there are no recorded side effects when using honey for your hair care treatment.
What You’ll Need:
- Honey (raw)
- Water
- Clarifying shampoo
- Applicator (optional)
- Olive oil (optional)
How to remove henna using raw honey:
- The first step is optional. Mix your honey with olive oil. The mixture will depend on the length and thickness of your hair.
- Second, get your applicator or use your hands to apply the honey or mixture all over your hair.
- Third, let it soak in honey for at least three hours. Yet, you can always choose to go for long hours to see better and lighter results. Also, stay indoors while letting hair soak to avoid attracting bees’ attention.
- Fourth, rinse your hair with water and use a clarifying shampoo afterward to remove residues and unnecessary smells.
Frequently Asked Questions
When it’s about your hair, you surely have some questions in mind — no need to worry, though, because we have answers in store for you, too:
Final Words
Out of the three methods, you can surely use one or two (or all of them) to remove the henna from your hair unless you have allergies. In that case, you can cut your hair or use even a wig.
Nonetheless, always be mindful of how your skin and hair react when applying products. Once an adverse reaction manifests, immediately stop the process.
Moreover, follow the methods here to achieve your longest dream of removing the henna from your hair.
Aida
Founder & Hair Beauty Specialist
I’m Aida and this is my blog where I write mostly about beauty and make up related stuff, but I like to spice it up a bit with lifestyle and photography posts. Or with whatever that comes to my mind. Hope you will enjoy the reading enough that we will ‘see’ each other more often!