Muddy Velvet was born out of the pursuit of healthy hair care following my own bad reaction to a chemical hair dye treatment. I take extreme care in providing high quality, PPD-FREE/chemical-free henna-based hair dyes that are suitable for those with skin sensitivities. If you are searching for the perfect henna for yourself because you're tired of finding twigs in lower-quality hennas, tired of grating oil-infused henna bricks, and/or tired of sleeping with henna in your hair all night to get that pigment, you've come to the right place!

In this shop, you will find premium, Body Art Quality (BAQ), triple-sifted, 100% natural, organic, authentic Indian herbal powders, such as: henna, indigo, cassia, amla, and other henna-based herbal hair dye colours (lovingly referred to simply as "hennas"). that contain no added chemicals (NO PPD!), are hypoallergenic, and contain superior pigmenting properties to other henna products normally found in health food stores. That's right - no more twigs, no more loss of pigment, and definitely way more bang for your buck!

Muddy Velvet hennas are produced specifically to enhance your experience with using henna for your hair, as the mixtures wash out beautifully and will leave your hair feeling smooth to the touch! If it's your first time trying henna, an open mind is recommended, as the experience is slightly different from your typical box dye treatment.

With that, I welcome you to explore the shop (a little limited at the mo'), and please refer to our handy guide below prior to your fun henna day!

OFFICIAL MUDDY VELVET PREPARATION CHECKLIST

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1. Muddy Velvet powder packet(s) - 1 x 100g packet for shoulder-length hair is recommended
2. DHB: Designated Henna Bowl (large enough to accommodate henna powder + water)
3. Hand blender (or a wooden or plastic fork/spatula for mixing)
4. Boiled water (hot, not scalding – don’t want to burn the plant) - Lemon juice is optional
5. Cling wrap (to cover the prep bowl and your hair after you apply mix to hair)
6. Vaseline/multipurpose balm (for your hairline to prevent stains)
7. Disposable latex/nitrile or dish gloves (to protect your hands from stains)
8. Clarifying shampoo (or baking soda if you're "no-poo")
9. Apple cider vinegar (optional – this is secondary hair rinse, to ensure no oils remain)
10. A couple old towels you don’t mind getting stained (to cover your hair, and the floor, and any other surfaces you don’t want to stain)
11. A big butterfly hair clip to section hair or hold up hair
12. A bottle of conditioner (you won't need the entire bottle but you will want to be generous with the conditioner!)
13. Deep conditioning hair mask (optional – but this really helps the hair smell great and feel smooth afterward!)
14. Style hair as desired!
(15. If doing indigo treatment immediately after as part of henndigo, you can use shampoo instead of conditioner, wait for hair to dry to 80%, and mix and apply the indigo. Otherwise, you can do the 2nd step with indigo a day or two later).

Step 1: PREPARING THE HENNA/HENNA-BASED POWDER (6-24 Hours Prior to Applying to Hair, NOT including pure indigo, amla, or cassia, these can be mixed immediately before applying to hair)
1. Empty henna or henna-based packet contents into your DHB (designated henna bowl). If you are doing a 1-step henndigo application, now is the time to also add your pure indigo to the mix.
2. Using gloves, gradually add the water (and/or lemon juice) to bowl of henna and mix with the hand blender (or other mixing tool) until you reach a yogourty, thick-soup (but not too drippy!) consistency. This may take a several minutes.
4. Cover mix and allow to sit for 6-24 hours in room temperature (this allows the dye to release in order to leave a wonderful stain on the hair). To check for successful dye release, uncover the henna mix after a few hours and look for a darker, reddish/indigo layer on the surface of the mix. if you mix it up a bit more, you’ll see the underlying mix will have a lighter green tint. This means your henna is ready to be applied! If you plan to use it another day, it's recommended to freeze it until you decide to use it, however indigo-based dye are not recommended to be frozen. Please check ingredients prior to mixing/freezing.

Step 2: PREPARING YOUR HAIR (1 Hour Prior to Henna/Indigo Application):
1. Shampoo your hair, rinse.
2. Optional - Rinse again, this time with apple cider vinegar (this acts as an astringent and will make sure hair is squeaky clean! Literally!).
3. Allow hair to dry at least 80%.
4. Do not apply any hair products following the hair rinse! You need squeaky clean hair for henna to stick.

Step 3: YOU ARE NOW READY TO APPLY HENNA(S)/HERBALS TO YOUR HAIR (USE GLOVES!):
1. Place a towel on the floor for protection, and protect any areas from staining.
2. Section hair using various clips or ties.
3. Using gloves, apply Vaseline/balm to hairline.
4. Using same gloves, apply henna generously to hair in sections, starting at the root, and smoothing down to ends, ensuring that henna is covering hair strands thoroughly, top and “underneath” sections. Squeeze henna through hand and hair if you have to get it all in there. Don’t be afraid of using “too much”.
5. Once finished applying henna to hair, cover hair with cling wrap to help the dye bind with the hair. Cover wrap with a towel to add warmth and to protect from leakage.
6. Immediately clean any areas that henna may have fallen to or stained.
7. For HENNAS, leave in hair for as little as 1-2 hours and rinse out with conditioner. For INDIGO (typically used in a 2-step henndigo process), leave in hair for 1 hour and rinse out with conditioner.
8. Rinse out with conditioner only (shampoo will ensure that all the bits are out, but may reduce the pigment stain in the hair- use at your own discretion).
9. For best results, follow up with deep-conditioning treatment.

Step 4: INDIGO APPLICATION (for 2-step henndigo treatment):
1. Apply Vaseline/balm to hairline around head.
2. Empty contents of Indigo packet into bowl. The powder should be GREEN! This is normal. You can also add the indigo into a pre-mixed henna paste to achieve a brown hair colour.
3. Using gloves, take mixing tool and slowly add lukewarm water only to the indigo and mix until you reach a yogourty, thick-soup (but not too drippy!) consistency. The mix will begin to turn blue. Indigo releases its dye immediately and must be applied to hair as soon as it’s mixed.
4. Still wearing gloves, apply to hair immediately in the same way as hennas above and cover hair with cling wrap and towel to seal in the paste).
5. Leave on for only one hour (indigo has a quick demise rate and will not stain the hair well after one hour).
5. Rinse with conditioner and apply optional deep conditioning mask.
6. Style hair as desired!