Cassia and Natural Hair

Anonymous writes:

Hey Nikki!

I know you’re a Henna girl, but I saw your comment for one of your pictures, and you mentioned using Cassia. I’m curious about henna but there are a few things that have me nervous about taking the plunge to try it, one of them is the coloring effects. I know Cassia is supposed to be similar without altering hair color, if you don’t mind, can you share your experience with Cassia? Thanks a bunch!

CN Responds;

I tried cassia about 4 times before moving on to henna. Initially, like you, I was afraid of the red color, especially since I had a considerable amount of brown highlights throughout- I wasn’t going for ‘fire engine red’.

Again, henna red is translucent. I liken it to coloring on a black (or brown) sheet of construction paper with a reddish-orange crayon. In most lighting, the paper sill looks black, just shinier. However, if you hold it just right under the light, or step outside, you can see the hint of color. It’s the same with my hair. Indoors, the hair is a shiny, rich, black, but outside it looks as if I did an auburn rinse. For my brown haired curlies, your hair will appear auburn, no matter the lighting. So, if you’re still reluctant about that red tint, Cassia may be the answer.

Cassia is similar to henna…although it’s a different plant altogether, it has some of the same conditioning effects, sans color. Like henna, cassia strengthens the hair shaft, improves overall health, and adds lots of shine. It doesn’t, however, reduce shrinkage or drastically thicken the hair up. It’s effects are far more fleeting- lasting at the most 1-2 weeks. The mixing, application, and rinsing process is a bit less taxing as well. For starters, you don’t have to wear gloves! Also, you only have to leave it in for 30 minutes to get the conditioning effects. Since you’re not worried about dye release, you can mix in everything but the kitchen sink- I used to mix in oils, conditioner, and honey. Some blonde and gray haired ladies use Cassia for the slight yellow tint that it gives off. If you have dark hair, you don’t have to worry about this effect.

I left cassia for henna for one reason- I wanted bigger hair. I didn’t, and still don’t mind the red. You’re going to get improved hair health with both cassia and henna, but henna’s effects will last upwards of 3-4 weeks, depending on how often you wash.

In my honest opinion, Cassia is just a REALLY good conditioning treatment.

Good luck!
Nik