I decided to order some cassia from too. I’d been wanting to try it for
a while as an interim treatment between hennas, because it is supposed
to have many of the same conditioning benefits sans the time-consuming
and messy process!
What is Cassia?
There is NO such thing as neutral henna or
blond henna! Much of what is sold in boxes called neutral or blond (sic)
henna is Cassia Obovata, usually with unlisted adulterants. Cassia
obovata will make damaged hair silky, thick, lustrous, and helps keep
your scalp healthy, just as henna does. This has a golden yellow dye
molecule, but it won’t show up on your hair unless you are very pale
blond (sic) or gray. Cassia will not make dark hair golden. Cassia will
make gray or blond hair golden.
accompanies henna may be interested in cassia as it provides many of the
same benefits, without the deposit of the red dye (lawsone) molecule.
It also isn’t supposed to cause the curl loosening that is a potential
side effect of henna. That being said, it’s the deposit of the red dye
that provides much of the strengthening, thickening and shine-enhancing
benefits of henna. Henna is a plant resin that bonds to the keratin in
the hair strand, carrying the pigment with it and filling in rough spots
in the cuticle (hope that I got that right!). Cassia is a different plant and though it coats the hair with a
plant resin as well, it is not as strong. Therefore, the effects of
cassia only last about 1-2 weeks, whereas the conditioning benefits of
henna lasts 3-4 weeks and the color is permanent. However, preparing,
applying and “marinating” cassia is far less time-consuming as
it only needs to “sit” for 30 minutes and be left on the hair for 30
minutes to an hour. No gloves or bathroom protection are necessary
either!!
Now that we got that out of the way, on Sunday I debated doing a cassia treatment. But, I was persuaded to go for it on my Facebook page (see here). I had applied a pre-poo mix of Aubrey GPB and Honeysuckle Rose conditioners mixed with Vatika Oil on Saturday. I’d previously read the instructions to apply cassia to dry hair, but after searching around a little, found that some applied it to wet, washed hair as well. So, I knew that I was okay to wash my hair first. During the same search, I also found that there are different cassia recipes just as there are for henna. So, I decided to make a pseudo cassia gloss using the same ingredients that I use with henna, with one exception. I used warm filtered water instead of green tea as adding an acid to cassia releases the yellow dye molecule. That isn’t a problem for my dark hair, but it might have caused my grey roots to yellow. No bueno.
- Mixed 100g cassia powder with approximately 1 cup of warm filtered water and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- Hopped in shower and shampooed hair in 6 twists with diluted
DevaCare No Poo (diluting No Poo provides it with nice slip). Released
each twist to lightly finger detangle and re-twisted before rinsing
shampoo (20-30 min.). - Got out of shower and mixed about 1/2 – 3/4 cup Sally’s GVP Matrix Conditioning Balm and 1/4 cup of honey into the cassia mix.
- Applied cassia mix to hair in sections, smooshing it on scalp and through length to thoroughly coat strands.
- Piled hair on top of head, wrapped it in plastic wrap and put on a plastic baggie.
- Donned Hair Therapy Heat Wrap for 1 hour.
- Hopped back in shower, rinsed and finger detangled with loads of
Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (HE HH). Threw in some Suave Naturals
Tropical Coconut conditioner too (just to use it up; won’t be
repurchasing as it gives me no slip. I’ve been taking CurlyNikki’s
advice and using it for shaving though
). - Deep conditioned in 6 twists with Darcy’s Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner (1 hour w/heat wrap).
- Rinsed DC under tub faucet using Cool and Seal technique with diluted HE HH.
- Styled WnG with Sheilo Leave-in Protecant and Jessicurl Confident Coils Styling Solution using Rake & Shake technique.
My hair was still damp when it was time for bed, so I put it in a
pineapple, made one big loose twist and formed a loose bun by securing
the ends with a jaw clip. This morning, I released the bun to find my
hair still damp. But, I used a little Wonder Curl Polishing Pomade to
smooth out a little bit of the crunch anyway.
My Review and Results
Overall, I think this cassia treatment worked out well!! As expected, it was a lot easier and far less time-consuming than henna. It had a similar grassy smell, but that doesn’t bother me. I also got the same level of shine and smoothness that accompanies a henna treatment … unfortunately for me, that seemed to still be accompanied by curl loosening!! What the heck?? This is NOT supposed to happen with cassia! Okay, okay. I suspect that this may have to do with how much I conditioned my hair during this process … pre-poo, conditioner in the cassia, conditioner to detangle, deep condtioner. So, I’m hoping that my curls will bounce back with some protein-instilling Aubrey GPB conditioner (sans the Honeysuckle Rose mix) and another wash. But again, my hair looks and feels pretty good! In addition to being shiny and smooth, it feels very clean, light and fluffy.
Initial Conclusions
Depending on how my curls bounce back after my next wash
session, I definitely think I’ll try cassia again in another month or
so. Shoot, might as well … I have another bag of it 
! Plus, the results are supposed to wear off after a week or two, so I
really don’t expect the curl-loosening to be long-lasting or permanent.
Since the whole process is so much simpler and shorter than henna with
similar results, I’d definitely recommend it to anyone contemplating
henna, but who is hesitating because of the color or time concern.
“I tried cassia about 4 times before moving on to henna. Initially, 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’. 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
significantly thicken the hair up. Its 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.”
I tried a paste of Cassia, Methi and Amla powder and mixed wit warm water and Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine conditioner and the results were fabulous. No loose curl pattern, just big fluffy defined curls. I will be doing this regiment every 2 weeks. My hair loved it.
I tried Cassia for the first not realizing it was actually Cassia. The labeling on the box said it was nuetral henna. But now I know. I totally agree with Curly Nikki. The conditioning treatment was great. However, now having used Henna, now twice within a months time, I love it. I do love the red/auburn color that comes with it. It's a splash of excitement to go along with the greats benefits Henna gives you. It is like stated above quite a bit taxing on time. But I usually start the treatment the day before I am off. So when I am off I have the time I need to accomplish my goal.
I just purchased a box of cassia to mix with my Jamila henna. I have a fair amount of grey in the front of my head and prefer a golden copper over the red copper. This will be my first henna ever. Wish me luck!
I'm 6 months into my transition so I'm not experimenting too much with things until I BC. I will keep Cassia in mind when I want a great conditioner. I have low porosity hair so I heard henna treatments would not be wise to use on my hair.
Thanks CuvyCurly:)!! Cassia definitely isn't as time consuming as henna. But, it definitely adds another hour if one were to incorporate it regularly into their regimen. Yeah, I don't see myself doing that. I just was experimenting. Well, I might use it when I know I'm going to end up going 6-8 weeks without a henna. But, b/c I mostly do henna for the color now, cassia isn't going to cut it. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm trying to color my grey hair, I definitely think I'd swap henna for cassia and I'd just do it once a month.
Zizyphus also works as an after henna treatment to restore some curl. I learned that b/c I had an allergic reaction to amla (lots of itching and shedding), and a blogging friend of mine learned about Zizyphus via Mehandi.com. I've only used it a couple of times and it helped a little, but it didn't restore hair that I had hennaed many times to its original curl. I just had to let the hair grow out and now I only do my roots and don't have the problem with loosening anymore. Roots only applications also mean that I use less henna and it's not as messy.
Shelli
Megan, you can buy cassia and henna via the Mehandi link in the post. But, you can also buy them many places online (hennasooq, buttersnbars, amazon) and henna you can get in Indian stores/grocers. One of my favorite hennas is Dulhan that I get from Patel Brothers for $1.49 for 100 grams!
I never used cassia treatments or henna were can you buy them at?
I forgot about that. Thanks!
You could also add amla to the henna to counteract the curl loosening effects of the henna. I've done it and it works pretty well. I also use amla in between henna treatments to define my curls.
I went so far last year as to buy two bags of Cassia from the Mehandi website, held on to them for two months and then swapped them on the forum. I simply got excited to try it and then lost my desire; I just didn't want to embark on another time-consuming treatment for my hair that would have to been done a couple of times a month in addition to my current routines. #lazy.
I love to see the results from other curlies, especially Shelli's and Nikki's.
I may have to try cassia, henna loosened my curls.