How to Use Cassia to Strengthen and Condition Hair

Cassia is a herbal hair strengthener and conditioner. It is found as a green-brown powder, made from the plant's ground leaves. It is also known as Senna and 'neutral henna', though this is misleading, as it is not henna and does not contain henna's red dye.

Cassia binds to the hair shaft, making the it thicker, stronger and more glossy. This conditioning effect is much the same as henna, but without henna's dying effect. There is no such thing as 'colorless henna' - true henna will always dye hair red-orange, and should not be used unless you really want to permanently change your hair color. Cassia is a great alternative to henna, as it offers henna's conditioning effects, but without permanently dying hair.

Cassia contains a weak, pale gold-brown dye molecule. However, unless your hair is gray, or very light blonde, it will not be strong or dark enough to color your hair. Also, if it does, it will wash out in a few weeks. Cassia may dye gray hair light blonde, and very pale blonde hair may become a more yellowish gold.

You will need about 25-100g of Cassia per treatment, depending on how long and thick your hair is. For my bra-strap length, fairly fine hair, I use just 25g (with honey as detailed below).

To apply the cassia powder to your hair, you need to make a 'mud'. Slowly add enough water to the cassia to make a thick paste. If you would like to maximise cassia's yellow-gold dye, leave the 'mud' to sit for about an hour, adding a little orange juice to help with 'dye release'. The acid of the orange juice is thought to increase dye release, although this is controversial, as some feel that it is not necessary.

When you have made your cassia paste, apply this to wet hair. Doing this in the shower creates least mess! Once applied, wrap your head with plastic wrap and place an old towel around your neck to catch any drips. Leave the 'mud' on your head for 40-60 minutes.

To wash the cassia out of your hair, get back in the shower and give your head a good shampooing. Some people find that the best method is to lie in the bath and soak the cassia out, but I find that shampooing it out in the the shower works fine.

If your 'mud' was just cassia and water, you may feel that your hair is a little dry initially. This should improve with a couple of washes.

Cassia treatments can be repeated approximately every month to maintain cassia's conditioning effects.

Cassia can either be used simply mixed with water, or other hair conditioners can be added to the mixture. Straight after you use Cassia, you may find your hair feels dry, but this effect will be reduced by adding another hair conditioner.

Honey
Honey is a great hair conditioner, as its humectant properties help moisturize the hair. It also makes Cassia much easier to wash out. Honey can lighten hair, so if you would like to prevent this possibility, microwave it for 10 seconds first (this kills the enzymes responsible for lightening). Add 2-3 tablespoons of honey, depending how long your hair is.

Olive or Coconut Oil
If you have dry hair, add one to two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. Avoid this if your hair is generally greasy, or else experiment with smaller amounts. If you add too much oil, so that your hair feels greasy after you rinse the cassia out, shampooing again should remove the residue.

Many herb and henna sellers offer Cassia obovata. However, Cassia senna has a very similar effect on hair but is cheaper and more commonly available at health food stores and herb companies, where it is sold as a constipation remedy.

Many boxed 'neutral henna' products contain cassia. However, the term 'neutral henna' is misleading, as there is no henna that is colorless, and therefore anything that does not color is not henna. Many of these products do not list ingredients, so you cannot be sure what you are using. It's generally better to use pure Cassia obovata or Cassia senna, so you can be sure what you are using.

If you would like to find out more about natural hair care and growing out long hair, please visit my blog. My website, Art for Hair, is where I sell a variety of hand-crafted hair sticks and hair forks, and you can also find hair care articles.