You can use grapeseed oil or better yet, amla oil (available at Indian grocery stores). In a pinch you can use olive oil. Pour a bit into your cupped palm. Rub it into your scalp and drag it through your hair. Yes, it will make your hair a greasy hellacious mess until you wash it out. Leave it in at least half an hour. Wash. I usually have to "suds up" at least twice in the shower to remove all the oil.

Caveat--my hair is oily, so I can't vouch for how this works on dry hair, but it seems like it would work.

Oh, a commercial product that's good for fried hair is the Austrailian 3 Minute Miracle, available at Wal-Mart.

Hey Azeeza, sorry it's taken me a couple of days to answer. I hope this helps!

-What's with all the adding stuff to the cassia such as chamomile, honey, cloves, etc.?
You don't need any kind of activator or other additives if you're just using Cassia to condition your hair. Most of the additives like lemon juice, chamomile and honey are used by people with white, gray or really light hair who want to dye their hair blonde with Cassia.

-Do you use it straight?
I follow the "how to condition your hair with cassia" instructions here www.mehandi.com/shop/cassi...atabuy.html (It also has info about how much Cassia you need to use - the general rule of thumb is 100g for every 5" of length). I add a bit of olive oil to keep it from drying out while I apply it to my hair. Some people also like to add a few drops of an essential oil to counteract the "earthy" smell of the Cassia.

-How long does it last?
The conditioning benefits are not permanent. I've found it's better to do a treatment once every other month because sun, heat, styling, etc. take a toll on my hair. Basically if my hair starts feeling rough and dry I know it's time for another Cassia conditioning treatment.

-Can you put it in a plastic bowl? Does it stain the bowl?
I mix it in a plastic bowl. A glass bowl would work, too. The only thing that it stained was a white plastic spatula I used to mix it (I didn't rinse it off right away), so if you use a white or ivory plastic bowl or utensil you should rinse them off ASAP after applying the Cassia to avoid staining.

-Do you place it on the counter top to "blossom" overnight?
If you're using Cassia just for the conditioning benefits there's no need to wait for dye release. You only need to let the mix sit for about 15 minutes before applying it to your hair.

-Can you leave it on your hair overnight with a plastic cap over it and place a towel on the pillow to protect it from staining?
You only need to leave it on for an hour. I put a plastic cap on and then wrap a towel around that while it's on my hair.

-Do you use it on dry hair?
Yes, although I've read some people find it easier to apply to wet hair. Either way you'll get the same results.

-Does it wash out easily?
When I wash it out I massage some conditioner into my hair first to help loosen it up. If it's being especially stubborn I shampoo it to get the rest out. I always make a mess in the shower when I rinse it out, but so far if I rinse it off all the surfaces before it has time to dry it doesn't stain.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Mine usually smells only when it's wet (when I wash it) the first couple of days after I use Cassia. I haven't noticed a smell when it's dry, and my boyfriend says he doesn't notice a smell when it's dry either.

Oh don't get me wrong, when you mix and apply the cassia it smells awful (horse barn is a very good description of the smell), but once you wash it out it and your hair dries again you won't notice a bad smell.

Are you using henna along with the cassia? If so, I can understand being nervous. I color my grays with a henna/indigo gloss (it dyes them a nice golden brown). The first time I did it I was really anxious about how the color would come out, even though my strand test had turned out a beautiful color, haha.

As for the cassia, it won't affect the color of your hair. I've heard of some people having problems with tangled hair right after using a plant product like cassia or henna. To prevent that from happening, make sure you use conditioner after you finish washing all the cassia out. You could even put a deep conditioner on it with a shower cap for about 30 minutes after washing out the cassia for super soft hair.

Mmmm...I do loooove Biolage...and as a former hairdresser, would recommend it, highly! Not only does it do wonders on damaged hair, but it smells so good, you could almost eat it!!! Their colour line is fantastic...one of the things I miss about being in a salon...some of the professional products are unbeatable!

This is only true if you're using a boxed henna product, which is a compound of henna and other substances like metallic salts. 100% pure henna (body art quality) is NOT a metallic dye and can be used over chemical color. Several of us in this tribe can vouch for that from personal experience, as can people on the hennaforhair.com forum and longhaircareforum.com

This topic has been discussed on this tribe before (which is how I learned that I could switch to henna without having to let all my chemically dyed hair grow out first). Check out any of these threads:
dancemakeup.tribe.net/thread/...4c882f52
dancemakeup.tribe.net/thread/...e36bee51
dancemakeup.tribe.net/thread/...fe798f8b