Tribe is not letting me upload photos at this point in time.... I will post as soon as I can.

ok, it's posted up there in the photo area

When you say "straighten", I assume you mean with an iron, as opposed to chemically? Because henna coats the hair and might make it less permeable to chemicals; I know you cannot dye over it. But my guess is that once you wash the paste out of your hair, using a straightening iron on your hair will not cause any further color change. And it will tint your scalp, but it basically makes it kind of orangey, and this will shampoo out over a couple washings. You should wipe off any visible drips while you're letting the henna develop on your head.

Namir-

Be prepared to have an orange scalp for a little while. The skin on your head is thin enough that it doesn't last too long but it will be colored at least for a little while. Mine usually lasts through the first few washings. Just be careful when you're applying it. I have a friend apply mine since my hair is so long and as soon as she gets it all in my hair and I'm wrapped up with shrink wrap, I go to the bathroom and wipe off the drips on my forehead, ears, and neck. If it does stain those areas, I've found that my facewash takes it off pretty well, anything with an exfoliant should. I would also recommend rolling an towel up and draping it across the back of your neck to help catch any drips. Don't forget to take out your earrings, necklace, ect. henna's a pain to get outta the little bits in some of them.

Henna does react to heat. those first few days are the important ones. Heat applied during that time will darken the henna a little because it's still dying your hair. After that it won't make too much of a difference. Your hair will also get darker the more times you henna it and eventually will eventually stop at a certain color. I too am assuming you're talking about a straightening iron here. Don't try to chemically dye, straighten, perm, ect.... it will end badly!

Did you go to the "freebie" page????? Go there and order the CD!!!!! There are even recipes to change the color of your henna dye by adding tea or coffee! Of course you have to experiment on your hair to see what colors you can get with YOUR hair, but that is half the fun! If your computer is fast and you don't want to wait, you can download the free ebooks yourself on the freebie page.

As far as drips, I wrap my henna covered hair in plastic, (shower cap with plastic wrap around the edges), then wrap an old towel that I don't care if it gets stained around my head. That keeps it warm and doesn't let the color get away from you. (yes, it will be darker if you warm it, but I have only "warmed" it by keeping it wrapped in a towel!!!! Experiment, because it will be different on each person. Find a few ways that you like to do it, make notes, share notes, and if you get tired of one, try a different one!

Have fun!
Shara

Henna will dye your scalp temporarily, but it disappears/wears away in a few days.
The tell tale ring around the hairline can be avoided by using vaseline on the skin.
We recommend that once you have the henna on the head, wrap in saran, cover with a towel, and wait for a few hours before washing.
Yes, heat will help, but you must keep it moist by using saran or a shower cap.
Once the henna has dyed the hair, applying heat later on will not make it darker.
Flavia
Henna Caravan

I haven't really had good results with henna labled 'for hair' but it might have just been my hair. I've had a significantly better results with the artist grade henna so that's what I use now.

Hennalucent is a compound henna dye...with metals added!!! If you've got any kind of chemical process in your hair before you use this stuff, you might as well go ahead and shave your head...it will turn baby poo green and start breaking!!!

I don't know whether I'd bother with the tea and paprika next time. I've always just used lemon juice by itself, adding it to the powdered henna the night before, let it set for something like 8-12h, and then apply to my hair.

If you want more brown, consider using indigo in your dye. Wait... you say you want 'strawberry blonde' in that case I would use the plain henna mixture and then just not leave it on for very long.

Be careful of the brands of henna... www.hennapage.com has an image of packages from reputable henna mfg. I did her test on the MDH brand and it had the green dye bits in it. I've been using the 'Jamila' brand.

Some henna products smell better or worse than others.
It should have the green smell, but not a bad smell.
Try mixing with orange juice and using a different brand of henna.
Maybe that will help.
Flavia

I've never left it on that long. I usually go for about 3 or 4 hours depending on how long I can stand it. I really don't know anything about boxed henna though, I buy mine bulk from a little herbalist store in Santa Cruz.