Henna(caca brun) you need like 4 arms to do this.

I'm in the process of henna-ing my locs. I added a goodish dollop of instant cofee to make it darker. A couple of weeks ago, I tested henna, one with cofee, and one without on some ol loc ends that snapped off. The one with cofee seemed slightly darker hence..... but we shall see. So I mixed it in a casserole dish over a steaming pan on the stove, allowed it to cool slightly and applied to my hair. I put it in one of those colour applicator thingies - which would have saved me a lot of hassle except...except the mixture was either too thick or had lumps so it did not flow. Note: It really does save you dealing with mess if you put the mixture in dem applicator bottles and apply to your hair. I can't imagine what would.ve happened if I tried to scoop up that mess to put in my hair. Anyhow, I took the top off and used it that way and it still worked except for the odd blob that went it's merry way. Good job I decided to put some newspaper over the sink, bath and floor, 'cos those odd blobs dropped in unexpected places. Infact I was so paranoid about making a mess that I'm not sure I've applied thoroughly ie every strand aint covered, but hey I thought I'd quit while I was still ahead of the game. (y'know how everything's gone well and you think, let me just go over it once more then something you dont want happens? Yeah, so I thought, I've covered all the main bits(hair) no disaster, stop now.) I'm now waiting for x amount of hours to pass then I'll wash it out. I was going to do all this outside, but the way the wind was blowing, my mirror, newspapers and towels went flying so I retired to the bathroom. Erm, the instructions say 'cover your head if you want it redder or leave uncovered if you want it browner.' I cling- filmed my head for 1/2hr to stop bits going everywhere and removed it for the rest of the time as I want it brown-ish. I have no photos, my camera went to spain with my daughter Mary. I'm on the lookout for a new camera 'cos that one's old anyway.
Stay tuned for the results. So far, minimal mess, so good. We'll see when I come to wash it out.. aah, but I have a plan. Hopefully, I'll take a photo when Mary returns tomorrow.

It's 9.45. I've just finished washing the henna out. I wasn't sure whether I'm supposed to shampoo or just rinse. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and then shampoo-ed with waitrose baby shampoo and again with hair fitness shampoo then did some prolonged rinsing. Then I rinsed with diluted ACV. Oh my back! My hair looks dark brown coffee all over. Some grays are still trying to peak through especially where I wasn't careful to slater it on properly.
Conclusion: Henna works. It conditions your hair, adds body to it. The colour isn't bad. You can repeat it deepening the colour with each application. However, washing it out is a job and a half! The smell is strong and lingers for hours. Fortunately I didn't mind the smell, but my daughter said it made her feel sick.