It's okay not knowing...an experiment with Henna

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. – Gilda Radner

Looking back, I'm reminded of how there must have been some moments in our parenting time that we did some things right.  We definitely raised a couple of very brave and confident girls.  They both are willing to take risks, some calculated, some not so calculated, but risks nonetheless.  They tend to see the bright side of situations.  They trust that things will work out, despite any bumps.  They both have great imaginations. Rachel's creative outlet is shared in her 3 year old's classroom, those lucky little kids.  Sarah is always creating or researching the arts.  Since Sarah is still at home, she shares her creativity with us.

Earlier this summer, Sarah announced she would be coloring her hair with Henna.  What the heck is henna?  When Rachel wanted to color her hair, we went to the hairdresser, and paid for the service and all turned out well.  I thought it was another passing "oh, that looks cool to do" phase.  That was until the transaction for the product is sitting in the shopping cart online, "Mom, can you help me, I need a credit card to finish the purchase."  So then, poor Sarah, gets the authoritative "MOM" in me on guard...I asked a ton of questions, which in turn, she had an answer for every question.  She had done her research very thoroughly.  There wasn't a question she couldn't answer.   She has also learned the craft of perfect timing, and deadlines that can't be changed.  "Mom can't say no when the schedule is all planned out."  Dang...three days later, the boxes arrived in the mail.  I'm thinking to myself, good for her, she's going to have a nice project to work on.  Frankly, I'm looking forward to seeing how she's going to pull this one off all by herself.  I thought maybe even her boyfriend was going to help her.  One bright sunny Saturday morning, she comes upstairs and says, "I have it all mixed and ready, can you help me mom?"   "WHAT????"  Oh, dear, now this is not what I was thinking was going to happen!  Not to break her heart, and remembering that I did help Rachel color her hair at home one time (the time before we chose the professional route).  I made her promise that she would still love me if it didn't turn out.  She agreed, and with a hug, I agreed to Sarah's project.  I say project, because it was an all day event!  The negotiator and peacemaker in Sarah helped me through the frustrating parts of the project.  Henna is WAY different than the product we used for Rachel.  Sarah's hair is also very long and very thick.  She remains happy with the outcome.  I'm just waiting to hear....it's time for a touch-up to the roots.  Overall, we had no idea how it was going to turnout, we took the risk, it turned out, and it was okay not knowing what would happen.

Before we began the process

Had to separate out all the sections,
this took a long time!

The end mess - we're not sure if
we really did have the mixture correct
or not, it was very clumpy

Wrapped hair, in which she had to sit
for 4 hours.  

Adding a little heat helps the product soak into
the hair

Now the fun part, taking off the plastic wrap
and begin the rinsing out of the product.

"Mom, don't worry, it's all natural, it won't clog
the drain."

Oh, man...I thought the application process
was messy....

Ewe....

Day 1 - yeah...she loves the color

Very pretty auburn color

I did wear gloves, but it still colored my fingers.

All the clips it took to separate the hair

Day 2, the auburn is setting in more.

Day two - 

Day two

Day three - the color remains and she
still loves it.  

Day three

Day three :-)