I used henna when I was in my late 20's. I had an outstanding hairdresser, so it looked wonderful. He mixed it with coffee of all things. My natural hair had some red anyway, so he used something very close to that. I started getting a natural white streaking my late teens. We kept that natural, because I liked it. In any case, henna won't cover most gray hair. It tends to look pink - and not in a good way.

Henna is Lawsonia inermis. It is often mixed with other plants to form the many colors of what we call henna. It changes the texture of the hair somewhat, which is what the people who use clear henna want. The results depend on the combination of natural hair and henna color. The henna fades naturally, so there isn't the issue with roots that one has with permanent color. If the hair is damaged or has already been treated with chemicals, be sure to go to an experienced colorist. There was one downside for my hypersensitive nose. Since it's a plant, it smelled like a pasture the first day or so.

My redheaded sister uses it and LOVES it. That's all I know. ;)

I wouldn’t.

I go to a Kevin Murphy salon. All natural products for coloring hair.

She can everything she wants done using these products.

But.....just because a salon carries Kevin Murphy doesn’t mean they color with it as well. So that question needs to be addressed.

I used henna a lot in my younger days. LOVE it. It's the best hair care product out there, IMHO. However, the downside is it is very, very messy to use, and if you get it on clothing and towels, rugs, etc. it will stain. That's the main reason I don't use it much anymore, the mess of applying it and rinsing it out. Not only does henna color your hair, it fills in the cracks, splits and rough spots on the hair shafts so your hair is fuller, more body, and smoother. The only downside is because it makes your hair stronger, if you try and get a perm soon after a henna treatment it will make your hair resistant to the perm chemicals and it won't "take" as well, or in a spotty fashion. When I used to do both perms and henna, I would alternate and do the henna well after I had the perm and it had "set" onto my hair. And vice versa, I would wait until the henna had worn down a bit before getting a perm. I never had too much trouble with it.

The fabulous thing about henna is it fades gradually and doesn't wear off on clothing or combs and brushes like other temporary colorings. However, it is not super, super bright, it's subtle. Also, I'm not sure if you were a swimmer how henna would interact with the chlorine. I have never been a pool swimmer until just very, very recently.

Henna smells a tad "earthy" which you may not like. I always mixed mine with some powdered cloves and cinnamon, which also impart the tiniest coloring. Some use tea or coffee. Really not needed, all of those things are much, much weaker dyes than the permanent color you will get with henna but they do mask the smell somewhat. However, there is neutral henna too, which just imparts shine. Even if you don't get the color results you want, the shine is quite noticeable. In my youth I was known for my shiny hair, and that's because I always used henna and henna shampoo. Also you can play around with the colors to find a mix you like. A bad result isn't that earth shakingly noticeable, IMHO but YMMV.

BTW, I am a chestnut brunette naturally, so the henna just enhanced the colors I already had going on.

I agree with Ipinkmountain. In my younger years I had very long thick brunette colored hair. I would treat myself to a henna and come out of the hairdressers with silky hair that would just shine a fantastic burgundy colour when the sun hit it. I was told it was actually good for your hair unlike the traditional hair dyes of the time.