Natural Hair: Cassia Auriculata for Hair (Review)

Hey Curlies,

I finally got time to experiment with my organic Cassia Auriculata powder and it definitely left a good impression!

What is Cassia Auriculata?


Cassia comes from a plant and is not a form a henna although they look similar. The leaves are grind into a powder to what you see on many natural and Ayurvedic websites. This powder is usually called "neutral henna" because it has the same effects but does not release a dye on dark hair. Gray hairs will usually turn gold.

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What are the benefits?


Like henna, cassia has similar benefits and serves as a conditioning agent.

It adds shine, thickens and strengthens hair. Many have said they've experienced less shedding and less breakage after using cassia.

For the scalp it provides anti-fungal properties that help relieve an itchy scalp and dandruff. The benefits usually last for about a month.



What are the side effects?


Some women have claimed cassia turning their hair green or loosening their curl pattern, however I did not experience any of this during my treatment. (Read below for my review)

cassia for natural hair

My process

Here is what my hair looked like before I began:
A little crazy...haha
I washed my hair using an all-natural shampoo bar before starting.

Here are the items I used:
cassia for deep conditioning

The dying brush was used to apply the mix directly to my scalp.

To create the paste I combined 100g of Cassia, 1 cup of warm water,1/2 cup of aloe vera gel and 1/3 cup of Africa's Best Herbal Oil. I mixed until I got a pancake-like batter. The aloe vera gel and oil added more moisture to the treatment.
Cassia for natural hair
(Left) Powder without other ingredients. (Right) Final mix

I applied the mix to both my hair and scalp then covered my hair with a plastic cap for 1 hour. I then rinsed for what seemed like years to be sure it all was washed away.

cassia obovata on curly hair


Similar to a protein treatment, it must be followed up with a deep conditioner because it leaves hair dry. I used Dominique's Best Shea Butter Conditioner. The conditioner sat on my hair for about an hour.

My Review

This process was very similar to when I did my rhassoul and australian pink clay mask a few months ago. I did not experience permanent green hair nor did my hair color change at all. My hair texture did not loosen, if anything I noticed my curls seem more defined and popped a little more.

I did experience the drying effect after rinsing but following up with a deep conditioner gave me amazing results. I didn't expect the dark green color(of the cassia) lol but I went with it. One thing I did not like about cassia is the smell. It smells like strong freshly-mowed grass! Once I deep conditioned the smell disappeared.

Overall I would definitely do this treatment again. The only thing that would stop me is time. This process is very time consuming but worth it.
Right after washing out the cassia mix
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I purchased my cassia from Butters-n-bars.com