Henna on grey/white hair - any way to make it less bright?

[angour]

Hi All! I have a lot of white hair. Some of it is dispersed, but some of it is in wide strands and these glow bright orange in the daylight and in the sun. Previously I was coloring my hair with chemical dyes and now that I've switched to henna my white roots are starting to show and look horribly orange... :( I have tried multiple layers of henna, applying it like twice a week for 3 weeks or so, but nothing helps. Also, it seems to be washing out of my hair very fast, after a week I am back to super bright orange...

Would appreciate if anyone of you has some advise. I tried henna both from mehandi and from a local indian store. Same story...

Here are a couple of pics with flash. Looks much worse in the daylight:


http://lh6.ggpht.com/_fuepMRbjf-I/SYK-1mNRN6I/AAAAAAAAAvM/4I2SmIUXa-w/s400/CIMG1193.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_fuepMRbjf-I/SYK-8IuZ_WI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/DMP8rhoVNjI/s400/CIMG1185.JPG

[SimplyLonghair]

Others have added things like cassia to change the way that henna colors. I would go to the henna article Here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=7)

It will help answer alot of your questions.

[FallenAngel]

I have much gray/white hairs and.. I've not felt that it's problematic with them. I use indigo mixed with henna, and that takes the worst "kick" out of the orange. Obviously out of the full henna experience also, but I just have to live with that... :)

My grey/whites come out more golden than orange, and maybe that is because of the indigo?

[bsc]

Hello Angur,
I have dark brown hair like you with a lot of grey hair, specially on the top layer. I recently switch from chemical dye to henna+indigo and I am very very happy.
I do the two steps process. First I apply henna and leave it for about 2 hours. Then I apply the indigo and leave it for about 20 minutes.
My grey coverage is great, as good or even better than commercia dye. The color is totally natural, dark brown like my natural hair. I think you should try henna+indigo in two steps.
In this site you can find a book that tells you all about henna and indigo application (http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/)
I get my henna and indigo through the internet at this site (http://www.henna-boy.co.uk/). I think you are in Europe, so you should be able to get it from there too with no problem (I tried to buy it through a US site and have problems at customs, so better use a European site).
If you want to know more about how I apply my henna+indigo fell free to ask any question.
Regards,
Blanca

[mellie]

Yes, henna + indigo is the answer. I use Rainbow Dark Brown henna which is premixed and only takes an hour, works great and is quick and easy!

[Girltron]

If you like the plain henna on the rest of your hair, you can pre-treat your greys with a little indigo applied with a paintbrush. Then after you rinse it clean, you can do your normal henna root job.

It'll stick fine, though anything washes off of greys eventually so once or twice monthly applications would be recommended.

[angour]

Thanks for the replies. I realized that I forgot to mention that I do use indigo in my mix (50/50) but it does not seem to be doing much.... it does tone down the orange a bit at the beginning, but then I wash my hair a couple of times and the color is all gone and I am left with the ugly bright orange roots... :rolleyes:

I will try the two step process, maybe that will work better. Might also try Rainbow Dark Brown Henna to see if the result will be better

[Cersei]

You can also use buxus instead of the indigo. Your hair color looks like mine. I do 50/50 henna/buxus, and my white hairs are not too orange-they are close to a cinnamon color and they blend in well with the rest of my hair. The buxus seems to stick pretty well for me. Maybe a little bit of fading after about 4 or 5 weeks.

Also, make sure you are adding the indigo at the right time. It should be mixed with water and added to the henna just before applying to your hair, otherwise it may be too weak to do a good job of staining. Same thing for the buxus. I have also heard adding salt to indigo makes it work better.

[Celebrian]

If you like the plain henna on the rest of your hair, you can pre-treat your greys with a little indigo applied with a paintbrush. Then after you rinse it clean, you can do your normal henna root job.

It'll stick fine, though anything washes off of greys eventually so once or twice monthly applications would be recommended.


You know, I completely forgot about 'the Girltron' method! Must get round to it soon... :D

[Girltron]

ha ha, "The Girltron"! I must write an article.