hibiscus and color?

[twilight]

first i want to say thanks to LHC, again, because i would not have thought to put hibiscus tea in my hair if not for you. at my house it's the equivalent of southern iced tea, so now it has two uses!

anyway, my question is: has anyone noticed color changes as a result of using hibiscus?

i haven't seen anything about that (and found no reference to color here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=281760#post281760)) but something strange happened yesterday when i spritzed it into my hair. apparently some droplets fell into the bathroom sink and when they dried they had turned BLUE! as i am currently working to remove excess indigo from the lengths of my hair, the last thing i want is my leave-in mist to give it a blue tint.

anybody? i guess it also depends on how you use it--i am primarily concerned with leave-in treatments since i doubt(?) it would stain if only left on briefly and rinsed. TIA

[RavennaNight]

Blue? :confused: I know if you add hibiscus tea to your henna it makes it redder. Hibiscus tea, as per my understanding, makes redder. I use it in my henna, a strong hibiscus tea, 2 bags, in 1 over-the-line pyrex cup of water. Then I indigo over it so I dont know exactly what my point to doing it is, except that I want to keep a cool tone to the reds and blacks of my hair. Warm tones look strange on me.

[twilight]

yes, it was blue when i came back hours later and saw the stain in the sink. luckily it washed right out, but it did make me wonder... if i leave it in my hair, will i have a darker/bluer tint until i wash again? that's just not ok.

so it does make the henna redder, though. as in, less orange... i wonder if that is because of the acidity or its own staining power (adding blue tones)? hm.

[ktani]

Hibiscus, like a number of other plants (cranberries, blueberries), contains anthocyanins, which are pH sensitive. That means, depending on your water and what else you use with it, you can get various colours, ranging from violet to blue to red.

[twilight]

well then! maybe that wasn't such a great idea for my leave-in mist. apparently my water makes it go blue (though only when it dries--my tea is always a lovely red color).

thanks again, ktani.

[ktani]

well then! maybe that wasn't such a great idea for my leave-in mist. apparently my water makes it go blue (though only when it dries--my tea is always a lovely red color).

thanks again, ktani.

My pleasure. It has yielded red for others. It depends on the water mostly, I think. Hibiscus is quite acidic on its own.

[Heidi_234]

Hibiscus is kind of red with the bottled water i use to steep herbs, and when it meets my tap water it turns sort of dirty purple color. But my hair is too dark to show any color change.

[mellie]

It showed up as a reddish tint on my dark hair, and purplish on my white hairs.

FYI, it will stain your towels, clothes, rugs, etc...anything it comes into contact with, a purple that will NEVER go away. Ask me how I know this, haha!

[twilight]

lol, i don't think i need to!

thanks for the input, i will definitely not be using it as a leave-in... though giving a "red boost" to henna sounds fun.

on a tangentially-related note, i wonder (since it stains) if it could be used as a dye for fabric? hmm...:D

[mellie]

Absolutely, it would be a very pretty purple stain! My towels are permanently stained from it (from over a year ago!)