henna mixing question

[Brat]

Hey all! My henna, alma, and indigo arrived today! woot!! Wondering if I can mix the henna and amla tonite, put it in the freezer tomorrow morning, then thaw and mix the indigo and use tomorrow nite? Think that would work? I heard the henna is more intense after freezing. Anyway, any thoughts are greatly appreciated!!

I promise to post pics! :cheese:

[rach]

yeay pics.
i found my henna turned very quickly with my luke warm camomile tea which is confusing because people say it takes 8/12 hours to turn (mushy green to brown). worked any how and i froze the rest for later use.
so -

Wondering if I can mix the henna and amla tonite, put it in the freezer tomorrow morning, then thaw and mix the indigo and use tomorrow nite?
can't see why not

[joyjoy]

I find if you're going to freeze the henna mixture, you don't have to wait for dye release before doing so. I just throw 100g of henna into a bowl, then add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of distilled water, then mix it for a minute with an electric hand mixer. I let it sit for about 20mins, to let the henna powder soak up the water, then I add some more water if the mixture is too thick and mix again till smooth, then pour into some ice cube trays. I wrap the trays in plastic wrap, then put into the freezer. It'll be frozen by the next day, and when the cubes are thawed, the dye is nice and intense.

[kdaniels8811]

Are you going to strand test so you know what to expect? My hair is 50/50 henna/indigo with a tablespoon of alma thrown in but my starting hair color is darker than yours. Or have you henna'ed before and know what to expect? I love what it does for mine, especially love the color which actually sticks around, does not fade like commercial dyes. Yay, hennaheads!

[Brat]

Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and mixed the henna, I've got it covered with a bag and in another bag in the fridge. I used cold water and a few squirts of lime juice, as I didn't have any lemon. Think I'm going to go ahead and move it to the freezer!

My plan is to take it out of there and leave it on the counter at lunch, maybe a 4 hour thaw would be ok? Then I'll wash my hair, get it mostly dry, mix the indigo, add it to the henna and go to town. Sound like it would be ok?

I don't think I'll strand test, I'm very open to whatever it will look like. In case my roots get crazy, I have another "dark brunette pack" that I can use if I need to. I'm very excited! Hubby went to work, so I won't have his help with all this. Might have to find a couple of mirrors....

If I find it's not very red, wonder how an all henna application later would look. Oooh the possibilities!!

[CopperHead]

:)Sounds like you have a plan! You can always do a straight henna later if it isn't red enough for you. Give it a week or two to see if the indigo fades first. Good luck and have fun!

[HennaMuse]

yeay pics.
i found my henna turned very quickly with my luke warm camomile tea which is confusing because people say it takes 8/12 hours to turn (mushy green to brown).

That's because you used warm tea. Both using a warm liquid to mix and using a non acidic liquid cause it to release quicker, and to poop out quicker. If you use that mix again in the future, plan on applying it not much more than a few hours after mixing.

jen

[sibylla]

Indigo has almost emediate dye release (after that the color doesn´t stain) and works best in cold water. Henna has a lot longer dye release time.

[Brat]

Well, the mud is in the hair. I'm not sure how even my coverage was, it's really not too easy getting it in there! Every time I put some in, a few flops would fall right back out. I've never made such a mess in my life! That was an experience, for sure. Bunch of long green dreadlock looking things hanging out of my head! But, I managed to get it all piled up on top and covered, so keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out all right!

[Shermie Girl]

That's because you used warm tea. Both using a warm liquid to mix and using a non acidic liquid cause it to release quicker, and to poop out quicker. If you use that mix again in the future, plan on applying it not much more than a few hours after mixing.

jen


I didn't have that experience. Henna gave me lightening fast dye release, whether I used acid or not. I never had to leave my henna to stew more than an hour or two. And the power of the dye lasted equally long, acid or not. :)

[Brat]

I appears to have worked! I got the mud out (holy CRAP I've never seen such dark bathwater) and it was rough trying to get all the tangles out. The hair on my brush afterwards is significantly darker than the stuff that was there already. I'm letting it air dry tonite, cause my scalp is sore as all get out due to all the attention. Too tender, irritating cause it gets sore with the brush/dry/flat iron too!

Oh, and I dig the musty hay scent!
Anyway, I'll post pics in the morning!

[Brat]

Oh, another question... as I was brushing it over the sink, there were red drips and green drips on the sink... I shampoo'd it twice with a crappy cone-free color care shampoo and once with aussie hair insurance shampoo, then conditioned it with another aussie one (don't remember the exact name.) Should I be concerned that I didn't get it all out? That I didn't mix the indigo and henna paste enough?

[tabitie]

May the force be with you! We can't wait to see pix. I think others get the grit out with massive amounts of cheap conditioner.

[Brat]

Photobucket won't let me resize it, so I'm sorry if it's too big.

Before henndigo:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/hrsepwrbrat/IMG_2592.jpg

[Brat]

Here is after 1/3 henna, 2/3 indigo for 2 hours:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/hrsepwrbrat/IMG_2605.jpg