Lightening my hair for henna

[yassi]

So, I've done henna twice, and my hair ends up nice and soft and shiny, but my hair is so dark that there isn't much of a color change.
Are there any suggestions for lightening my hair so that the henna will work better? (I really want my hair to have a visible red tint.)

[Heidi_234]

I hear you, I'm in the same situation. My hair is dark brown, and I hennaed it to full color saturation. The red only shows in the sunlight, and otherwise it just looks like unidentified dark mess of something. Hennaed hair is harder to lighten than virgin hair, and dark hair is harder to lighten as well. So no gentle method will work (although you'll welcome to try and experiment), at least not for me.

I tried honey lightening, hydrogen peroxide, sun-in and bleach. The honey lightening did nothing for me. To make the hydrogen peroxide work I needed to keep the hairball for over 10 hours in it - the results were very evident and so did the damage. The Sun-In, combined with blow-drier on the warm setting barely managed to lift even one shade after 15 applications. The bleach worked, but the damage was substantial.

I ended up resorting to bleaching just few streaks to sooth my desire for lighter hair. This is the result:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3508&pictureid=66820
This is as far as bleach could take it without completely melting off my hair. I suppose it would look much lighter if I did my entire hair, but the damage is just too great and will never actually do it. I love the streaks, but I love my length more. :)

[ktani]

So, I've done henna twice, and my hair ends up nice and soft and shiny, but my hair is so dark that there isn't much of a color change.
Are there any suggestions for lightening my hair so that the henna will work better? (I really want my hair to have a visible red tint.)

Honey lightening has been reported to lighten both dark shades of hair http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=457007&postcount=3341, and hennaed and henndigoed hair, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=654115&postcount=3919. Start with the first post of the thread, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148.

You can also try to boost the red of the henna you did by using diluted apple cider vinegar rinses that can add a red tint to hair. Although the tint does not usually show up on darker hair colours, it may show up a bit on your hennaed hair.

[Nat242]

I lighten my roots a shade or two before I henna. Henna doesn't take well on my new hair - I need to rough it up a bit first! I slather my hair with coconut oil, leave overnight, then spray my new growth with 10vol hydrogen peroxide, which I leave on for about an hour. I do this once or twice before each henna session, otherwise henna simply won't take well, even though my hair is not very dark (mid brown).

The coconut oil is reported to minimise peroxide damage (there's a big thread on this somewhere, starring ktani). So far I haven't noticed any change in my hair's condition, but that's probably also because I only do each section of hair a couple of times.

[ktani]

That is an option too. Thanks Nat242. Here is the thread, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495. The reports are all in the first post.

My blog post is an easy to read explanation of the thread, and the thread is linked in the post, http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html

[yassi]

looks like I may have to try peroxide then.... (neither lemon juice or honey have given me much in the way of results...) Do you know if they have it at wallgreens?

[ktani]

looks like I may have to try peroxide then.... (neither lemon juice or honey have given me much in the way of results...) Do you know if they have it at wallgreens?

How did you use the honey? There are no reports in the Honey thread from you or questions. No problem. I will be happy to help if I can.

You can buy 10 volume peroxide at a beauty supply outlet or Sun-In at Wal-Mart. 3% peroxide is 10 volume too.

[yassi]

I mixed the honey with water, and then left it on my hair for a few hours. I'll probably take a look in the honey thread and see other ways of using honey before I try peroxide. Particularly because it would be a pain to GET peroxide in the first place.

[ktani]

I mixed the honey with water, and then left it on my hair for a few hours. I'll probably take a look in the honey thread and see other ways of using honey before I try peroxide. Particularly because it would be a pain to GET peroxide in the first place.

Check your recipe against the new dilution ratio and see if any of the boosters may interest you. It is about keeping the hair very wet during the treatment too. I always reply to questions if needed.

Peroxide is easy to get. Drugstores carry it.

[Alex Lou]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that peroxide is very damaging. To get a big difference, you are going to want to reach for the bleach blonding stuff that comes it a box like all the commercial hair dye. It is less damaging for the effect. Or go to a salon. If you're worried about interactions with the henna, just make sure to get body-art quality henna.

[ktani]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that peroxide is very damaging. To get a big difference, you are going to want to reach for the bleach blonding stuff that comes it a box like all the commercial hair dye. It is less damaging for the effect. Or go to a salon. If you're worried about interactions with the henna, just make sure to get body-art quality henna.

It depends on the peroxide source. Naturally produced peroxide from honey and the honey lightening boosters is protected from being damaging by natural constituents in the ingredients.

These same constituents can protect the hair from the damage of conventional peroxide and bleach (if neither are used to excess) by a pre-treatment of coconut oi and argan oil, with conventional dye and lightening products (peroxide and bleach) applied over them.

Read all of the first post here, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495.

My blog post, http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html.

[Alex Lou]

Oh, sorry. I wasn't talking about honey. Just if you go and buy a bottle of peroxide . . .

[ktani]

Oh, sorry. I wasn't talking about honey. Just if you go and buy a bottle of peroxide . . .

Same principle, different peroxide.

[Heidi_234]

Oh, sorry. I wasn't talking about honey. Just if you go and buy a bottle of peroxide . . .
Alex I'm inclined to agree - peroxide and bleach change the color by changing the hair structure. The damage might not be noticeable at first, but eventually processed hair will probably wear out faster than untouched hair due to tampered (to the worse) structure. I think it's a consequence that those who do it are willing to deal with. With gentle hair care routine and a lot of TLC, it might not be an issue even in extra long hair. JJJ (aka LadyLongLocks), used Sun-In (which is peroxide) on her roots for many years and still does, and her hair is knee length(!) with the ends still in tact.