Need help from the experienced !! Indigo / Caca Brun ???! Questions and confusion...

[Tia2010]

I have a few questions I was hoping you all could help me with. I know there are many henna users here and there seems to be a good amount or Indigo/hendigo users too , so I thought I would ask for help sorting this all out in my mind.:)

I have been reading the articles section and using the search bar but while there is alot on henna and henna glosses , there just isn't as much that I can find on Indigo or Caca Brun. I have read alot of the post and think I may have a grasp on it but wanted to be sure.

So I will just ask some questions for clarification and hopefully get a better understanding.

I know I don't want to do just henna because I usually try to cover my red ! While I don't mind the red undertones I naturally have, I don't want my hair really red and I know that's my only choice with henna and it's permanent.

So my questions:

Hendigo / Indigo......
1. Is hendigo mixed with a much higher ratio of indigo than henna just as permanent as henna only ? I'm assuming , yes.

2. If it does fade does it fade evenly or does the darker indigo color fade first leaving behind just the henna red ?

3. If I use just indigo on my hair ( which is not virgin , it has been dyed in the recent past but never hennaed) without first doing henna , it will not stick , right?

Glosses.....
1. I read alot about glosses and from what I am understanding I don't think I can do a pure indigo gloss (or just add indigo to conditioner) to get a temporary darker color on my non hennaed hair. It will not stick , correct?

2. I also read that using straight indigo ( with no henna or anything) will go blue or even green on non hennaed hair , is that correct?


Caca Brun.....
1. I was considering trying this because I want a nice deep chocolate color , but again is it permanent like henna or does it fade like a semi dye would?

2. Does it give a nice warm chocolate or does it go more cool or does that depend on which one you pick?

3. Will it take OK over dyed hair or would that be a problem?

4. Can I use this as a gloss on my hair?

Manic Panic .......
1. If Indigo and Caca Brun are permanent and a indigo or Caca brun gloss don't work for me .. how about Manic panic? Does using a darker color of manic panic do any damage to your hair or does it just fade like a semi dye would?

Thanks for reading all that :D I really would love to do a deep brown and I don't mind my natural red as a base to that , but I'm really at a loss as to how I achieve it without using regular dye which I want to stop using.


Thanks :D Any advice?

[caribou55313]

1. Is hendigo mixed with a much higher ratio of indigo than henna just as permanent as henna only ? I'm assuming , yes.
Once indigo takes well, it's even more permanent than henna because you can't remove it even with bleach. Before that, it may fade.

2. If it does fade does it fade evenly or does the darker indigo color fade first leaving behind just the henna red ?
Usually the indigo fades, leaving the henna behind.

3. If I use just indigo on my hair ( which is not virgin , it has been dyed in the recent past but never hennaed) without first doing henna , it will not stick , right?
Usually indigo will not stick well without henna in the hair or in the mix. Lately I did an indigo gloss on my previously hennaed length. I tried to not let it get on the blonde/gray roots but some did, of course. They looked very, very slightly greenish until the first shampoo. So it didn't seem to stick, no, just temporarily. The indigo faded from the hennaed length in a couple of weeks as well. This was the first indigo gloss on this hair, though. With repeated use it may stick better.

Glosses.....
1. I read alot about glosses and from what I am understanding I don't think I can do a pure indigo gloss (or just add indigo to conditioner) to get a temporary darker color on my non hennaed hair. It will not stick , correct?

2. I also read that using straight indigo ( with no henna or anything) will go blue or even green on non hennaed hair , is that correct?
see answer above :) It probably won't stick well ... but ya never know ... if it does stick, it's green so it may not be very attractive.

[jeanniet]

Hendigo fades very quickly on my hair, leaving the henna behind. Doesn't seem to matter what the ratio of indigo to henna is. It doesn't usually last more than three weeks, and that's with washing once a week with either baking soda, CO, or an herbal rinse. Adding salt to the mix is supposed to help it stick, but it doesn't for me. I mostly notice the fading on my greys, which are pretty dye resistant, but it fades all over as well. The degree of fading seems to depend on the individual, so the only way to know for sure is to try it. A two step process may stick better, but that's just too much work for me.

Caca brun is essentially hendigo, so the potential for the indigo fading is the same there.

[Tia2010]

Sorry I posted in the wrong section :o

[Tia2010]

Given all that info I think I will take some more time (and do lots of strand tests) to see if it's something I really want to do. I do love that rich dark color but I guess I'm a little afraid of the commitment . :D

[ddiana1979]

I can only comment on the henndigo part, because that's what I have experience with.

Hendigo / Indigo......
1. Is hendigo mixed with a much higher ratio of indigo than henna just as permanent as henna only ? I'm assuming , yes.

Usually the first time you henndigo, the indigo fades a little (or at least it did for me). After you do a couple/few applications, it's just as permanent as henna. Possibly, depending on how you look at it, even more permanent, because you can't go to a salon & have henndigo bleached/peroxided out. . . it will turn green.

2. If it does fade does it fade evenly or does the darker indigo color fade first leaving behind just the henna red ?

The first time I did a henndigo treatment, the indigo faded faster, so even though my hair was still dark, dark brown, I had red highlights in the sun. I actually thought it was rather pretty.

3. If I use just indigo on my hair ( which is not virgin , it has been dyed in the recent past but never hennaed) without first doing henna , it will not stick , right?

Correct. It *may* stick slightly, but it won't make your hair brown, unfortunately. Unless you have really dark hair, it may temporarily turn into a weird green/blue color.

If you want to take some of the guesswork out of it, you can try: Rainbow Research Henna in Dark Brown (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=rainbow+henna&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5324409524102786887&ei=GIERTYvdEoO8lQe7ioniDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEQQ8wIwBA#ps-sellers). There are several of us who used it to ease into doing our own henndigo mixes. It lasts longer than Caca Brun (I reapplied every 8-10 weeks, and eventually just did roots. . . I hear Caca Brun only lasts about a month or so), and it gives a really beautiful dark brown color with little to no red undertones. If you want even less red, you can mix it with black coffee instead of water (per the instructions with the kit). There are some reviews on it in the "Natural Product & Ingredient Reviews" on the website. Most people I know who use/d it, including myself, were very pleased. Mellie has a picture up in the reviews section. . . my hair turned out nearly exactly the same shade. I would definitely use it again if I were in a hurry and didn't want to do my own mix.

[Tia2010]

I can only comment on the henndigo part, because that's what I have experience with.

Hendigo / Indigo......
1. Is hendigo mixed with a much higher ratio of indigo than henna just as permanent as henna only ? I'm assuming , yes.

Usually the first time you henndigo, the indigo fades a little (or at least it did for me). After you do a couple/few applications, it's just as permanent as henna. Possibly, depending on how you look at it, even more permanent, because you can't go to a salon & have henndigo bleached/peroxided out. . . it will turn green.

2. If it does fade does it fade evenly or does the darker indigo color fade first leaving behind just the henna red ?

The first time I did a henndigo treatment, the indigo faded faster, so even though my hair was still dark, dark brown, I had red highlights in the sun. I actually thought it was rather pretty.

3. If I use just indigo on my hair ( which is not virgin , it has been dyed in the recent past but never hennaed) without first doing henna , it will not stick , right?

Correct. It *may* stick slightly, but it won't make your hair brown, unfortunately. Unless you have really dark hair, it may temporarily turn into a weird green/blue color.

If you want to take some of the guesswork out of it, you can try: Rainbow Research Henna in Dark Brown (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=rainbow+henna&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5324409524102786887&ei=GIERTYvdEoO8lQe7ioniDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEQQ8wIwBA#ps-sellers). There are several of us who used it to ease into doing our own henndigo mixes. It lasts longer than Caca Brun (I reapplied every 8-10 weeks, and eventually just did roots. . . I hear Caca Brun only lasts about a month or so), and it gives a really beautiful dark brown color with little to no red undertones. If you want even less red, you can mix it with black coffee instead of water (per the instructions with the kit). There are some reviews on it in the "Natural Product & Ingredient Reviews" on the website. Most people I know who use/d it, including myself, were very pleased. Mellie has a picture up in the reviews section. . . my hair turned out nearly exactly the same shade. I would definitely use it again if I were in a hurry and didn't want to do my own mix.


Thank you for the reply :) I love the dark brown color and I don't mind red undertones , I've had them my whole life so I'm use to them. I think I'm just more afraid of the commitment of using hendigo which is weird because I have had dark hair for oh , about 10 years now :rolleyes: so you think I wouldn't have a problem committing to the color :D I think just knowing I can't change it makes me a little nervous. Then I do the "I wonder if I should go blond ( or pink on a really crazy day)" question in my mind.....although in all reality its been years so I higly doubt I'm going back to blond ( or pink) anytime soon :D .