Possibly silly question(s) about henna

[Jimothea]

Soo...okay. *thinking* This is mainly about henna upkeep. If there's a link, please feel free to share!

I love red hair; LOVE it. I once had my hair this lovely copper-purple-cherry-fire-engine-all-at-once color, done at an Aveda salon. My stylist warned me that red hair pigments, just like red clothing in the wash, breaks down quickest of all the hair pigments, which means there's a lot of upkeep. She added that since I was blonde, this would be even more true. She was soooo right. I adored the color but couldn't do that constant upkeep...it literally was constant. Only cold water, only shampoos/conditioners/products with so much pigment they looked like blood in the tub, etc., etc., and it still faded to an awful orange, within about, oh, two weeks. When I finally gave up and went back to blonde, I had to get a botched brown dye job (from a not-so-fantastic stylist as the previous) and then when that was finally corrected I was a bleach blonde. I'm naturally a dark blonde, but my hair picks up reds and greens *VerY* easily...it just doesn't hold them long. So...

1.) Is this "red pigment breaks down quickly" rumor true of [straight] henna as well, or just commercial dyes?
2.) If it is true, how long does it take for the breakdown to begin? I know henna has to oxidize a few days to come to full color, so I'm guessing there's prolly a longer period of no-fading compared to commercial product??
3.) Again, if this is true for henna, how much will it fade to (bottom half of hair is very very very light blonde, virgin growth is a dark neutral blonde)? There seem to be so many facets to henna colors that if you say, "Oh, yes [straight]henna does fade--to copper, but no lighter," I would jump for joy and go for it once my hair gets longer.
4.) Say I do go for it, and then after a while I decide I want to go back to blonde, I'm guessing I would have to keep hennaing, but adding more of amla and cassia, and less of henna, per session until I get close enough to my natural color to cease, and then trim off whatever unwanted henna color I have. Is this correct?
5.) Can you do your eyebrows? lol. It looks pretty weird to have red hair and clear eyebrows, for the record. I would know....

Okay, I think that's all of my questions. So far I've been really leaning towards cassia, but it struck me today how much I looove some of these henna colors *sigh* Thanks ahead of time!

[ddiana1979]

1.) Is this "red pigment breaks down quickly" rumor true of [straight] henna as well, or just commercial dyes?

Henna is PERMANENT. Really and truly. Do a strand test before you dye, because provided you do everything correctly (and your hair doesn't have abnormal porosity or something), it will be there until it grows out. Sometimes the very first application isn't permanent, but it's still extremely long lasting.

2.) If it is true, how long does it take for the breakdown to begin? I know henna has to oxidize a few days to come to full color, so I'm guessing there's prolly a longer period of no-fading compared to commercial product??

Henna oxidizes within 2-4 days. It gets darker during that time period.

3.) Again, if this is true for henna, how much will it fade to (bottom half of hair is very very very light blonde, virgin growth is a dark neutral blonde)? There seem to be so many facets to henna colors that if you say, "Oh, yes [straight]henna does fade--to copper, but no lighter," I would jump for joy and go for it once my hair gets longer.

At least in my experience, when henna oxidizes, it gets darker, not lighter. There are some things you can do to get a lighter color (mixing it with cassia, leaving it on for a shorter time than indicated in the directions, glosses, etc.). You can come up with a mix that will give you copper (if you're a blonde and that's the color you desire), but again, that's where strand tests are going to be extremely useful.

4.) Say I do go for it, and then after a while I decide I want to go back to blonde, I'm guessing I would have to keep hennaing, but adding more of amla and cassia, and less of henna, per session until I get close enough to my natural color to cease, and then trim off whatever unwanted henna color I have. Is this correct?

There are ways of lightening henna. People here have reportedly had good luck with repeated applications of honey & Sun-In. If you use indigo, you're stuck with it, because any chemical lighteners (bleach, peroxide, etc.) tend to turn indigo a strange green color. Since you're asking about a copper color though, there would be no need for you to use indigo.

5.) Can you do your eyebrows? lol. It looks pretty weird to have red hair and clear eyebrows, for the record. I would know....

Yes, if you do so very, very carefully. E.g. put Vaseline on the skin surrounding your eyebrows, and use a Q-tip or something to lightly apply the henna mud. I've never gotten it in my eyes, but I'm sure it's not fun. Even if it's not toxic, it still has a slightly grainy texture, and I'm sure would be very irritating to the eyes. Remember it stains the skin too, so doing it on a day where you have the next day off might be best, in case it drips. ;) For me at least, it washes off of the skin after normal washing in a day or two.

ETA: If you do decide to use henna, please be sure to use BAQ (Body Art Quality) for your own safety.

[Francoise1606]

I am no expert but in my experience:

1. Henna does not fade if it it BAQ ( body art quality). Some other henna "mixes" like the lush caca rouge might fade a little ( it didn't on my hair, but I have heard others say this), but it will never disappear completely on it's own.
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4. That would be the least damaging way to do it. Henna is very permanent. Some people, including members of LHC have bleached the henna. You could only do this if you had not mixed any indigo in it and if the henna you used were pure henna (meaning that there were no metallic salts/sodium picramate in it).
5. although it is officially discouraged that you dye your eyebrows with some people have done it, on of my friends does it, and I have done it as well, but I was scared so I didn't leave it on long enough. If you do decide to dye your eyebrows, only apply the henna for maybe 10 minutes at first. You can always do it again, but if you leave it on for too long It might look kind of weird, especially if your natural eyebrows are very light, as the red dye will show up very orange.

I hopes this has helped at least a little.

P.S. If you don't want to take the plunge at do a full henna, since it is very permanent, might I suggest that you try a henna gloss at first? the colour will not be as strong as a full henna so it is less likely to become too dark accidentally.

[Jimothea]

Thanks for your responses!

ddiana-- My hair (at least the non-virgin growth) is ExtremelY porous. Extremely. What does that mean for henna? *preparing to search threads* Also, the dye used on my hair was permanent. Then again, it was commercial, so I figured there would be quite a bit of difference from it to henna...? Oh, and I know the henna will darken/strengthen as it oxidizes. I was meaning more like...*words..?* hmm, after the ][oxidized] henna is no longer "fresh," I guess. The orange look I had lasted eight weeks. Sadly, it did not fade. At all. =( lol. The full blown, pretty, lovely, deep multi-colored red only lasted about two weeks before it faded. That's why I mentioned copper, because a fade from a beautiful red to a beautiful copper would be fantastic...but a fade from a beautiful red to an awful orange...bleh! I'd actually rather go for a really strong red, if my hair will hold it and whatnot. Note to self: NO INDIGO! lol.

Francoise--> thanks for the info on ingredients to watch out for! And yeah, *sheepish look over shoulders* I know I'm not supposed to dye my eyebrows...lol..but I look like I have a flat face with big red hair if I don't, lol. Good tip on the time thing, better to go too little than too much, right? In regards to glosses, I was wondering about it, but I kind of assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that with a gloss I might end up with one color on the virgin growth and another on the old, bleached and worn out growth, whereas with full henna there might not be such a difference???

Again, thank you both so much for your tips and info!!