Henna Troubleshooting: Hive Mind, Help!

Hey, everybody!

I have a henna troubleshooting question for y'all. I did a full-head henna back in August 2013, then used Nightshade's sun-in lightening method to achieve the coppery color I was going for. It worked perfectly, and since then I have been doing roots-only applications of 65% cassia 35% henna.

Over the past few months, my husband and I both noticed that my hair was going less red and more brownish. I decided to do a full gloss with what was left of my stash to try to brighten things up. So today I did the gloss, and left it on for 2 hours. The color is definitely brighter, but I think it also went too dark. Here's the story in photos for you to work with (two posts, because there are a lot of them.)

Here's the color I started with:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd2cfac65.jpg
You can see that it isn't very coppery, more a golden brownish tone. I could still see the orange flair in direct sun, but I wasn't happy with indoors at all.

Here are the results of the henna gloss, in a variety of lighting:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0f1d9b27.jpg
Outdoors, direct sun

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps67bf481e.jpg
Outdoors, shade

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psaa458eef.jpg
Indoors, fluorescent lighting

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps6ef6983e.jpg
Indoors, indirect sunlight

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps737a014e.jpg
Indoors, indirect sunlight facing the other way

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps7d93d00e.jpg
Indoors natural light

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps8500fd99.jpg
Indoors sunlight

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps78e9d6a5.jpg
outdoor, direct sunlight. This is actually a beautiful color, but a shade off of what I'm after.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0e47e6a9.jpg
Outdoors, direct sun from further overhead.

continued in my next post.....

Henna troubleshooting, hive mind, part two!

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1f23f1e4.jpg
outdoors, indirect sunshine

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps72a1e8c2.jpg
Indoors, natural lighting (no bulbs on, no direct sun)

And, the all-important buns:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps49bb698a.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps62f54717.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps610c7ab8.jpg

So--it's definitely brighter, which I wanted most out of the wish list this go-around, and DH says it looks better. He is of the mind that I should try to Sun-in method again to get the color I'm really after:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psba780734.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...10/blength.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...2010/hair2.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...2010/hair1.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...0/SANY6061.jpg

So--as I said, the color is definitely brighter, but I'm worried that once it oxidizes, it is going to go too dark. DH thinks I can hit my goal color or very close to it using the Sun-in lightening method. But based on the last results, I'm worried about losing the redness to brown again if I do that. Would the honey lightening method work better, or perhaps a straight Cassia just to brighten everything? Based on these photos, what would you do to achieve the copper at this point? Help me, LHC Hive Mind, you're my only hope!

It's definitely a nice shade of a very light bright orangy red, especially in clear broad daylight, and that's the *only* light you should be viewing this in! :)

I'm confused, is that long copper hair yours in the last five pics? From the last round of sun-in?

I'd try the Sun in and then do a light gloss over it if it seems too blonde. Fwiw, honey lightening never did a thing for me.

Lapushka--I know, I know! lol But, sadly, I don't have my own personal, non-cancer causing sun to travel around with me and always shine on the hair. :laugh:

Leilani-- I'm sorry to confuse! The last several images in the second post--those with the long hair--are my hair prior to chemo. I'm trying to get back to that color and length. :)

Nightshade--I'll definitely keep that in mind, since our hair is so similar in nature. I've never tried honey lightening anyway, and the Sun-in method worked well last time--I'm just confused about why it faded so much; I've been doing full-strength applications to the roots for the past year so if anything, the top 1/3 should have been too red. :shrug: Crazy hair! :laugh:

So, perhaps it might be best for me to do the Sun-in, then glosses to build to my goal color, and then re-evaluate how to maintain the color. Although my hair is similar to what it was pre-shave, it seems to behave a little differently (probably a combination of aging and changes in the regrowth?) Looks like it's just going to take some time and tinkering to get there, but it's definitely worth it!