Are you picky about the % of lawsone content and type of henna?

[JLeighs]

I am. Right off the bat I got the perfect shade of henna on my hair when I started it a year ago. Of course, when I went to re-order, that one was out of stock and nothing they had came close to that percentage, and the vendor didn't list what type of henna it was. I spent 2 weeks scrambling for a replacement, but the lawsone was still higher than my original one. I also won't use anything but Jamila. I need the coppery color. Anything heading towards burgundy makes my skin look sallow/yellow. My best friend and I do each other's henna every 5-6 weeks, and she uses Rajasthani which gives her a beautiful burgundy. Last time we experimented and used my Jamila on her because the lawsone content was higher. We assumed that it would be deeper and richer because of that. Nope. Her hair got the copper flair instead of the burgundy flair. I was surprised because I thought an additional layer of higher lawsone content henna would simply increase the burgundy, but the result was copper instead. Another application of Raj fixed things, thankfully.

[MissAlida]

You were smarter than me. I got my first henna right, just the right color, low die content irani henna. Last week I couldn't find it, and bought a high lawsone content indian henna. My hair ended up turning burgundy from auburn. My skin is olive, so, just as you said it, it looks yellow with burgundy hair. I am still trying to tame it with soaps and whatnot. It was a big mistake. Next time I'm only buying the one I can trust. And I think I'm scared enough to not put it on straight, but only do glosses. I learned the hard way.

[ellen732]

This is really interesting and I am glad you posted this. I have been using henna for a couple of years now. I started with Yemeni and moved on to Rajasthani. I figured when I ran out I would try the Jamilia just because of the high dye content in last year's crop and my need to cover gray, but copper tones would never work with my skin tone. It looks like I will be staying with the Rajasthani.

[JLeighs]

You were smarter than me. I got my first henna right, just the right color, low die content irani henna. Last week I couldn't find it, and bought a high lawsone content indian henna. My hair ended up turning burgundy from auburn. My skin is olive, so, just as you said it, it looks yellow with burgundy hair. I am still trying to tame it with soaps and whatnot. It was a big mistake. Next time I'm only buying the one I can trust. And I think I'm scared enough to not put it on straight, but only do glosses. I learned the hard way.

I don't know if you saw my tea tree oil thread, but it stripped a ton of henna from my hair. I had been doing roots-only after the first henna application, but when I noticed that after a year my henna had significantly faded, I did another full application. I shouldn't have left it on as long as I did. It was too dark. Thankfully it wasn't burgundy, but it was still too dark. It's just perfect now after using the TTO mixed with shampoo several times.

This is really interesting and I am glad you posted this. I have been using henna for a couple of years now. I started with Yemeni and moved on to Rajasthani. I figured when I ran out I would try the Jamilia just because of the high dye content in last year's crop and my need to cover gray, but copper tones would never work with my skin tone. It looks like I will be staying with the Rajasthani.

Yeah, I will stick with Jamilla and try to stay within a certain range of lawsone %. If there comes a time when the lawsone % is too high, I will reduce the amount of time I leave it on. I did not think there would be such a significant difference in tone between different hennas, but there sure was on my friend's hair.

[rock007junkie]

I started with Jamila which was ok but once I tried Red Raj I knew this was the one I would get for as long as I could. Love the way it covers my greys

[curly girl fla]

I've done full-head hennas for years now. I've used Jamila, Raj, Red Raj, Yemeni, herbal henna mixes-you name, I think I tried it. And it is so true-every time I go back to my cheap but reliable Jamila, I get the coppery/orange tones I love. It does seem lighter despite the constant applications. It's nice to know that the shade can vary even on my naturally dark auburn-brown hair. I also don't have a ton of grey-just at one part of my hairline, but I think they have all done equally well covering them.

[PixxieStix]

My first henna was the Yemen Light stuff from Mehandi (hennaforhair.com), and I LOVE the red/copper shade I got with it, but they've been out for forever! I try to say around 1% lawsone content, but have been floundering a bit as the stuff I buy never seems to be super consistent, so my next "batch" I purchase is going to be a kilo or two, because you can tell every inch or so of hair, if you look really close, is a slightly different color from the inch above and below from switching so much. No more I say!

[MissAlida]

JLeighs Thanks for the TTO tip. I've done two soap bar treatments, and find that my hair got less burgundy and more coppery. It still has too much red in it for my liking, but it's not as bad as it was before. I'm going to do another soap or two, and if it doesn't get me where I want, I might try the oil.