Using henna/indigo - how much liquid to use?

[Ginko]

I’ve used Lush brand caca henna blocks for a year and want to make the switch to pure henna and indigo.

I have purchased some henna and indigo powder and plan to try a 50:50 mix, or use more henna, to get a slightly darker and less orangey auburn. I will do strand tests for both the one-step and two-step methods. My question is: for the one-step method, do you add all the liquid (probably water this time round) for the whole mixture to the henna and wait for dye release? Or do you add the other half of the liquid with the indigo just before applying to hair? None of the guides I’ve read or even the instructions that came with my henna have made this clear. How much water do you even add in total to get a good texture? I plant to use 200g+ total powder.

I’m a bit nervous about moving from the relative safety of the Lush stuff, so any advice would be greatly appreciated

[The Ubiquitous]

You add enough water to the henna to make a mashed potato type texture. Do this by eye, there isn't a set amount. Go slow and if in doubt you are better making it slightly too thick.
Leave that to release. This varies depending on the type of henna but you'll know when you can put a little on your wrist and it leaves a *bright* orange stain after a couple of minutes.
This bit is optional but once I have dye release I freeze the henna mix, even if it's just over night. Apparently this causes the molecules to burst and makes the colour more red. It does seem to make the raj henna I use more red (of course that might just be me imagining it!). Gently defrost.
When you are ready, add a little more liquid to the dye released henna to make it into a thick yoghurt texture. In a separate bowl slowly add your liquid to the indigo powder. This should be like thick yoghurt too.
Immediately mix the indigo mix into the henna mix and stir really, really well.
The indigo releases immediately so once you've mixed it, you need to use it straight away. Only mix as much hendigo as you can use in say 20mins. If you'll take longer than that to put in on your hair you are better mixing one batch and then another mid dying iyswim
If you prefer it thicker/runnier just adjust the amount of liquid you add to the dye released henna.
Henna is a bit scarier than the Lush stuff but in my case the Lush stuff faded very quickly, was an absolute pain to wash out and I hated grating it! So overall henna powder is much easier!
Good luck! Would love to see the results.

ETA:
Oh, don't use boiling water. The henna may tolerate it but the indigo won't. You can't freeze indigo.
Before using indigo wash your hair but don't condition and
When rinsing out indigo, don't use conditioner. The conditioner affects indigo uptake.

[lapushka]

I always eyeballed it. You want a thick paste that you can smear on, not a drippy type texture. Like a good solid mashed potato, something that doesn't drab off your spoon when you hold it up but kinda sticks there, IYKWIM. It has to be just "runny" enough that it smears well on the head.

[Ginko]

Oh, don't use boiling water. The henna may tolerate it but the indigo won't. You can't freeze indigo.
Before using indigo wash your hair but don't condition and
When rinsing out indigo, don't use conditioner. The conditioner affects indigo uptake.

Ah, yes, I know you don't use boiling water like the lush. I'm wondering if the hot water is the reason it washes out quite quickly.

Hmm... good to know, but what would you use if you were doing a dual henna/indigo application to wash out? Or just indigo alone? Thanks for the tips!

[The Ubiquitous]

I've had a little bit too much whiskey so apologies but I'm not sure I understand what you mean?
Lush never even took on my hair.

ETA:
Oh, do you mean how do you wash hendigo or an indigo second step out?
I clarified before hand without conditioning. I just rinsed it out with water afterwards. Personally I don't like mermaid rinses although I appreciate that rinsing is a complete waste of water. Anyway I sort of gently scrunched and finger brushed my hair to get the stuff out. I didn't find it particularly grainy or anything. As long as I was gentle I didn't get a particularly above normal amount of hair loss.
My hair did feel a bit oily for the next few days (try to leave it a few days before you wash) but that was partly because I added coconut milk to my mix.

[Anje]

I tend to mix mine runnier, like pancake batter. But I also henna dry hair. If you're working with wet hair, you definitely need to start with a thicker mix to keep the drips down.

[Rhoward]

I've only done it twice so I'm no expert at all! But I understand your need for wanting an exact amount of water, I used commercial dye for years and always weighed everything exactly, so I kinda approach henna/indigo in the same way. I do a one step process for brown hair (I have pics in my album if you are interested)

I dye release 60grams of henna/cassia/amla mix with 3/4 cup of cold water for 12hours. Then just before applying I mix 40grams of indigo with 1/2 cup slightly warm water with 1/2 teaspoon salt in it, then mix it all together (I mix all of my herbs with my hand held electric mixer). It gives me a kind of runnier mix than most recommend but I find it easier to work with, its not runny enough to drip and I apply it on dry just clarified hair with no conditioner. I rinse it out with just water, air dry and don't touch it for 3 days. (these amounts are for my roots, I also mixed up a second batch to do my length)

Good luck, I have used Lush in the past and once I got over the fear of creating my own mix I find the BAQ stuff a lot easier to work with and it gives much better colour results that last longer. I'm sure its going to look awesome!

[Ginko]

Ah, sorry. I read that indigo doesn't dye well when mixed with hot water, and you need to boil the Lush blocks to make the mud. It could also be that the indigo isn't fresh, I guess. I could never get a dark brown that lasted with Lush Caca Brun.

What do you use to rinse out the henna/indigo mixture?

[Ginko]

I've had a little bit too much whiskey so apologies but I'm not sure I understand what you mean?
Lush never even took on my hair.

Ah, sorry. I read that indigo doesn't dye well when mixed with hot water, and you need to boil the Lush blocks to make the mud. It could also be that the indigo isn't fresh, I guess. I could never get a dark brown that lasted with Lush Caca Brun.

What do you use to rinse out the henna/indigo mixture?