Getting Henna to not fade away

[firicia]

Hello everyone. I am sitting here with a box of red hair dye wishing that henna would just work for me. I don't want to have to use chemicals.

A little background. I have used henna before but it just fades away and is not a very vibrant colour for me. I have seen pictures of other people, even people with my starting hair colour, get great results though.

I have tried different times, temperatures, types on Henna, different ingredients. I have a full sheet of this info with clips of hair on it even. Yet I found henna did not take to my hair very well.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is there anything I can do to help open my hair up to soaking up the henna colour? I use great quality henna from Henna Sooq (sp?). Should I maybe shampoo my hair first to open it up? I am just a little shocked at how chemical dyes work, but henna just washes out.

Thank you.

[firicia]

P.s. when you test on your hand for a stain should it be very bright? Mine always barely has any stain to it, but no amount of time seems to make the stain better.

[akilina]

Henna took pretty well to my length..but it never really built up or got awesome on my virgin roots at all. Especially on my roots..it was just bright orange and by the next time I used henna it was faded so badly that it never even built up even after 5 uses. So basically my roots were always bright orange..and my length was a nice deep really pretty red darkish color but even it wasn't really getting as saturated as I wanted it.

This is also one of the many reasons why I have stopped using henna. The cost was also getting to be too much...far more expensive than using normal dye for me. I only pay 4 dollars for a tube (lasts for 2 uses) and around 5 dollars for a big bottle of developer (lasts several months)

I also think that chemical coloring is not the worst thing..However I do not touch "boxed dyes" with a 10 foot pole. I think they are awful. I go and buy dye and developer. I also use a dye that seems to work really great for me..nearly no damage whasoever to speak of and its gentle. I am a bit spoiled though that I am licensed and get to go into the good store. I don't know that there is anything great I could recommend to you that you could buy :/

It sounds like you have tried it all...I'm not sure what the resolve is here Sorry to not be much of a help

[Kaelee]

I usually have a fairly bright/dark stain on my hand. I mix my henna with straight up lemon juice (this isn't advised anymore, but when I started using henna it WAS, and I've never had a problem so I still do it that way.) I usually let it sit in the bowl overnight, usually sometime around 18 hours.

[redsiren]

What was your recipe?
I found that EO lavender and cloves van enhance the colour stain.
And have you tried oiling youre hair on forehand?
Hope this helps a bit.

[redsiren]

And henna doesn't stain my skin at all so that shouldn't be the problem.
(I meant can not van)

[browneyedsusan]

I don't know what's going on. You could try putting some lemon juice in your mix to make the dye release window bigger, and henna your head overnight. Also, dye releasing and freezing will make it stain dark. It sounds like your dye isn't releasing properly. Since I'm a big nerd, I'd sacrifice a weekend, mix up about a tablespoon of henna and chart the dye release. Something like this: mix it up in tepid water and lemon juice. let it sit 6 hours. Test it on your palm every hour, take a picture and write down how dark it is. Keep records until it fades to yellow. (It could take a LONG time, maybe a couple of days before it fades out.) This will give a decent indication of when to expect optimal dye release. Then you could mix up the rest of the batch, and start testing on your palm a couple of hours before you expect the dye to peak. When it's nice and dark, put it in your hair and wrap it up. It would be great if you could time it so you'd be going to bed with henna in your hair and then let it soak in all night--lots of old towels over your pillow, of course!

[verylittlecarro]

May I ask a few questions?

Have you tried freezing the henna? I've found this is more reliable than waiting for dye release, as the freezing and defrosting process really seems to bust out the dye.
What is the longest you have kept the henna on your head for?
Do you start out with a red stain on your hair which then fades with washing, or is the henna not even staining from the start?

This is intriguing! I'm puzzled as to why this isn't working for you. I only do glosses using cheap conditioner and a tbsp or two of defrosted henna but the colour is very intense on both my dyed lengths and virgin roots. However I too don't always get a dark stain on my skin when I test.

[cmg]

It is difficult to help if I dont have more details of how you prepair your henna. Exact details. The devil is in the details you know :-) I have used some crappy henna in may days and always managed to get stain out of them (also nowadays when I have to cover my whites). Strand tests on the other hand always fail for me ... Some of the most common reasons for henna not taking is using shampoo or condish with lots of petroleum based or silicone based ingredients in them. Other very common sources for problems are that the henna was "killed" either by too hot water/tea/whatever or waiting too long and also things in the tap water, that cover the hair strands and the henna not being able to penetrate the hair in time. The timefactor also has issues that can be challenging in some cases. I need to know more about the producst you are using, your water, your routines and your method of preparation and application! I dont think ther is a hair that cannot take in henna dye, especially that there is plenty of dye in a paste.

/ CMG

[firicia]

Okay, so from the chart I kept I have tried as strand tests:

1) 30% henna, 60% Cassia, lukewarm chamomile tea, set for 6 hours room temp, not a good stain, 3 hours in a plastic bag in my pocket

2) 100% yemini Henna, lukewarm chamomile tea, set 24 hours room temp, slightly better stain on hand but still just a light orange, 3 hours in a plastic bag in my pocket.

3) 100% jamilia, lukewarm very strong chamomile tea, set 10 hours at room temp, brightest orange stain on palm of hand, 3 hours in a plastic bag in my pocket.

4) 30% yemini, 60% cassia, cold chamomile tea, set 23 hours, left in baggie for 6 hours

5) all of number 3 except used simulated hear while in the baggie the hair sample was in, left on 2.5 hours.

6) 30% jamilia 60% cassia, cold chamomile tea, set 23 hours, in baggie for 6.


These all under bright lights give varying degrees of a darker coppery red, none of them are very bright or vibrant though. When I put it on my head last my ends took to the colour well, the rest of my virgin hair however did not. I realized today the henna is still on my ends, but blends well with my light brown hair so it's really not bad looking or noticeable. But if I hold up my ends to the top of my head it's definitely red.

Now I am very curious about the shampoo comment.

"Some of the most common reasons for henna not taking is using shampoo or condish with lots of petroleum based or silicone based ingredients in them."

That is so interesting! Why is this so? I don't really know much about looking for special shampoos as I just have whatever is cheap at Costco. Maybe it was stripping the colour out. Hmm. Are there any good brands you suggest?

At the very least I think I am convinced that I need to leave it on over night. When I did my whole head for real, I could only last 3 hours and then the pain in my neck got to be too much.

When I was doing this before I was so obsessed with trying to get an orangy natural red head colour I was scare to do 100% of anything, or too long time wise, and also too scared to try doing henna on my whole head more than once due to hearing people talk about the colour darkening and looking bad. Now I just would love red hair, even if it doesn't look like a natural red head.

p.s. what do you ladies mean about freezing? Like, mix the henna and then freeze it right away, pull it out after a couple days, let it thaw and then use it?

Thank you everyone for your help. I really want to grow out my hair, but I really want it red too. Maybe if I give this a try again, with this new info, I may be able to find something that works for my stubborn hair after all.