not enough indigo

[Wahinee]

I was lucky enough to get the last box of indigo at the store today. I've never used it before. I want to do a 2 step process for black hair.

I have 100 g of indigo. My hair is hip length and I usually use 250 g of henna

I want to add other powders to the indigo to stretch it out. I have amla, orange peel, and fenugreek.

Will the mix cause a bad reaction or dilute the color too much?

[Anje]

I don't think it's likely to cause a bad reaction (having not actually tested any of this...), though you should be advised that indigo is generally said not to appreciate acid. Orange peel might be suboptimal, and I might go for the amla since it's also associated with hair darkening.

It might dilute the color substantially and leave you with a redder/browner result rather than black. But if you normally henna, you're probably used to it being reddish and won't object horribly.

Let's see... people often add a pinch or two of salt to their indigo to help it stick. It should smell kinda like peas. And it doesn't spread nicely the way henna does. Something with mucilage (fenugreek, not sure about the others) might help that last point, actually.

Let us know how it goes!

[jeanniet]

Isn't amla also somewhat acidic? I may be thinking of something else.

[red-again]

Amla is acidic, yes. I also find it pushes towards brown.
You could make a watery mix of just indigo ( not really watery per se, but much thinner than normal soak it into all your hair and then wrap well. It will drip horribly so try and keep your head as upside down as poss(!) maybe a mattress on the floor with your head over the top edge?
I've done this method before and it is one way of ensuring the blacky tones indigo brings are as black as poss. It isn't ideal but when you only have a bit of indigo...and at least it doesn't need to be on hours like henna!

[Eireann]

What do you mean that indigo doesn't like acid? I have been using Rainbow Henna Persian Dark Brown, which is a henna/indigo mix, and I have been mixing it with an acid (either ACV or citric acid.) Should I not do that? I have found that the indigo bleeds pretty badly every time I shower. Is this because of the acid? Thanks in advance. I appreciate all the wisdom I get here!

[Anje]

What do you mean that indigo doesn't like acid? I have been using Rainbow Henna Persian Dark Brown, which is a henna/indigo mix, and I have been mixing it with an acid (either ACV or citric acid.) Should I not do that? I have found that the indigo bleeds pretty badly every time I shower. Is this because of the acid? Thanks in advance. I appreciate all the wisdom I get here!

Unfortunately, I don't have the strand tests to show it... Possibly an myth propogated on the internets? In any case, even Mehandi.com says to mix indigo powder with water, and they seem to think that you need to mix henna with lemon juice.

In any case, you can safely mix your mix with warm water instead. Acid makes it incredibly drying (at least, for me it does!) and if anything it slows the dye release of the henna compared to water.

[red-again]

Exactly that ^^
I used to use lemon juice in my henna but the went to just water. I get dye release in an hour with the water whereas lemon juice took up to 12 hours. So that alone is a great benefit and makes hennaing more spontaneous!
I do a two step so water to mix the henna then when ready for indigo, mix with water and a teaspoon of salt.
Ideally, if you are doing a one step you'd have a bowl of dye released henna then a bowl of freshly prepped indigo and mix them together just before you apply them. In a situation where the two plant powders are combined in powder form, your best option would be to follow the middle ground for both powders, so just water, no lemon /acid for the henna side and no salt / alkaline for the indigo.
Indigo is a funny plant, can rinse out etc. in your case I'd say it may be worth trying it in two powder form and combining to see whether it lasts longer.