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Thread: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

  1. #1
    Member Friesiangirl's Avatar
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    Default I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    I was born into a family of redheads. I am one out of two "brown-heads" in a generation of 30 children, 28 have flame red hair. My mom also has red hair, as does her sister. But me? Noooo... I got a very pleasant dark dark blond, with red undertones. Whenever I dyed my hair, no matter the color, it turned a red color. I'm okay with that, because it always looked great...

    So I am choosing to embrace my inner redhead. The lower part of my hair is chemically dyed, but it's from December of last year, and from what I have read, I should be okay. It's near the color of my real hair color, actually, just a tad more red.

    I have shoulder length hair, and I want it. I think I'll do a strand test with 100% henna.

    I want it red red, but not to a fake extent. If it's a tad orange, that's okay. In fact, I'm fairly flexible.

    I do have brown eyes, but I am fairly fair and I have some freckles so I think it'll look natural.

    So, I read that I will need 75g, so how much will that cost? Where should I get it?

    What else do I need?

    Thank you
    If you pretend to feel a certain way, the feeling can become genuine all by accident.
    -Hei

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    spring nymph prosperina's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    I buy my henna from hennaforhair.com The good thing about this henna is it is BAQ. Meaning body art quality, a very fine sift, the exact kind of henna that is used on the skin for temporary tatoos. There is a henna article, written by our very own, very knowledgable Nightshade, and this should clear up any questions you have about henna.

    Also, you might want to think about what color of red you want. I have medium blond hair and pure henna made my hair go very cherry colored. A nice *red* color, yes, but not altogther natural looking. I suggest you add in a little cassia obovata (it's a weak yellow dye that can tone down the cooler tones that come about with too much henna) to your henna mix. That way if you want a strawberry blond or a copper color, you have a better chance of getting it. The website I listed above (not the only source for BAQ henna) has examples of mixes that other customers have done, so it's a good resource--even though some of the other info is questionable. For instance, no matter what henna you buy, do not mix it with only lemon juice. It could be very bad.

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    Ferret Queen Oskimosa's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    Quote Originally Posted by prosperina View Post
    I buy my henna from hennaforhair.com The good thing about this henna is it is BAQ. Meaning body art quality, a very fine sift, the exact kind of henna that is used on the skin for temporary tatoos. There is a henna article, written by our very own, very knowledgable Nightshade, and this should clear up any questions you have about henna.

    Also, you might want to think about what color of red you want. I have medium blond hair and pure henna made my hair go very cherry colored. A nice *red* color, yes, but not altogther natural looking. I suggest you add in a little cassia obovata (it's a weak yellow dye that can tone down the cooler tones that come about with too much henna) to your henna mix. That way if you want a strawberry blond or a copper color, you have a better chance of getting it. The website I listed above (not the only source for BAQ henna) has examples of mixes that other customers have done, so it's a good resource--even though some of the other info is questionable. For instance, no matter what henna you buy, do not mix it with only lemon juice. It could be very bad.

    I agree with all that. I henna my hair with henna from that site too, and love it. I'm also dark blonde, and straight henna looks like what's in my avatar. You'll likely get something like that unless you have plenty of sun highlights.

    If I were you, I'd buy nothing less than 200g of henna for these reasons:
    1) It is always best to have extra on hand in case something gets fudged, like you spill or something.
    2) You'll need it to do roots later and save money, especially on shipping.
    3) In case you, despite all your better efforts, make yourself look like a calico cat (the way I did once, by accident, by missing some spots). Then you have extra on hand to save the day.

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    Herbivore
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    I would suggest to start carefully. Add a few tablespoons of henna to either cassia, condish or a deep treatment. Henna turns dark/cherryish/purplish very fast.

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    Member Friesiangirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    I did read the article, but I still had a few questions. Thanks everyone, maybe I'll add a tad of cassia in then.

    Hayley
    If you pretend to feel a certain way, the feeling can become genuine all by accident.
    -Hei

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    Member Friesiangirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    So, if I want a more orange color, I need more cassia?
    If you pretend to feel a certain way, the feeling can become genuine all by accident.
    -Hei

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    Member lora410's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    Quote Originally Posted by Friesiangirl View Post
    So, if I want a more orange color, I need more cassia?

    The more cassia you use the more copper the color will be.
    Starting over current length: APL+.. GOAL: BACK TO HIP

  8. #8
    Henna Seeress Nightshade's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    Quote Originally Posted by Friesiangirl View Post
    So, if I want a more orange color, I need more cassia?
    Yep!



    Here (ignoring the glowsticks) You can see the 100% henna on my medium brown hair (the bun). On the hair leading up to the bun, you can see the henna/cassia blend that I switched to about a year or so ago.

    I think the henna/cassia blend is a much more natural red shade on me, and I'm constantly asked if I'm Irish and whatnot with it

    I tried 25% henna/75% cassia, but it just wasn't potent enough and seemed to wash out pretty badly. Upping it just a bit to 35% henna/65% cassia has worked really well, though.

    here's my mix:


    Nightshade’s Copper Mix- Gives copper hair on light to medium brown hair without deep auburn undertones.
    70 grams body art quality henna
    130 grams cassia
    ~2c (not boiling) strong chamomile tea made in distilled water
    Brew tea (3 tea bags in a teacup with distilled water) and let steep covered until lukewarm. Mix together henna, cassia, and tea and then cover let it sit until dye release (identifiable by the top of the henna paste turning brown. (I put mine on top of the food dehydrator for about 4 hours.) Place a small dot on the inside of your wrist for 30 seconds. If it leaves a pale orange spot, the dye is ready). Cover hair with the paste and cover with a plastic shower cap or saran wrap. Place a warm hat on to keep it warm. Leave on for a minimum of 2-3 hours for a lighter stain, or as long as overnight for a deeper color.
    Now I only do root touchups so the length doesn't keep darkening (as henna darkens with each application), so I just mix up a small portion of that same ratio each time.

  9. #9
    Member Friesiangirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: I want to Henna my hair, and I have a few questions

    Thanks a bunch! Perhaps soon, it will be done

    Hayley
    If you pretend to feel a certain way, the feeling can become genuine all by accident.
    -Hei

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