Help! Henndigo'ed hair has streaks!?

**MomOf2Gremlins** · July 1st, 2011, 12:58 PM

Hi everyone,
I need your help, please!!!

I've dyed my hair with henna/indigo (from mehandi.com, Ancient Sunrise mix for medium brunette hair) for the first time today and while I love the look at the front area of my hair and the shine, after having asked my daughter to take a pic of it in the sunlight and seeing the pic, I'm a bit freaked out! I have dark streaks that are visible in the top layer in the back!!!

I've dyed my hair with chemical dye the last time beginning of April and it was one of those 28 day lasting ones that claim to be more 'natural'... My natural hair color is a medium brown and I think the chem. dye was dark brown...

I've mixed the henna w/lemon juice and water and let it sit over night, then this morning I've mixed the indigo with some roiboos tea and let it sit again for ~1 hr [I've read on another board about letting it sit a bit instead of using it right away and you'd get a less dark effect, that's why I followed that instruction..]. Mixed both together, added some dextrose [which didn't really help IMHO -but maybe it just wasn't enough?] and Hubby helped my apply the mix to my hair.
I've let it all sit for 4 hrs and rinsed/washed it out with CWC.

Now, I know, henna takes up to 3 days to really fully show its true color.. but what about those streaks? What can I do to even it out??? Or will it just be less noticable over the next 72 hours?
I mostly wear my hair up in a twist, held by a claw clip these days because of the annoying short length, but still.. I don't want to keep those streaks! What can I do??? What can be the reason for them being visible???

I'd greatly appreciate if some of you henna pros could help me out, please!!!

Pics:
In the sun, freshly washed & dried

Indoors (after wearing it flipped up again for a few hrs), using the flash of the digicam

-A few more pics are in my new album for Henna.

Thank you in advance for your help!!!

**whitestiletto** · July 1st, 2011, 07:44 PM

It looks to me like the mix wasn't applied evenly to the pieces... Did you massage it through to make sure all the strands were evenly coated? Did you use a slight excess to make sure there was enough for all of it? Was the indigo mixed in completely?

**MomOf2Gremlins** · July 1st, 2011, 11:51 PM

Well.. that would stink if that would be the case with the mix not being evenly applied!

My husband helped me out (I thought it would make it easier..) but as he couldn't figure out how to do it properly with me sitting up and starting at the neck, I suggested to simply bend my head over the edge of the tub and he applied the mix that way.. Now considering that it's the top layer that shows those few 'streaks', I really wonder if he got it there or not...
Could I try to re-do it only in those areas or better wait until the next 48 hrs are over to see how much darker the henna is going to get?
Overall it seems as if the first 10" of my hair (starting at the scalp) is lighter and took the henndigo mix better than the other ~5", which is the part I used to dye chemically with permanent dye..

I've used ~80 g of henna and 80g of indigo after reading somewhere that 200g of a mix for SL hair is often too much and I wanted to have a little leftover of both in case I needed it for a gloss or 'fix'.. (It felt like an awful lot on my head!)
I thought of keeping some of the unprepared henna & indigo for glosses or other 'fixes' and am tempted to re-do those streaks... I'm just not sure how well it'd work!?..

**gibsongirl71** · July 2nd, 2011, 12:12 AM

IMO I would wait a few days and reapply once you see how it looks. I used to do BAQ Henna/indigo on my hair. It did take differently to the chemically colored parts of my hair. It doesn't look that noticeable to me, but hair color is very fluid and changes in different light. :-)

**whitestiletto** · July 2nd, 2011, 12:13 AM

Hmm I'm not sure.. my instinct would be to go over it all again, with a full coverage, but maybe someone who has actually used henndigo can help you. I haven't done it myself.

I do know you can store dye-released henna in the freezer for up to 6 months. I just did a second batch myself with frozen>thawed henna and it worked great. However indigo needs to be added fresh each time.

I'm sorry I'm unclear, are you saying that the newer growth was dyed darker by the henndigo, or is still lighter? I did read on the henndigo thread that it sometimes takes repeated applications to achieve the darker tone. Again my instinct would just be to do the whole thing over again.

I'm assuming you've read through the entirety of the Show us your henndigoed hair! thread, you might be able to glean some relevant advice from that.

**dmarie16** · July 2nd, 2011, 12:46 AM

I use a 50:50 henna/indigo mix with a few Tbs of Amla. IMO I would wait at least 3-4 days before doing anything. An additional full head treatment will even colors up if applied evenly throughout your hair, but it will darken the color more also. You may love the different shades after the henna completely oxidizes. And if you don't, then do a gloss first. You can always do a full head application later.

**MomOf2Gremlins** · July 4th, 2011, 02:01 AM

Originally Posted by gibsongirl71

IMO I would wait a few days and reapply once you see how it looks. I used to do BAQ Henna/indigo on my hair. It did take differently to the chemically colored parts of my hair. It doesn't look that noticeable to me, but hair color is very fluid and changes in different light. :-)

Thank you for your response!
I think by now it actually darkened enough to where it's not as noticable either anymore.. I will have to have another pic taken of my hair to really see.. [I did however put a honey/conditioner/cinnamon mix on my darker ends yesterday and let it soak in for ~2 hrs. -Not sure if that helped any though..]

Originally Posted by whitestiletto

Hmm I'm not sure.. my instinct would be to go over it all again, with a full coverage, but maybe someone who has actually used henndigo can help you. I haven't done it myself.

I do know you can store dye-released henna in the freezer for up to 6 months. I just did a second batch myself with frozen>thawed henna and it worked great. However indigo needs to be added fresh each time.

I'm sorry I'm unclear, are you saying that the newer growth was dyed darker by the henndigo, or is still lighter? I did read on the henndigo thread that it sometimes takes repeated applications to achieve the darker tone. Again my instinct would just be to do the whole thing over again.

I'm assuming you've read through the entirety of the Show us your henndigoed hair! thread, you might be able to glean some relevant advice from that.

Thank you for your response as well and your input!
I'm sorry I was unclear, I meant the lower ends -the ones that were chemically dyed with permanent stuff- are much darker than the rest (which has been dyed chemically as well but non-permanent!)
I'll see if I can only do a gloss over the top (lighter) part w/indigo, but I think it's starting to even out a bit. None the less, I'll check out the link again, thanks!

Originally Posted by dmarie16

I use a 50:50 henna/indigo mix with a few Tbs of Amla. IMO I would wait at least 3-4 days before doing anything. An additional full head treatment will even colors up if applied evenly throughout your hair, but it will darken the color more also. You may love the different shades after the henna completely oxidizes. And if you don't, then do a gloss first. You can always do a full head application later.

Yes, I'm afraid a full-head application again would only darken the ends even more, so I'm trying to lighten those parts up and maybe an indigo gloss over the top parts will help.
I'll post a pic of the actual state in the sunlight as soon as I have a pic!

Thanks again for all your quick help! I appreciate it1

**kdaniels8811** · July 4th, 2011, 05:30 PM

I use a whisk to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed, having had streaks myself! And the application - I use a hair color applicator bottle with the tip cut back further to let the henna out easier and mush it through my hair to make sure everything is covered. I use enough that I get some drips - thin it out enough to make sure everything is covered. Good luck, hendigo is very forgiving of errors and good luck with your next attempt.

**spidermom** · July 4th, 2011, 07:19 PM

Wow; I like it!

If there's anything I don't like, it's flat, zero-dimensional color. Yours has pizzazz!

**MomOf2Gremlins** · July 4th, 2011, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by kdaniels8811

I use a whisk to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed, having had streaks myself! And the application - I use a hair color applicator bottle with the tip cut back further to let the henna out easier and mush it through my hair to make sure everything is covered. I use enough that I get some drips - thin it out enough to make sure everything is covered. Good luck, hendigo is very forgiving of errors and good luck with your next attempt.

Oh, good idea with the hair color applicator bottle! I'll have to get one!
Thank you!

Originally Posted by spidermom

Wow; I like it!

If there's anything I don't like, it's flat, zero-dimensional color. Yours has pizzazz!

LOL, thank you! Yeah, it's certainly not zero-dimensional!

I think the color evened out a bit more though by now. I don't see any 'streaks' that visible anymore. (New pics are in my Henna folder).
I really like my color now!