Henna Thread, take two

[Eldergleam]

Sorry, apparently I can't edit my posts yet. If I had realised how large the images would appear, I would have just sent the links.

[rouxlala]

Hello everyone,

I'm quite newhere, so my apologies if I do something wrong.

I'm a complete newbie to henna, though I've read the sticky and have a general idea how it works and have seen my boss work with it numerous times in the salon. But now I would like to maybe experiment a bit with it. If anybody is interested, in my thread in the newbie section, one can read a more thorough explanation, but here's the short version:

Bra strap length, curly, dyed light blonde with 6/7 cm long dark golden blonde roots showing. I'm growing it out for the hair quality which is why I would only be looking at natural dyes in the future.
Right now I'm somewhat obsessed with Kate Winslet's colour in 'Titanic':



Though it could be a tad less red/copper for me. Could this be achieved with henna?

I'm very afraid that my hair will just turn a very bright orange or that it will become too dark if I add things like indigo.

My boss said that I could also mix the henna with a brown component to counteract and soften the bright coppers and reds, either with this:



or this:



Could anyone help me with this?

Sincerely,
Eldergleam

My hair is exactly like hers, as far as curls go, but I have a different shade from my henna. I used Henna Maiden's "Wine Red." It is mixed with a few other herbs to make it a darker shade of red (not copper/brass colored). It is all natural, no chemicals, and I love it. I'd check it out and see if that's what you're looking for. <3

[poli]

I'm ready to switch to lighter henna / cassia mix. I have been using 50/50 percent for awhile now. I like the auburn color, but I would like to gradually make it lighter. So next time I do roots it is finally time for Nightshade's copper mix with 65% cassia and 35% henna. I have been reading old thread about it and some people mention using honey in the mix. Could you tell me how much honey I can safely add and at what point of making the paste?

[akurah]

I'm ready to switch to lighter henna / cassia mix. I have been using 50/50 percent for awhile now. I like the auburn color, but I would like to gradually make it lighter. So next time I do roots it is finally time for Nightshade's copper mix with 65% cassia and 35% henna. I have been reading old thread about it and some people mention using honey in the mix. Could you tell me how much honey I can safely add and at what point of making the paste?

I think in a henna paste it would behave more as a humectant (moisturizer) than a lightening agent, it would be really dilute. I don't know if it is worth the hassle unless you need the extra moisturizing. I'd not use much either (could cause a huge mess or abnormal sticky residue), unfortunately I have no gauge on what is "much". It also probably doesn't matter which point you add it to the paste. Since honey is shelf stable, the honey is probably fine to be added when the liquid is added to the henna, but I don't know what it could do to the henna. It might not do anything of interest.

If you're trying to help encourage lightening length, I'd just put honey treatment on the length and call it a day. If you want to moisturize, I'd start with a small dollop (maybe a size of a quarter?). If that isn't enough, next time you put henna, maybe a little more. If it's too much (trouble rinsing, sticky residue, whatever), cut back.

[poli]

I think in a henna paste it would behave more as a humectant (moisturizer) than a lightening agent, it would be really dilute. I don't know if it is worth the hassle unless you need the extra moisturizing. I'd not use much either (could cause a huge mess or abnormal sticky residue), unfortunately I have no gauge on what is "much". It also probably doesn't matter which point you add it to the paste. Since honey is shelf stable, the honey is probably fine to be added when the liquid is added to the henna, but I don't know what it could do to the henna. It might not do anything of interest.

If you're trying to help encourage lightening length, I'd just put honey treatment on the length and call it a day. If you want to moisturize, I'd start with a small dollop (maybe a size of a quarter?). If that isn't enough, next time you put henna, maybe a little more. If it's too much (trouble rinsing, sticky residue, whatever), cut back.

Thank you. I was thinking a little honey in henna as a humectant and maybe honey lightening on the length at the same time (just to brighten things up). I will start with a little amount, certainly don't want to deal with sticky hair

[poli]

I used chamomile tea with honey and few drops of lemon juice for my liquid. I diluted the mud with some conditioner also. It is hard to judge the color effect of lighter henna/cassia because I had very little regrowth to cover but if anything the roots look a little more golden than orange. It will take few months for sure to see a difference.

As for honey lightening I feel it is more "honey brightening". It did help me fade some too dark henna (possibly with indigo) in the past, now it's not really doing anything to the color. Nice for hydrating in proper weather conditions.

[desuvsdeath]

Troubleshooting question: I used Rajasthani Jasmine on what was naturally level 1-2 hair bleached to level 10 hair... and while the color is EXACTLY what I was hoping for, and the overall condition is vastly improved, the texture when I shampoo (roughly once a week when the gym demands it) is... a thousand times worse than prior to henna-ing. It's such that it's difficult to get shampoo THROUGH it. As soon as I condition it's fine again. It's smooth and sleek dry or wet, but the moment that shampoo touches it... it's a tangled mass of garbage. And interesting to note it's MORE tangled in the 'less damaged' sections of bleached hair.

I've previously only henna'd my virgin hair, so I'm a bit at a loss and haven't quite been able to find a thread that an. Should I just... keep deep conditioning and trust it will sort itself out?

[poli]

Troubleshooting question: I used Rajasthani Jasmine on what was naturally level 1-2 hair bleached to level 10 hair... and while the color is EXACTLY what I was hoping for, and the overall condition is vastly improved, the texture when I shampoo (roughly once a week when the gym demands it) is... a thousand times worse than prior to henna-ing. It's such that it's difficult to get shampoo THROUGH it. As soon as I condition it's fine again. It's smooth and sleek dry or wet, but the moment that shampoo touches it... it's a tangled mass of garbage. And interesting to note it's MORE tangled in the 'less damaged' sections of bleached hair.

I've previously only henna'd my virgin hair, so I'm a bit at a loss and haven't quite been able to find a thread that an. Should I just... keep deep conditioning and trust it will sort itself out?

I would check if your shampoo contains protein (keratin and such), henned hair does not like it. In case it does have protein just switch it for something else.

Maybe try diluting shampoo with water and protect your length with conditioner - like CWC method.

[desuvsdeath]

I would check if your shampoo contains protein (keratin and such), henned hair does not like it. In case it does have protein just switch it for something else.

Maybe try diluting shampoo with water and protect your length with conditioner - like CWC method.

Oh. Yup. Protein. That would explain why the shampoo is reacting most with the area that took to henna the best. Thank you.

[Corvana]

Hello! I'd like to henna my hair, since I've always always loved red hair. My natural color has a bit of red in the sun, seen here:



A little diffused, but the best I could get lol. In indoor lighting it's just a medium dark brown (see avatar).

My ideal color would be somewhere around:





Basically: Pretty copper, whether that's lighter or darker. I've used the Revlon colorsilk in 42 (medium auburn) before and gotten results that I really enjoyed (on the bits I didn't miss, since I was always terrible at getting it all ), if that helps any? In the linked image of the back of the box, I'd get something about the darkest shade.

My hair is all virgin now!

What type of henna should I get? And what, if anything, should I add to it (teas? cassia?) to get a coppery color? I'm not too fussed about how light or dark it is, but I would prefer to be on the copper side a bit more than the burgundy side!

I should note: I'm allergic to citrus! It gives me a bit of a rash with contact, so I'd prefer to not use it. It doesn't stop me from chugging orange juice when we have it (it's just so good! but we rarely ever have any), but hives on the scalp are less than enjoyable .