Desperate for help! Henna + Colour B4 disaster.

[Eleonora]

I've been a huge fan of henna for years, but even though I only do root applications the colour turns out too dark and too red for my liking.
My ideal hair colour is much more coppery and orange, kind of like Christina Hendricks.
I have naturally medium to dark blonde hair (used to have white blonde hair as a child...) so I should be able to acheive this with henna and cassia. Only problem is it'll take such a long time to grow my current henna out!
So I did a lot of research and decided to try Colour B4 as some seem to have been able to remove henna this way. I did this 3 times and while I did get results they were only slight - my hair now looks like faded red bottle dye, really disgusting!

Here's some pictures of my henna before the Colour B4:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225120684/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225131860/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8224056503/in/photostream

And here's after three applications of Colour B4 (with my roots growing out haha):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225123820/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225125646/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225122562/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idakristinaeleonora/8225214836/in/photostream

Not the best pictures but the most accurate I could find at the moment. The ones taken after the Colour B4 are perhaps a tad darker than in real life.


I really need help deciding my next step. I'm getting desperate here and I'm seriously contemplating bleaching the henna out and then dying it with a colour matching my roots, and redo my henna after that.
What's my best option?

[Nightshade]

I had much the same problem as you and fixed it with Sun-In. Here's the thread about it :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=19317

Hopefully that helps!

[Eleonora]

Oh, I've actually read that. The only issue is time, it'll just take too long and I need my hair to look good in about a month (part of why I'm so desperate...) :(

[Eleonora]

What I want for is my natural colour back (or as close as possible) so the henna/cassia-mix will turn out as even as possible.
I'm beginning to doubt I ever should have touched the Colour B4, I'm just so tired of my hair looking this awful and dull.

[Nightshade]

You can do the Sun-In as fast as you're comfortable with :) If you really wanted you could do it in one or two shots. Your hair is just going to be a bit dry after, but should be fine in the end.

[Eleonora]

Hmm... maybe. I don't know where to find Sun-in in Sweden but I found another similar product altough it contains fewer ingredients: Aqua, Alcohol denat, Hydrogen Peroxide, Anthemis Nobilis, Propylenglycol. (Also, there is a choice between 2% or 7% hydrogen peroxide content).

I know bleach is in no way good for the hair and strips it of it's natural pigmnets, but isn't the option of bleach+dye both quicker and the results more predictable?
I'm so sick of waking up to this mess on top of my head... It's starting to affect my self-esteem and I'm obsessing about it ALL THE TIME.

[alyaziaaah]

Just try it one time and do a reconstructor treatment before and after. I use Grundy Tiger reconstructor. It saved my totally damaged hair. Then you see how much lighter it is and in what condition. Then after a week or two do the whole procedure again. Reconstruction before and after. Imo you shouldn't use any other stronger product as you will fry your hair and you don't want that. Been there done that. I really regret bleaching my colour out. Once your hair is damaged, all reconstruction in the world won't turn it virgin.

[alyaziaaah]

Sorry it's Grund tiger reconstructor. Or if you don't find that where you live you can use a pre post colour protein spray it will protect your hair from damage

[Eleonora]

I still don't know :/ think I'm gonna e-mail my local eco/herbal hairdresser for advice.

[alyaziaaah]

Good idea. See what your hairdresser says. But be careful. They usually use bleach and that will ruin your beautiful hair. Btw I love your darker red colour. I think you will be more successful if you follow Nightshade's method. Whatever deadline you have in one month it's not worth ruining your hair. It will take years to grow the damage out. Good luck my friend

[Seeshami]

It will be the right color but I doubt it will feel nice or look as good if you pull all your color up with color remover bleach and then dye it ash blond like I just did to get rid of my henna. There is a picture in my blog of it bleached before it was dyed.

[Eleonora]

I've calmed down bit (for now) and decided bleach is not for me. I'm gonna try a product similar to Sun-in and do as Nightshade recommended, will return with pictures later (probably next week as I have to order the spray from an online shop first...). Thank you for all the advice :)

Seeshami: I don't have enough posts yet to view blogs but will definitely check it out once I do, could be good if I ever go crazy for the idea of bleching it again. Haha.

[raingirl]

You and I are in a similar boat right now and I wish you luck! I think your hair is gorgeous by the way! I wish my natural colour was a few shades darker because the white blond +henna was too hard for me to upkeep. I think it looks really natural on you though. I gave up about 2 months ago though and I'm growing it out. I did Color Oops (same idea as ColourB4, just a different brand) and it removed most of my henna. I plan to try it a few more times to see how close I can get back to my natural colour.

[Isilme]

This is just an idea,but do you think a weak henna/cassia gloss would help?

[JohannaF]

I've calmed down bit (for now) and decided bleach is not for me. I'm gonna try a product similar to Sun-in and do as Nightshade recommended, will return with pictures later (probably next week as I have to order the spray from an online shop first...). Thank you for all the advice :)


What product are you using? I'm in Sweden too and was reading about Nightshade's Sun-in method.

[cmg]

Yes I would like to know that too. I have only used bleaches (Loreal super Blonde for example) to get rid of old dyes.

I have used soy flour (protein supplements for body builders are stronger than friggs or other grinded flours) as a protein "reconstructor", sometimes in combination with an overnight treatment of coconut oil. It overloads directly if you dont need this much he he :eek: No need for expensive sprays to get proteine in the hair.

/ CMG

[Eleonora]

raingirl: Thank you, I have always said my natural hair colour is perfect for experimenting with beacuase how easy it is to go both lighter and darker and it takes on colour quite well (a bit too well in the case of henna) :D I think I saw your theard about removing henna with Color Oops, did it reoxidize for you as well? Your natural colour looked really pretty!

Isilme: I'm not sure how you mean a henna/cassia gloss would help? I know I could use it on my roots and transition the colour as the hair grows out, but I'm looking to remove henna from my lenghts as well.

JohannaF and CMG: I just received my order yesterday! I'll be using Eorol Kamomill Blonderingsspray Super Strong (http://www.bodystore.com/3/sv/artiklar/eorol-kamomill-blonderingsspray-175-ml) :) Just hope it'll work.

Sorry for not replying sooner, had a busy week.