Henna, Cassia, & Sidr Opinions (pics; 1 year without colouring)

[Loviatar]

I've been going through my old hair photos on photobucket. For a long time I trashed my hair a lot with bleach and dyes and indigo. I stopped dyeing my hair a year ago to see my natural colour and to see if I could actually like it. I do, which is good. But that doesn't stop me wanting to henna now though. (Well not 'right now' - I set myself a target which was to grow to shoulders natural and then decide if I wanted to use natural or deposit dyes. No other dyes were allowed in my self-promise.) I know more about henna this time around so I wouldn't mess it up. I know how to cut henna with cassia and rhubarb root to make it less wine-red and more copper-gold which I prefer; I know I need to do roots-only applications to avoid full saturation, which I managed to do once by mistakenly doing full head apps all the time.

Having spent the past year NOT dyeing deliberately in any way, and still planning to grow it out to shoulders before putting anything on it colour wise, has been really helpful. If I were to henna now, I wouldn't be bleaching it all out, dyeing it blue black, or wanting crazy neon colours in 6 months. I've broken my urge to constantly change up my colour and use 'chemical products' / permanent peroxide based dyes. But I miss the growth and strength and thickness I got from henna, and cassia alone just isn't as good. I wondered about mixing henna with sidr, sold on Nightblooming's etsy page. Whatever I do, I'll strand/rat test.

Pics:

henna indoors - one application of Jamila left on 4-5 hrs, over colour stripped hair close to my natural shade (level 5) - this is the colour I'd like to get back.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna003-1.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna003-1.jpg.html)

henna indoors with flash - 2 applications Jamila over colour-stripped hair very close to my natural shade
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna009.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna009.jpg.html)

Close to full saturation with overnight apps of Punjabi Prime from mehandi.com
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/DSC02925.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/DSC02925.jpg.html)

full saturation with PP
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/DSC02866.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/DSC02866.jpg.html)

Henna outdoors - one application of jamila overnight over colour stripped hair
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna006.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna006.jpg.html)

same day but indoors:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna010.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/LHC%20SHOTS/Henna010.jpg.html)

Current natural colour with 2 cassia full head apps, in daylight:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/Kate_Blacksmith/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps4da34ec4.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Kate_Blacksmith/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps4da34ec4.jpg.html)

What do you guys think? I really do miss everything about henna. I'd just need to be careful how I used it this time.

[ywall]

I lov henna!!!! Everthing about it has been great for my hair I also get mine from mehandi.com lov them! I would do a full head and then just roots. Can I ask why u stopped?? Your hair looked fabulous

[Loviatar]

I stopped hennaing because I got obsessed with colour and neon shades, leading me to bleach and dye and rebleach as I explained above. I then used indigo and bleached it out, knowing what would happen, when I was at one of my lowest points in my life. I have spent the past year dye free to stop my damaging, obsessive, hair-dysmorphia-related behaviours, on the suggestion of my psychologist. He knows I want long healthy hair (and healthy body) but I take everything bad out on my body and hair. We consider I have now beaten the hair dysmorphia. :)

I have already decided that I will do a full head then just roots if I decide to henna again, that's not the issue. I like the copper penny shade I get from only one full application. My issue is whether to do it again, or whether to do non-colouring strengthening techniques such as cassia alone or sidr alone. I'm not asking for what colour looks best among the henna pics, I included them so people could see how quickly I accidentally darkened and got to full saturation when I first started henna use.

Mehandi is too expensive for me now as the cost and shipping to UK has risen hugely so I have bought mine from Henna Boy UK for the past few years.

[spidermom]

From what I recall, you've always been partial to red, so why not? Now that you know you don't want full saturation, it sounds like you've got a reasonable plan.

[Isilme]

Your hair is all natural now, right? I mean, if you were to henna you wouldn't have a demarcation line. When you are done with your goal, use henna if you really want to, there is no point walking around with your natural haircolour if you'd rather want henna red.

[Nightshade]

In theory it's totally possible to mix sedr, cassia, and henna, or use one right after the other. I've never tried blending sedr with henna specifically, but I think the biggest difference will be that the mud will feel different. Henna is almost more of a gel, sedr has a different consistency that's hard to describe.

Cutting henna with sedr would be the same as cutting henna with cassia, I'd imagine, color-wise.

Conditioning-wise, sedr feels to me like my hair does after an herbal rinse. Glossy and voluminous with fewer of the long-lasting conditioning benefits of henna or cassia. If henna's effects last forever, and cassia's two months or so, I'd say sedr's lasts a month, tops, but always make my hair less wonky. You don't get that two-day WTF period where your hair doesn't know what to do with itself like with henna and cassia.

I hope that helps! Let me know if there was anything more specific you wanted to know :)

Personally, if you hennaed, I'd do a henna/cassia blend. You'll get the new-penny copper, but it'd leave you willggle room for glosses with henna without worrying so much about darkening.

[Unofficial_Rose]

I like your natural colour (and I'm not one of the many LHC people with a bias towards natural colours!). However, to really compare what suits you best, would need to see what the henna looks like against your skintone, but I would understand if you don't want to put up full face photos on the internet, because I don't do that either :)

[sumidha]

I love the first two pictures, where it's just one or two layers over your natural-ish color? It's a super pretty, very natural looking shade. I think you're on the right track thinking about doing just one full application and then only touching up the roots. You can always refresh the color with a gloss, and cassia, and theoretically you wont get the heavy henna saturation?

[Shatam1]

A friend of mine does one full application of henna every six months, she strictly does so so the henna never builds up. It just fades little by little over time and she never had problems of darkening. Her hair is a bit lighter in color than yours.
One thing also that you can do is use low Lawson henna.. I find jamila or any Pakistani henna, doesn't get dark on my hair no matter how manny times I use it. On the contrary to other very cheap hennas that I buy in grocery stores that really get my grey white roots the red that I want, and they darken a lot with multiple applications. Maroccan henna is light in color as well as Egyptian henna.

[maskedrose]

I do like the copper penny shade on you, and I think doing henna/cassia blends as Nightshade suggests, with roots only applications and occasional glosses would probably be the ideal solution for you.