Henna - Blonde hair

[Anksa Na]

A woman that Iwork with is interested in a natural way to color her hair. Her hair is blonde. Would Cassia worK? Cassia and Amla?

If you can...please post pictures.

Thank you!

[Anje]

What kind of color is she looking for? Cassia's quite mild, just giving a faint yellow to hair. Henna adds an orange-brown cast to hair, and repeated uses of it bring things through a more true "red" and into darker burgundys. Indigo is a gray-ish blue-black, though it fades a bit.

You can use these and other fun herbs and teas in combinations to give quite a few different colors. Most of them are warm-toned, though, until you go dark.

[wintersun99]

Is she looking for colors in this range?

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/blondebundle/index.html

[Anksa Na]

Thanks for the replies.

WIntersun, I forgot about that website. Her hair looks like she could try for #2 in the photos.

[wintersun99]

Good, then she could try dye released Cassia first and if that doesn't cover well she could try dye released Cassia mixed with a teaspoon of dye released Henna. Have her take a look at the "mixes" page on that site and see if there is a color and a mix that someone else did that she likes. This link/mix has always been one that I love... almost makes me wish I had blonde hair :D

http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/Kris/

[ktani]

Is she looking for permanent colour?

Henna is pemanent. Used in a mix, the other ingredients like cassia, which adds temporary colour can wash out, and the tone of henna will remain.

It is important IMO, that she understands that henna in most cases (some mixes fade better than others), is a commitment.

[prosperina]

Whatever color she wants she will mostly like want to start out mixing any henna (if any!) with cassia. Henna will make blond hair orangish before it makes it red. If she decides she wants darker red later on, she can abandon the cassia, but better to start with less then try to remove.

[Jeni]

When I joined I had chemically dyed ash blond hair (see 1st sig pic). I decided to grow my natural color (a med-dark blah blond) out so I started using cassia to help with shine and maybe add color. It did add slight golden tones to my hair, but nothing very noticeable.

What is your friends natural color? Is it naturally blond and she just wants it "brightened" or is it dark and she lightens it?

I have always wanted red hair so I did a strand test on some shed hair-full henna is a beautiful color, but not with my skin tone...I tried 1/2 and 1/2 (henna and cassia), too "I Love Lucy" which I liked but again, not with my skin. The color I have now (last 3 pics) was made by using 1 cup of cassia to 1 tbl of henna (did not wait for dye release, just dumped it in and applied) left on for 5 hours.

I second what prosperina. Henna is strong stuff, if she chooses to go that route tell your friend to start slow and do plenty of strand tests! Also if she doesn't know in advance warn her about oxidation, I had bright orange roots for 3 days before it darkened to my current color.

[FrannyG]

The colour from cassia fades very, very quickly, in my experience.

[Henna Sooq]

I would definetely recommend cassia obovata as a first try. Especially since if you go towards a more permanent herb, it is harder to go back. Plus make a small investment in herbs, because there could be a chance she doesn't end up liking it at all.

Hair strand tests are best as well before usage. I used cassia on my daughter who is like a dirty blond right now (darker hair is growing in though) and I found it gave a beautiful shine and refreshed the color up. I also use cassia with chamomile tea and honey to strip off some of the henna, after my 10 plus years of using it, and I really found that my color freshened up a whole lot. I was really pleased.