Henna coverage of white hair without indigo?

[flickm]

A friend has asked me to henna her hair. She used to use henna and wants to go back to it, after using dyes for some years. The problems are that she has dark brown dyed length and white roots but is adamant that she doesnt want to use indigo. I obviously intend to thoroughly strand test and we are going to use rajasthani henna, as she is hoping for more burgundy colour. Is there any way to avoid flourescent red roots without indigo? For example, will coffee or amla in the mix help to darken the colour and tone down the bright red? Will repeated applications left on a long time deepen the white hair enough anyway. I dont think she minds red roots but isnt keen on orange roots. Any suggestions gratefully received.

[Anje]

Honestly, I'm getting traffic-cone orange grays with Rajasthani henna mixed with water and maybe 2-3 hour application times. Not a problem for me, since they're not that sizable a population and coppery is good, but not everyone's look.

I can't answer for sure, but what if you mixed in hibiscus, maybe 50/50 with the henna? That seems to be the thing that a lot of people swear by for a cooler, deeper red.

[sleepingduty]

I had dark brown dyed hair, grew it out about 2 inches, and decided I did not care for the white roots I was seeing at all. I used a product similar to color oops a couple of times and it lightened the dark brown to a light strawberry blond. I used cassia and got a yellow cast to my whites. Then used a combination of 20% henna and 80% cassia and everything has blended nicely! no real lines of demarcation. I used Jamila henna and my hair is a light coppery blond on top (the back is a little more brown). If she likes coppery red, I think this might be a good way to go. I do cassia/henna glosses on the roots about every 3 weeks.

[LillithTheFirst]

Henna covers the hair strands evenly, meaning a white strand covered with henna will look lighter than a darker strand covered with henna - so light highlights, unless you add indigo..... But to get burgundy you need other mixes other than henna. I highly suggest reading these e-books (if you can be bothered) they've been updated which is awesome.Colouring hair with henna is a science, or art really, there's a lot to be considered like your base colour, what mix you'll make and predicting how it will oxidise on the hair, and how many hours you need to keep the mix on your head for. I've been doing this for years on my hair with a mix of indigo, henna and alma berry for cool dark brown.

[LillithTheFirst]

Haha, link is here: http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/

[hennalonghair]

Honestly, I'm getting traffic-cone orange grays with Rajasthani henna mixed with water and maybe 2-3 hour application times. Not a problem for me, since they're not that sizable a population and coppery is good, but not everyone's look.

I can't answer for sure, but what if you mixed in hibiscus, maybe 50/50 with the henna? That seems to be the thing that a lot of people swear by for a cooler, deeper red.
Well I've got 50% silver/ gray on my outer coverage hair that frames my face and I'll tell you now that she will have neon orange in her hair if she has a lot of gray.
It's inescapeable with using henna alone but if you mixed 50% hibiscus with 50% henna it will cover those grays perfectly. Of course it's best to use a darker red strained henna to start. Either red raj from henna sooq or Yemeni from Nightshade would work perfectly to get a blue red instead of an orange red. Both have 3 to 4 hour dye release times and both only require 3 to 4 hours staining time.

[flickm]

Thanks everyone - how wonderful to wake up to so many helpful replies. I must now see who stocks hibiscus in the UK (I think the sources mentioned here are North American, and carriage and import duty makes that out of the question), as she doesn't want orange or auburn.

[flickm]

Haha, link is here: http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/

Thank you for the link. i did read all these when i began researching for myself - but of course that was for my own hair, which is blonde with some grey, so now i need to read them again for different needs.

[flickm]

Well I've got 50% silver/ gray on my outer coverage hair that frames my face and I'll tell you now that she will have neon orange in her hair if she has a lot of gray.
It's inescapeable with using henna alone but if you mixed 50% hibiscus with 50% henna it will cover those grays perfectly. Of course it's best to use a darker red strained henna to start. Either red raj from henna sooq or Yemeni from Nightshade would work perfectly to get a blue red instead of an orange red. Both have 3 to 4 hour dye release times and both only require 3 to 4 hours staining time.

This sounds just the thing, so thank you :) Does this mean mix the powders together and wait for dye release, or mix seperately then mix after dye release?

[hennalonghair]

Mix together and wait for dye release
You're welcome

[flickm]

Mix together and wait for dye release
You're welcome

Bless you, thank you so much :)

[flickm]

Well I've got 50% silver/ gray on my outer coverage hair that frames my face and I'll tell you now that she will have neon orange in her hair if she has a lot of gray.
It's inescapeable with using henna alone but if you mixed 50% hibiscus with 50% henna it will cover those grays perfectly. Of course it's best to use a darker red strained henna to start. Either red raj from henna sooq or Yemeni from Nightshade would work perfectly to get a blue red instead of an orange red. Both have 3 to 4 hour dye release times and both only require 3 to 4 hours staining time.

One last question, hennalonghair, if that's ok: does the hibiscus fade, leaving the white hair orange again. Do you have to go over with hibiscus again?

[hennalonghair]

One last question, hennalonghair, if that's ok: does the hibiscus fade, leaving the white hair orange again. Do you have to go over with hibiscus again?

No it doesn't fade very easily if at all.

[flickm]

No it doesn't fade very easily if at all.

:thumbsup:

[piratejenny]

I have some very grey strands and I don't want orange. I mix my henna about 50/50 with katam (sometimes called buxus) and this works very well for me. My natural hair is a medium ash brown and with this mix I get a nice chestnut tone. Katam does fade with washing, but I only wash once a week and I re-do my roots about every 6 weeks or so, so it's not an issue for me. I get the katam from this seller in Germany www.henna-und-mehr.de . They sell internationally (I'm in the Netherlands).

[hennalonghair]

I have some very grey strands and I don't want orange. I mix my henna about 50/50 with katam (sometimes called buxus) and this works very well for me. My natural hair is a medium ash brown and with this mix I get a nice chestnut tone. Katam does fade with washing, but I only wash once a week and I re-do my roots about every 6 weeks or so, so it's not an issue for me. I get the katam from this seller in Germany www.henna-und-mehr.de . They sell internationally (I'm in the Netherlands).

Good find. I'd read about this but didn't know anyone who could confirm whether or not it works
Very interesting

[flickm]

I have some very grey strands and I don't want orange. I mix my henna about 50/50 with katam (sometimes called buxus) and this works very well for me. My natural hair is a medium ash brown and with this mix I get a nice chestnut tone. Katam does fade with washing, but I only wash once a week and I re-do my roots about every 6 weeks or so, so it's not an issue for me. I get the katam from this seller in Germany www.henna-und-mehr.de . They sell internationally (I'm in the Netherlands).

Another great idea - thank you :) And within the european Union, so no nasty import and carriage surprises!

[Anje]

Katam worked OK in Hubby's beard, but it's similar to weak indigo. I swear I read somewhere that it's the same dye molecule, even. Ultimately, he switched to indigo to henndigo the beard and got slightly darker results that I think last better. (Trouble with a short beard is that it needs root touchups weekly!)

There aren't many katam users around here, but I'd guess that all the things with indigo, such as that it shouldn't be bleached, apply to katam.

[piratejenny]

I must admit I have never tried indigo. I was considering it, but was turned off by the two step process (I'm very lazy) and worried that it would turn out too dark. I "accidentally" got my hands on the katam and it worked for me. I does fade, though. But it's not enough to bother me. And it's easy.

I just came back from Morocco and brought some mysterious red flakes (called "akar fassi" ??) that supposedly (according to the women who sold it to me) mixed into henna also tones down the orange to some chestnutty color. I haven't tried it yet :cool:.