How do I maintain the auburn shade of my henna? Advice?

[ifthemoonsmiled]

Hi long haired people!

I stopped posting here some time ago because I decided I'm not really interested in growing my hair past collarbone length, and I felt like a fraud. :oops: But I've been lurking in this section for the last few months, looking for henna advice, and I finally decided to come out of the woodwork and just ask.

About me: I have been using henna for many years, and it's slowly become a cool-toned cherry/burgundy red that just doesn't look very nice on me. (I'm naturally a warm dark blonde.) I try to do roots only, but I'm not very good at it, and while I buy BAQ henna, I've never been very picky about the variety I use, and over the winter I got a batch that produced more dark cherry tones.

I used a bunch of the advice here and after many rounds of heavy oilings (with a bit of tea tree oil added each time) and a few vitamin C treatments, I am almost back to the more natural-looking auburn that I like. (I'll probably do a few more treatments but it is much closer than it was.) Now I am trying to figure out what I can do to maintain a more natural warm brown-red henna shade. Tbh, I wouldn't mind pushing the color a little further toward reddish-brown...my taste has changed, and I'm less into the bright henna-red that I used to love.

Questions...

Has anyone achieved a reddish brown on dark blond/light brown hair? What is your mix & procedure?

I'd rather not use any indigo as I'm afraid it will go too dark or cool-toned, but I have some amla and I was wondering if anyone has experience mixing that with henna to get browner results? What proportions of each did you use? How did it turn out? (Obviously I will strand test, but it would be good to know where to begin.)

Finally, give me your tips and tricks for doing root-only applications? I try, but the mix often spreads to the rest of my hair, which is part of how I got too dark in the first place.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help this shy little lurker...

[Seeshami]

You won't want my advice but here it is. I use a mixture that has indigi in it the magic part is every other time. So there is always a henna only application between the indigos.

[ifthemoonsmiled]

Ooh, very interesting, Seeshami! I've never even thought to change up the mix every other time like that. Do your roots look noticeably redder after your henna-only applications? I'd be worried it wouldn't blend...

And I could possibly be converted to indigo, I'm just scared it will get too dark on me. That dark blackish brown I see on others who use indigo is gorgeous but wouldn't suit my coloring at all...I'm looking for something that's still red, but subtly browner than pure henna-red, if that makes sense. Of course, I may just not be educated enough on what indigo can do! How much do you use in your mix, and what kind of color do you get from it?

[browneyedsusan]

I use a henna gloss every 2 weeks, on roots only. (Sort of "roots only". I just do my best to keep it off the length.)

My mix is: 1/4 cup dye-released henna--thawed from the freezer. I dye-released a box of henna in a big bowl, dalloped spoonfuls of the mud into ziploc baggies, and froze them up. When I want to henna, I just thaw a baggy.-- 3/4 cup cheap conditioner, then wisk in 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to thicken it up. --Xanthan gum is available in the grocery story baking aisle, by the gluten free stuff.--

When I was your length, I made a bunch of loose ponytails all over my head. Then I put my mix into a dye bottle, gloved up, and squirted the mud into the base of every ponytail until it was "full". Moosh around with a gloved hand, making sure to hit all the parts between ponytails, and moosh around your hairline.

I've had good luck with this method since I was pixied.

I hope you can find a technique that works for you. :)

[Seeshami]

My henna is an omber. My roots look virgin after every henna :rollin: i intentionally pull the orange higher the longer my hair gets. The ends are saturated though

[Anje]

Do check out Nightshade's hair. She's naturally a light or medium brown, and for a 65% cassia, 35% henna mix to keep her hair nicely copper. She also had issues with multiple applications making her hair too cherry-toned and cool, and ended up lightening it with Sun-in to warm it up again.

I know several folks have gotten decent results mixing amla with henna to get it browner without being a whole lot darker. My hubby, meanwhile, has done henndigo and henna-katam blends for years to cover his grays. They're browner (vs the fluorescent orange that henna turns in white hair for the first application!) but darker, and the indigo always seemed to fade after the first application. Then it stuck for the second one and he ended up with lighter roots and darker hair, which wasn't great.

As for roots only, here's what I do:
I got this condiment bottle like this (http://cdnll.freundcontainer.com/images/500/3390B01NAT-Condiment-Bottles.jpg), and cut the top down a little so small chunks in the henna can fit through it.
Then I part and braid my dry hair. I just do 4 sections, parted like a +, and leave then a little loose at the scalp. Thicker hair will probably want a couple more sections. The braids are mostly just to help wrangle my length, and you could probably make a couple ponytails if you wanted instead.
Then I put on latex gloves and just start filling in one section of hair at a time with the tip of the bottle. Smoosh it around a little, then move to the next section. I make sure I really lay it on thick at the hairline, over my ears (where I always used to miss spots!), and where my usual part is.
Then I just put on a processing cap (found them at Wally world for about 15 for $2, save my colorful shower cap for something that won't give it orange blotches!), wrap a towel around my head, and wait for a 3-4 hours or until I'm sick of having stuff on my head. Then I rinse it out and only then take out the braids.

Anyway, that seems to work great. My hair wouldn't show overlap lines anyway (heck, it's auburn enough that it takes about 3 inches before non gray roots show), but I've never heard anyone complain of obvious overlap using a method like this, even though there logically is some. Henna is so forgiving in that way. But I find it super-easy for roots!

[ifthemoonsmiled]

Funny, for someone who's been using henna as long as me, I'm feeling pretty ignorant about it. The collective knowledge of everyone here is soooo useful.

Browneyedsusan, I never would have thought to use xanthan gum in the mix. I even have some leftover from making thanksgiving pies for a gluten-free family member...I thought I'd never get around to using the stuff! Your hair is really pretty and it seems like you manage to keep it a nice light red doing consistent glosses like that. Hmmm....

Seeshami--I bet that ombre is gorgeous. Do you use less and less indigo each time, then?

Anje, I've read every page of the Sun-In thread at this point! I am still considering trying it, but I've been having really good results fading my henna with just oil treatments, vit C treatments, and lots of patience. I might try Sun-in just to get it a little lighter than I like it so that I can try out a mix with a bit more brown in it without going too dark. Gonna have to do a lot of experimenting here... (Also, I'm totally doing your roots method next time.)

I've been researching both cassia and indigo...I'm thinking I might try making a mix that is part cassia with just a smidge of indigo added, under the theory that they'll kind of cancel each other out in terms of making the hair darker than henna on its own does, but I'll get a browner shade. I'm not sure if this theory is right, so I guess I'll be collecting lots of fallen hair while I wait for my order of cassia and indigo samples to ship!

Thanks for the advice, and if anyone else has experience with mixing browner shades of henna dyes, I'd love to hear about it. Oh, and by the way, this forum is totally dangerous for someone who has decided collarbone-length hair is the most flattering on her. You are all so gorgeous with your long locks, I might have to start working on growing again...