What actually happens if you use hair color over henna?

[Tangles]

Searched for this topic but nothing came up for some reason.

Yeah, so what happens if you put dye over hennaed hair? I've been trying henna and now my color is looking very dull, and my hair is dry overall. I was thinking about using Naturtint hair dye to take it to my natural dark brown, but am scared my hair will fall out or something. I guess if that's not a good option, I could just keep using the Rainbow dark brown until it builds up to the dark color I want, but as I said henna is pretty drying on me.

[mellie]

You can do chemical color over Rainbow henna, I have done that and it's just fine. However, that Rainbow dark brown will get very dark if you do multiple applications, so you might not need to do the chemical color.

Have you tried doing some honey conditioning for the dryness?

[Tangles]

Still worried that it will fade to the current brassy hue or that it'll even end up worse. I may just go back to Rainbow and see if it builds up more... very scared of using chemicals because my hair is so healthy now.

Mellie, I tried using honey with an SMT once and it seemed to make my hair dryer :( I'll try it one more time for good measure, perhaps minus the aloe gel. I did buy some shea butter today and will try that also.

[lora410]

Still worried that it will fade to the current brassy hue or that it'll even end up worse. I may just go back to Rainbow and see if it builds up more... very scared of using chemicals because my hair is so healthy now.

Mellie, I tried using honey with an SMT once and it seemed to make my hair dryer :( I'll try it one more time for good measure, perhaps minus the aloe gel. I did buy some shea butter today and will try that also.

try just honey mixed with your condish or applying straight aloe after your shower.

[mellie]

I did a honey lightening treatment which made my hair super glossy, here's the results:

After one treatment:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9747

After 2:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9753

I also tried a hibiscus rinse after a honey treatment, which was also very conditioning, although it made a red color:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9751

I don't use conditioner in my honey treatment. I made a chamomile & mullein tea and added in some alfalfa honey, left it on about 1 hour.

[manderly]

Your hair won't fall out. I've chemically dyed over BAQ henna several times already (including naturtint).

All that happens is the henna prevents the chemical color from looking flat and shines through as red highlights.

My profile photo is henna with hair dye over it.

[wintersun99]

In my case, I couldn't get chemical dye to stick/stay in my hair when applied over henna. Granted, I had/have many, many layers of henna on my hair which makes me wonder if that somehow prevented chemical dye from binding, but I did try both demi-perm and perm. colors and they all washed out within about 2 weeks and did leave me with some damage.

[VanillaTresses]

Ahem... Uh, why yes even though I know better I have "been there, done that!"

Firstly, I had attempted to strip the offending bad color of henna (well, now come to find out part of the reason it turned out icky on me was because it wasn't just straight henna, but henna + indigo) with a mineral oil procedure (several times). I am not really sure that that whole thing had any effect at all, but anyhow...

To get to the point, the dye (bright bright red) did take, however it took in an extremely patchy manner, with parts of the henna showing through underneath. The overall effect was very bad. So bad, in fact, that shortly thereafter I cut it super short, then when that wasn't enough to cover how bad it was (and with no other recourse in sight) I buzzed it off myself and wore hats/bandanas for a while.

Yes, this is a sad yet true tale. PM me if you have any further questions. *I would not recommend dyeing over henna after this experience.*

[burns_erin]

I used straiight BAQ henna and afterwards hard trouble getting it to stick and had to dye more frequently.

[Tangles]

Okay, Naturtint is out, too much risk of 1) damaging my hair or 2) having to redye frequently and therefore drying out my hair.

Honey is out, I do NOT want to lighten my hair.

Therefore my only option is to keep using Rainbow Dark Brown until I get the brown-black I want.

[ktani]

There is this thread on molasses.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=163

[CopperHead]

I tried several chemical colors and the henna always came through. So, I just decided to keep doing henna and I finally have it where I can say I actually love it. It has taken many layers of different kinds of henna, but the results are worth it. I think you have chosen the right path sticking with henna. :)

[RedHeadDancer]

I tried an experiment to see if I could lighten my red as it was getting dark. I used chemical haircolor, Garnier, I think and it came out okay. It was slightly lighter but I lost the great condition the henna gave my hair. so, I henna'ed again, and its gotten its shine and health back. Right away actually. I won't do that again....I don't think...

[Alley Cat]

You will be fine . I have put darker colors over my hennaed hair and the red disappeared . I stopped hennaing in December last year and have used chemicals ever since , I am sure the henna red is underneath though. I do try to use red colors but when I haven't and have used a brown color the red disappears as I have said. My hair is in good condition. :)

[maliha]

Hi there,,

After reading this thread it seems most of our friends dont mind dyeing on henna hair..

But something i should tell you out of my personal experience,,that DONT DYE RIGHT NOW,,
This is one of my reasons of mine thinned hair,,I did the same mistake this june and end up with thin hair,,your hair is not gonna fall out just like that,, it will happen eventually..
Firstly its gonna be rough,,that slowly that hairfall rate will increase..this is what happened to me,,Since then i have been thinking why did i do that?
Anyways everyone's hair is different,,this is all my personal opinion,,I used Loreal excellence after putting henna..
I have promised myself to be as natural as i can be :)

[Ohio Sky]

Okay, Naturtint is out, too much risk of 1) damaging my hair or 2) having to redye frequently and therefore drying out my hair.

Honey is out, I do NOT want to lighten my hair.

Therefore my only option is to keep using Rainbow Dark Brown until I get the brown-black I want.

Honey will not lighten your hair if you pop it in the microwave for a few seconds before applying it to your hair. :)

You should not have any problems dying over BAQ henna. Most people that complain of having bad results from doing so were not using straight henna. If the henna contains indigo (I'm not sure whether yours does or not) it can react to the peroxide in hair dye to create green tones, patchy color, damage, etc.

I tried henna for a little over 6 months, and it dried my hair out, made it fall out WAY worse than chemical color ever did, and I was unhappy with the color. I switched back to chemical dye, and haven't had any problems.

[mellie]

I think the Rainbow will definitely work for you. Try hibiscus or the microwaved honey for extra conditioning.

[Tangles]

I'm doing the Rainbow tonight. It was so tempting to just use one of those 10-minute dyes, but I just don't want to risk having the peroxide fade my hair to an even redder tint. Also, though henna IS drying, it's also true that it has strengthened my hair so much that I rarely get splits anymore. At this point I felt I had to take the whole growth thing into account as my hair is just long enough that I need to start being more careful with it. I'll simply have to oil/shea the heck out of my hair, LOL.

[mellie]

How did it go? Please post pics so we can see!! :-)

[mooglewoo]

I had very good results getting a dark brown by doing a full-head application of just indigo over my henndigo. I posted a pic in another thread, but so you don't have to go digging for it:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq177/brannaghwoo/Indigo/1223943670.jpg

I only left it on for 15 mins, but as you can see it did darken quite well!

[Tangles]

I think I might have to do what moogle did... the rainbow didn't work well at all :( :( :( its only a half shade darker and there's still tons of red. i'm actually considering booking an appointment with an aveda colorist now.

[mellie]

Wow, I'm surprised and sorry that it didn't work for you! I just used it this weekend to cover up my henna red, and it got really nice and dark right away.

Before:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=1886&pictureid=22903

After Rainbow Dark Brown:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=1886&pictureid=22910

I just used tapwater and a little splash of white vinegar, mixed it up and applied it immediately, leaving it on for 1 hr and 15 minutes. I have heard that putting in a little salt will help the indigo stick too, which I might try next time.

Can you tell me, what was your mix and how long did you leave it in?

[Tangles]

I used boiling water, mixed with half a container of dark brown, and put in.

I actually just went to whole foods and got thr black one...

[manderly]

Doesn't boiling water kill indigo? I recall seeing boiling water kills something in a thread a long time ago..........

Perhaps you murdered the brown? :)

I'm sorry it didn't work.

[Tangles]

My hair is the same color as in my siggy pic, guys. It doesn't suit my coloring well. I have slightly warm undertones, but too much red just isn't good for me. I look best with neutral dark brown hair. I'm going to try the black henna tonight with lukewarm water. I'll try the salt trick for sure, maybe even add some coffee...? Suggestions? I need it to turn out super awesome :)

[Isilme]

I have never used indigo, but from what I have read, don't use boiling water. But mix up, and use right away, don't wait.

[mooglewoo]

I would steer clear of the coffee, I've read on several threads that it is too acidic. I'd go with lukewarm water or black tea. Definitely salt, that will help.

[Tangles]

I'm scared it's going to turn black now, but I also know its just henna and will fade =). I mean three of my four grandparents had black hair so I should be able to pull it off ... never had anything but brown before. We'll see how Rainbow Black turns out. I'll post a pic.

[mellie]

Can't wait to see! I'm sure you'll look beautiful!

[Tangles]

Ohmygosh it looks amazing!!!

The perfect neutral dark brown that I was looking for.

For some reason my hair needs the Black to hide all that red.

Now, all I need to figure out is how to maintain this color... I mean if it fades a bit that would still be ok because it's so dark now... but I really hope it doesn't go back to what it was :(

I'm going to wash tomorrow and then post a pic... its still a bit crunchy as it always is post henna...

[mellie]

Great! I can't wait to see! I bet the Black looks gorgeous against your skin!

After a couple of repeated applications of the Rainbow Dark Brown, I got a really dark almost black color, that didn't budge whatsoever for the life of me. So I think this should stick around for you since this is already your second application!

[Tangles]

You can see my new color on my album; the picture entitled "Holes in my Hair". It looks darker in real life. May take one more application to look dark in photos and in sunlight, but I'm happy for now (more worried about thin ends!)


http://s530.photobucket.com/albums/dd344/lbphe/

[mellie]

It looks beautiful!!! I love your pretty waves at the ends!

[gallows_gallery]

My mum alternates between henna when she's feeling stingy, to hairdresser dye when she wants a cut or highlights.

Her hair is always fine - never any colour disasters. She's had darker and lighter foils done over henna, then hennaed over those, and swapped back and forth between the two. Always fine - mind you, her hair is short. Above her shoulders.

[Samikha]

It looks lovely, and very natural too! Your hair texture is beautiful :flower: