Please help with my indigo/henna question :)

[abarron12]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I was browsing through the posts but could not find what I needed help with.

My natural hair color is a dark brown, almost black(inside) and I had a balayage treatment( it was light brown highlights) done last year around May. I got tired of it and was trying to let it fade out for the past few months but it still was lingering around. So I decided to henna again over my hair last week and it came out a dark burgundy color. I love it and don't mind it but I think I just want to go back to my natural color. I've seen the henna and indigo two step process and the results are permanent I know, but I was wondering two things :

Once I do the two step process, can I henna over that in the near future and will it show up at all over my hair at all? I'm just curious because if I ever want to use henna as a conditioning treatment, I don't want to have to indigo all over again.

The second question is, I've been reading a lot of people are allergic to indigo. I did a patch test on Sunday and I'm not quite sure if I had a reaction to it. Because on Monday I noticed I had a slight sinus headache, but I do have allergies so I'm not sure if It was allergies or the indigo. Are there any other symptoms I should look for ? Thank you so much ! :)

[Anje]

Often, the first time you do a two-step with indigo, it will fade some over the next few months. The henna would probably show more after that, and you could henna again to get that color a bit deeper. Usually after the second indigoing, it's pretty much black. Further henna at that point might show up in bright sunlight, but I doubt you'd notice it otherwise. You would still get the conditioning effects, though. I don't think henna pulls indigo back out, so no worries there.

As for allergies, I'd look for irritation at the patch test site. Redness, itchiness, swelling, stuff like that. (Oh, and mix the indigo with water, not something like lemon juice. I once made henna with lemon juice, and the resulting irritation was pretty crazy. Nowadays when I henna, I make it with water or chamomile tea. Besides, indigo does better at a more neutral pH, where henna arguably likes acid.)

ETA: Just to make sure -- you know that once you indigo, if you use any products with peroxide, you risk your hair turning an icky green color, right? It's probably less of a problem for you since you're trying to go back to your natural dark hair, but I've seen so many people try to bleach the stuff out and end up horrified with the color their hair turns, that I feel compelled to warn anyone who wants long hair that indigo is a bit treacherous to the dye-happy.

[lapushka]

If you have balayage in your hair, that means bleach. Bleach + indigo *do not mix*. Your hair will turn green. It will be mostly masked by the black/brown pigment, but it will look very muddy.

Yeah. Did that too.

So no, would not recommend you do this until the balayage is grown out!

[abarron12]

Okay, thank you very much for the warning, I'm definitely not planning on putting any more chemicals whatsoever from here on out. That was the first and last time that I'll ever do anything chemically to my hair.

So I'm just wondering now if I do the indigo, will it matter if my hair is already bleached ?
I thought it didn't matter if it was bleached previously. I thought it turned green if you bleached on top of indigo?

Thank you in advance. Just want to make sure I don't go green.

[Anje]

I don't think there's much risk of getting odd colors on old bleached portions -- it's not like there is residual bleach in the hair. But you definitely need the henna base, since indigo on white tends to be a grayish-greenish-blueish shade. Layering that over the red-orange of henna is what gives dark brown or black.

[abarron12]

I don't think there's much risk of getting odd colors on old bleached portions -- it's not like there is residual bleach in the hair. But you definitely need the henna base, since indigo on white tends to be a grayish-greenish-blueish shade. Layering that over the red-orange of henna is what gives dark brown or black.
Oh okay, I think in a few weeks I'll redo the henna, then indigo bill definitely strand test first.
Thank you guys very much, I appreciate the help.

[lapushka]

Okay, thank you very much for the warning, I'm definitely not planning on putting any more chemicals whatsoever from here on out. That was the first and last time that I'll ever do anything chemically to my hair.

So I'm just wondering now if I do the indigo, will it matter if my hair is already bleached ?
I thought it didn't matter if it was bleached previously. I thought it turned green if you bleached on top of indigo?

Thank you in advance. Just want to make sure I don't go green.

Whether you bleach out indigo, or there's bleach in there and you put indigo over it = same thing: green hair. Only it's not going to be as noticeable in the black/brown pigment (may look muddy though).

I think the strand test over a bleached section to see whether the green transpires through will be best!

I had old bleach in my hair and my hair turned green. Of course because it was dark brown (almost black), it was hard to see, but it looked as if I had patches that had no shine and an odd hue. That may not bother you or be hardly visible.

[bunneh.]

If you have very yellow bleached hair and use only indigo on your hair it might turn green (yellow + blue = green). If you use henna before and indigo afterwards or hendigo mixture then I don't think it should turn green, but brown instead (yellow + orangered + blue). Here's a thread of kelseyxface using hendigo mixture on her bleached blonde hair with pictures: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=126055 But I agree that you should strand test first to see how it looks like and whether or not you like it.

[Daydreamer.]

The 2 step henndigo makes your hair black. If it fades and you use henna over it, you might see a little red. I tried indigo for the first time awhile back and it gave me a headache. I didn't break out or get red, so I don't think it was an allergic reaction. It probably was due to the strong scent. Maybe it might be the same with you?