Wild Hair with Hibiscus Flowers

[eaglefeather71]

So...I was in the health food store Friday spending WAY too much and decided to get some Hibiscus Flowers. Today I noticed them sitting on the counter and decided to make a temp dye for my daughter and I. I have no idea if this will work or what it will do to our hair...crazy, I know. This is what I did:

1/3cup Dried Hibiscus (apx)
1 cup water with a little black tea (apx)

I simmered this until it was Blood red like a great Cabernet or Zin. Then I thickened it with some corn starch so it was like a medium/thin Gelatin, and put a splash of white Vinegar in the mix after I removed it from the heat. I added most of this to:

a good sized squirt of Aloe Gel
a good sized squirt of Conditioner

in a squirt bottle and shook well.

I saturated her hair and covered it with a shower cap and towel. I just combed it in to my crown and bang area and covered my head with plastic. We're sitting here watching tv for an hour waiting to rinse. We were going to do an overnight thing, but got worried we would end up with PINK everywhere in the morning. We still have quite a bit left so if it doesnt keep well, we can do a longer treatment tomorrow during the day.

Based on the experiences here, what do you all think? I'm worried that my gray hairs will be HOT pink! If they are, I'm gonna be in a scarf tomorrow for sure!

[eaglefeather71]

Well, as you may have guessed...no color :o My daughter loves the condition of her hair, its smooth and soft. She blowdries her hair, but mine is still drying so I don't know how its going to act. I can say it was a little hard to get my fingers through during my rinse, but just a little.

I forgot I also added a little honey to the warm "tea" before adding to the squirt bottle. Does anyone know what I could have done to help the color stay without damaging our hair?

[mellie]

When I've used hibiscus tea rinses, I just poured it or spritzed it on my hair, with nothing else added. There was definite color on my grays. However, the color did wash out with the next shampoo.

[Sarahmoon]

Honey can bleach your hair a little bit when it stays in your hair for as long as an hour, that's all I know. Sorry I can't be of anymore help.

[ktani]

So...I was in the health food store Friday spending WAY too much and decided to get some Hibiscus Flowers. Today I noticed them sitting on the counter and decided to make a temp dye for my daughter and I. I have no idea if this will work or what it will do to our hair...crazy, I know. This is what I did:

1/3cup Dried Hibiscus (apx)
1 cup water with a little black tea (apx)

I simmered this until it was Blood red like a great Cabernet or Zin. Then I thickened it with some corn starch so it was like a medium/thin Gelatin, and put a splash of white Vinegar in the mix after I removed it from the heat. I added most of this to:

a good sized squirt of Aloe Gel
a good sized squirt of Conditioner

in a squirt bottle and shook well.

I saturated her hair and covered it with a shower cap and towel. I just combed it in to my crown and bang area and covered my head with plastic. We're sitting here watching tv for an hour waiting to rinse. We were going to do an overnight thing, but got worried we would end up with PINK everywhere in the morning. We still have quite a bit left so if it doesnt keep well, we can do a longer treatment tomorrow during the day.

Based on the experiences here, what do you all think? I'm worried that my gray hairs will be HOT pink! If they are, I'm gonna be in a scarf tomorrow for sure!

It does not sound as if you added much honey afterward to the mix. The honey would have had to deal with the conditioner (its pH, and some conditioners interfere with honey lightening), the acidity from the black tea (the ideal pH for honey to produce peroxide is 6), and the aloe gel (aloe gel contains 3 x the Vitamin C as raw lemon juice. Vitamin C depletes peroxide). There is also Vitamin C in hibiscus flowers. So no worries there, IMO about much chance of lightening with those ingredients.

From what I have read on the boards about hibiscus rinses, your best chance of a colour stain is just using the rinse itself, with nothing added. It is acidic on it own.

[eaglefeather71]

From what I have read on the boards about hibiscus rinses, your best chance of a colour stain is just using the rinse itself, with nothing added. It is acidic on it own.
I was thinking the same thing. I should have just put it in a spray bottle, misted and let dry. Now I know for next time. It's definetly very temporary and rinses off right away. Can you imagine using it as a spray on color and then getting caught in the rain...not good!