Fading indigo.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Is is possible to fade it over time or will I be forced to eventually cut it out?
My hair is 100 colors right now and I am over it, want my natural color back now.
https://s17.postimg.org/v4hubsz4f/IMG_7488.png
I finally started to appreciate my natural color but now Im almost hip. Its going to take forever... lol

[Nightshade]

I copy/pasted all this from my henna book, so pardon any wonky formatting :)

Removing indigo
The important thing to remember with removing indigo is that it is a blue dye. Removing it may put you through shades of blue, green, and gray and the removal may be patchy and uneven during the process. Bleach only encourages this and should be used as a last resort.

ColorFix, ColourB4, Decolour, UnColor System, etc.
This is a good method for attempting to remove indigo. Follow the instructions earlier in the chapter with one important change: if your color removal system comes with a peroxide developer, skip that step if removing indigo.



Vitamin C/ascorbic acid
Generally considered to be the most effective indigo removal method, this should be your first attempt. You can order powdered ascorbic acid/vitamin or purchase tablets locally and reduce them to a powder by either grinding with a spoon or mortar and pestle.

Step 1—Grind down tablets if you did not purchase a powder. How much you will need will depend on the amount of hair you have and its thickness, but start with ¼ c.

Step 2—Add the vitamin C powder to a bowl and slowly add hot water, blending to make a thick paste.

Step 3—Apply the paste to clean, damp hair. Make sure to coat all the hair evenly, avoiding your scalp as much as possible as this treatment can be very drying to both skin and hair.

Step 4—Wrap hair atop head and cover with saran wrap or a shower cap, then add a warm hat on top. Allow it to sit for 45–60 minutes.

Step 5—Wash. You may want to combine this treatment with either the dandruff shampoo or the alkaline shampoo and honey methods mentioned earlier in this chapter. Rise very well as any remaining vitamin C can continue to dry out hair.

Step 6—Give your hair a long soak in conditioner and then rinse again.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I copy/pasted all this from my henna book, so pardon any wonky formatting :)

Removing indigo
The important thing to remember with removing indigo is that it is a blue dye. Removing it may put you through shades of blue, green, and gray and the removal may be patchy and uneven during the process. Bleach only encourages this and should be used as a last resort.

ColorFix, ColourB4, Decolour, UnColor System, etc.
This is a good method for attempting to remove indigo. Follow the instructions earlier in the chapter with one important change: if your color removal system comes with a peroxide developer, skip that step if removing indigo.



Vitamin C/ascorbic acid
Generally considered to be the most effective indigo removal method, this should be your first attempt. You can order powdered ascorbic acid/vitamin or purchase tablets locally and reduce them to a powder by either grinding with a spoon or mortar and pestle.

Step 1—Grind down tablets if you did not purchase a powder. How much you will need will depend on the amount of hair you have and its thickness, but start with ¼ c.

Step 2—Add the vitamin C powder to a bowl and slowly add hot water, blending to make a thick paste.

Step 3—Apply the paste to clean, damp hair. Make sure to coat all the hair evenly, avoiding your scalp as much as possible as this treatment can be very drying to both skin and hair.

Step 4—Wrap hair atop head and cover with saran wrap or a shower cap, then add a warm hat on top. Allow it to sit for 45–60 minutes.

Step 5—Wash. You may want to combine this treatment with either the dandruff shampoo or the alkaline shampoo and honey methods mentioned earlier in this chapter. Rise very well as any remaining vitamin C can continue to dry out hair.

Step 6—Give your hair a long soak in conditioner and then rinse again.

if I used coloroops or something like that, I would use it without the peroxide?
I havent used coloroops in a long long time so i dont remember how they worked.

i wont bleach and i wont do vitamin c because it wrecked my hair ages ago!

[Nightshade]

ColorOops, then, is probably your best bet. There's a bottle that's peroxide-based, follow all the directions, but don't add / use that portion :) I haven't personally used it in over a decade, so I don't remember exactly how it goes, but I didn't use the peroxide bit, either.

[Beeboo123]

Is your hair hennaed under the indigo? You might be able to fade the indigo and the henna a little, but you won’t be able to get your exact natural color back.

[Dendra]

I'm sure mine faded with regular cycles of overnight coconut oil followed by an SMT and then shampoo etc. In some lights it looks almost gone:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30199&d=1518263021


And in some lights you can see the bottom half is much darker:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29809&d=1515455144

I'm certain the green tinge will never go from some of my hair and will have to be chopped out gradually. Thankfully only a few bits have that tinge, the rest is a washed out brown that isn't too bad alongside my natural colour.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I'm sure mine faded with regular cycles of overnight coconut oil followed by an SMT and then shampoo etc. In some lights it looks almost gone:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30199&d=1518263021


And in some lights you can see the bottom half is much darker:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29809&d=1515455144

I'm certain the green tinge will never go from some of my hair and will have to be chopped out gradually. Thankfully only a few bits have that tinge, the rest is a washed out brown that isn't too bad alongside my natural colour.

How did you fade it so much?

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Is your hair hennaed under the indigo? You might be able to fade the indigo and the henna a little, but you won’t be able to get your exact natural color back.

I know I won’t get my natural color back.
But it would be nice if the length wasn’t as dark.
So the line between Virginhair and not wasn’t so “drastic” like it is now

[Beeboo123]

I know I won’t get my natural color back.
But it would be nice if the length wasn’t as dark.
So the line between Virginhair and not wasn’t so “drastic” like it is now
I actually really like how your hair looks, i don’t think there’s a “drastic line” at all. It looks like you have a really nice reverse ombre effect going on there

[Dendra]

How did you fade it so much?

Just good ol' coconut oil and SMTs! It's really lighting dependent though, whether the ends look dark or not.

[elvina]

Just good ol' coconut oil and SMTs! It's really lighting dependent though, whether the ends look dark or not.

Sorry but what is SMT?

[Nightshade]

Snowy's Moisture Treatment :)

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128

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Snowy's Moisture Treatment :)

Speaking of SMT, do you think it's possible to skip the honey or substitute it with another ingredient such as agave syrup?

[TatsuOni]

Speaking of SMT, do you think it's possible to skip the honey or substitute it with another ingredient such as agave syrup?

I don't see why not both methods could work. It's still good conditioning ingredients.

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I don't see why not both methods could work. It's still good conditioning ingredients.

Definitely worth considering in that case.
Love trying out new things. :D

[TatsuOni]

Definitely worth considering in that case.
Love trying out new things. :D

And while I do love trying out new things too I also love reading about others trying it. So do update me if you try it :)

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And while I do love trying out new things too I also love reading about others trying it. So do update me if you try it :)

Will do. :agree:

[Nightshade]

I don't see why not both methods could work. It's still good conditioning ingredients.

I think it should work too!

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I think it should work too!

Good to have it confirmed by the both of you. :heart: