Indigo doesn't like my roots... AGAIN?

[Harini]

Last month I did a henndigo treatment and the indigo seemed to repel from my roots. I ended up with black and darrrrk red hair that, after about a week (and many shampoos), evened out to a dark reddish brown. I liked it and took the advice of applying my mix to DRY hair this time around.
The indigo had faded quite a bit leaving me with Auburn (in sunlight) and reddish brown (indoors). I really liked the dark, dark brown so I decided to do full head again, even if it initially (or permanently) went black. I do not mind black or dark brown. Either is fine.
I mixed henna with Amla last night, let release overnight, then added salt and indigo to mix and applied immediately. My hair was dripping saturated. There's no way any hair got missed. I left on for 3 hours. When I rinsed it out I was met, yet again, with hot roots.
My hair is almost all black, about an inch of very deep brown and about a third inch of orange/ashy/GREENISH roots!?
I don't understand why this keeps happening. I'm doing a 50/50 henndigo mix so I can't believe my roots would only turn a light orange. Even straight henna goes quite a bit darker than that usually, and the indigo obviously works because my length went black again.

[lapushka]

Did you do it on dry hair again, this time, or wet? Maybe a 2-step treatment is really what you need. I don't think I understand if you did a 1-step or 2-step treatment.

[Harini]

Did you do it on dry hair again, this time, or wet? Maybe a 2-step treatment is really what you need. I don't think I understand if you did a 1-step or 2-step treatment.
I did it on dry hair this time. I washed it then towel dried and let it air dry the rest of the way.
I guess I will try a 2 step next time. I did a 1 step this time.

[lapushka]

I did it on dry hair this time. I washed it then towel dried and let it air dry the rest of the way.
I guess I will try a 2 step next time. I did a 1 step this time.

Yep, it might be as simple as this. If it is, then it's going to be easy enough to "fix"! Hope it goes better next time.

Keep us posted. :) :flower:

[Harini]

Yep, it might be as simple as this. If it is, then it's going to be easy enough to "fix"! Hope it goes better next time.

Keep us posted. :) :flower:
Hopefully, yes! Thank you.
Will post an update next time! :)

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

2 step will give you very black black hair, that’s how I kept my hair dark for awhile.

[Rhoward]

No advise, just sympathy, no matter what I did I couldn't get it to stick in my hair!

I wish you the absolute best of luck :)

[Harini]

No advise, just sympathy, no matter what I did I couldn't get it to stick in my hair!

I wish you the absolute best of luck :)
I've been doing more reading since this and found that because henna prefers acidic pH to stick best and indigo prefers alkaline, it's possible for them to impede one another and stop uptake. Maybe it usually isn't a problem but I think with the amla I put into the henna mix, that might make the issue worse.
That being said, tl;dr, haha, I think a 2 step is the best way to get the indigo to stick when using amla. Especially because I have light hair.
Not sure how light your hair is or if you tried the 2 step, but that might help?

Thank you!! :flower: I'm really hoping to make indigo work. I love dark hair and am absolutely done with chemical dyes, even non-permanent.

[hennalove]

I've been doing more reading since this and found that because henna prefers acidic pH to stick best and indigo prefers alkaline, it's possible for them to impede one another and stop uptake. Maybe it usually isn't a problem but I think with the amla I put into the henna mix, that might make the issue worse.
That being said, tl;dr, haha, I think a 2 step is the best way to get the indigo to stick when using amla. Especially because I have light hair.
Not sure how light your hair is or if you tried the 2 step, but that might help?

Thank you!! :flower: I'm really hoping to make indigo work. I love dark hair and am absolutely done with chemical dyes, even non-permanent.

I'm doing the 2 step henna/indigo with hibiscus, my thread http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=145861&p=3526018&posted=1#post3526018 I don't use amla but even after multiple treatments with indigo still see some bleed the first 48 hours afterwards on my hands after touching my hair. There is also indigo release the first shampoo. However, there does not seem to be indigo fade from my hair. I think the indigo may be coming off the length where it is likely saturated and can't hold any more but that's just a theory. I also think the scalp holds a bit of extra indigo until that first wash. At any rate, using the 2 step twice there definitely was no fading of the indigo in my hair even though I saw it on my hands. Be warned that when indigo does stick to your hair, it sticks!

For my 2 steps, I mix my henna with 2 tbsp hibiscus powder and hibiscus tea. I leave my henna on for 5-6 hours then rinse well before applying the indigo that is mixed with warm filtered water and allowed to dye release for 10 minutes. I leave the indigo on for 1 hour. If you are using amla, then you would substitute the amla for the hibiscus in the henna mixture. Always use the indigo mixed with filtered water only. Some add a bit of salt to their indigo mixture to make it stick better but I don't. Also, indigo does not like oil. So after an indigo treatment do not use oil or conditioner for 48 hours as it will pull the indigo back out. Rinse with green tea or rice water or ACV but nothing with oil in it. Let your hair set for 48 hours then wash. The suds will be blue which is normal. You can now oil and condition as normal but may see a slight blue tinge on your hands until the next wash. The indigo should stick to your hair though aka no fade.

Seeing indigo release for 48 hours after an application is normal. It's like the semi-permanent hair dyes (eg. Manic Panic) where you see the dye bleed and yet the hair is still vibrantly dyed. HTH