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View Full Version : Does anyone still use Bigen?



blackgothicdoll
November 10th, 2018, 12:02 PM
And have not broken out in a severe rash, still has healthy hair, etc.?

Henna/indigo don't seem to be working on my hair. Now I'm torn between revisiting Bigen, which gave me a beautiful permanent black that hasn't faded 6 months later, or just letting my natural color grow out. Bigen is definitely not natural, but is said to be less traumatic than dyes that lift + deposit. Still, any chemical isn't good for hair, so I'm definitely apprehensive. Any advice is appreciated. :)

Dark40
November 10th, 2018, 05:27 PM
My mother used to use Bigen about 8 years ago. She told me that it broke her hair off. Plus, it didn't leave her hair feeling as nice, smooth, and silky like other hair dyes made her hair feel. But she also relaxes her hair as well. So....that's why she stopped using it. She told me that she didn't like it at all.

Kalamazoo
November 11th, 2018, 12:33 AM
I've never used Bigen. The ingredient list looks more synthetic than I'm willing to try.

It's a hair dye. Are you trying to combat premature gray? According to the ads on eBay for combs made from various woods, simply combing one's hair on a regular basis with a comb made from certain woods will combat premature gray. This makes sense to me, because I read that oxidation causes gray hairs, so antioxidants will return hair to its natural color. Natural wood should naturally contain some antioxidants, no?

I threw away all my plastic combs & brushes (because those same eBay ads said that plastic combs cause static electricity, split ends, frizz, & hair breakage) & replaced them with combs made of either wood or ox horn.

My favorite wooden combs are made of either: neem, lignum vitae, verawood, black sandalwood, green sandalwood, cherry wood ... all of which have advertisements saying that they "combat premature gray".

I believe that they work for me. I like them very much!

Some people with very curly hair probably shouldn't be combing their hair very much. It seems to me that one could massage one's scalp with the smooth side of the comb instead of combing it with the toothy side, and that the contact with the wood would distribute the wood's oils onto the scalp...

Kalamazoo
November 11th, 2018, 12:43 AM
However, the lignum vitae (synonym: verawood) is so oily that those combs glide through my hair surprisingly well. And sometimes I put a little oil on my wooden comb, Those oils have antioxidants in them, too...

blackgothicdoll
November 11th, 2018, 11:21 AM
I've never used Bigen. The ingredient list looks more synthetic than I'm willing to try.

It's a hair dye. Are you trying to combat premature gray? According to the ads on eBay for combs made from various woods, simply combing one's hair on a regular basis with a comb made from certain woods will combat premature gray. This makes sense to me, because I read that oxidation causes gray hairs, so antioxidants will return hair to its natural color. Natural wood should naturally contain some antioxidants, no?

I threw away all my plastic combs & brushes (because those same eBay ads said that plastic combs cause static electricity, split ends, frizz, & hair breakage) & replaced them with combs made of either wood or ox horn.

My favorite wooden combs are made of either: neem, lignum vitae, verawood, black sandalwood, green sandalwood, cherry wood ... all of which have advertisements saying that they "combat premature gray".

I believe that they work for me. I like them very much!

Some people with very curly hair probably shouldn't be combing their hair very much. It seems to me that one could massage one's scalp with the smooth side of the comb instead of combing it with the toothy side, and that the contact with the wood would distribute the wood's oils onto the scalp...

I suppose it's based more on vanity; I simply like the look of jet black hair. My hair is a very dull brown with copper tones. It does not ever shine, but when I color it black, it is very shiny. I am also graying (I'm 26) but oddly enough it doesn't bother me as much as my natural hair color does.

Kalamazoo
November 12th, 2018, 09:07 AM
I'm learning that my appearance is more important to my sanity, self-confidence, spiritual well-being, & general success in life than I ever imagined before getting interested in growing my hair; so, no, I don't think it's just vanity for you to want black hair. That's an important piece of your image of your best you, & it's of vital importance for you to be the best possible version of yourself, because there's no one else who can be you.

However, I may not be the best person to advise you on how to accomplish that, because I've never used Bigen, and my hair type's very different from yours (very close to straight, fine, & thin).

I wonder if there aren't other plants out there that would dye the hair black?

Somebody else has to know more about this than I do!

nycelle
November 12th, 2018, 10:02 AM
I've never used Bigen. The ingredient list looks more synthetic than I'm willing to try.

It's a hair dye. Are you trying to combat premature gray? According to the ads on eBay for combs made from various woods, simply combing one's hair on a regular basis with a comb made from certain woods will combat premature gray. This makes sense to me, because I read that oxidation causes gray hairs, so antioxidants will return hair to its natural color. Natural wood should naturally contain some antioxidants, no?

I threw away all my plastic combs & brushes (because those same eBay ads said that plastic combs cause static electricity, split ends, frizz, & hair breakage) & replaced them with combs made of either wood or ox horn.

My favorite wooden combs are made of either: neem, lignum vitae, verawood, black sandalwood, green sandalwood, cherry wood ... all of which have advertisements saying that they "combat premature gray".

I believe that they work for me. I like them very much!

Some people with very curly hair probably shouldn't be combing their hair very much. It seems to me that one could massage one's scalp with the smooth side of the comb instead of combing it with the toothy side, and that the contact with the wood would distribute the wood's oils onto the scalp...

It's the lack of melanin that causes grey hair, not oxidation.

I've never tried Bigen or even heard of it. I am looking into various ways to color without causing an unnecessary amount of damage though. So far, no luck with anything permanent.

Kalamazoo
November 12th, 2018, 11:02 AM
I haven't tried it, but YouTube videos on rice water suggest that it accelerates hair growth & maintains the hair's black color.

Wellness Mama has a recipe for black walnut hull dye, which made her hair a deep brown. <https://wellnessmama.com/5112/natural-hair-color-recipes/>

Actually, she has recipes for natural hair dyes for every color there. I haven't personally tried them, but I think her ingredients look safe.

ETA: Try this link for Wellness Mama instead:

wellnessmama.com/5112/natural-hair-color-recipes

ETA: Well, it still doesn't work. Just copy & paste into the browser.

Kalamazoo
November 12th, 2018, 11:30 AM
And, I'm a Caboki user. I find that putting Caboki powder in my hair colors it temporarily (until the next hair wash day). Some of my roots are gray, particularly at my temples, and the way Caboki makes it look like I have more hair is by coloring the hairs that are already there. <caboki.com>

Kalamazoo
November 13th, 2018, 02:56 PM
It's the lack of melanin that causes grey hair, not oxidation.

I've never tried Bigen or even heard of it. I am looking into various ways to color without causing an unnecessary amount of damage though. So far, no luck with anything permanent.

Hi nycelle!

The wooden combs are amazing at changing one's hair color.

My mom & brother are both natural blue-eyed blonds. (Mama's 1/2 Swedish.) My brother, age 58 at the time, tried one of those neem combs (which I bought for everyone in the family :disco:). His hair went from looking almost all-white to a dark gray. The eBay ads DO say that neem gives a blackish cast to the hair. My mom, age 92 at the time, went from all snowy white to having a golden sheen.

I'm darker-complected than they are, because I inherited my dad's Irish coloring: blonette occasionally flaring red, with brown-green-hazel eyes. On me, the neem combs make my white hairs turn blond, so people don't consider me gray at all. I'm 62.

I also bought a neem comb for my calico cat.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33819&d=1540459898

Calico cat's color genes are heat-sensitive, so they look more white when they're young, & when it's summertime. They blossom as they age & as they cool off, in the wintertime. My Angel also started showing more color when I started combing her with her own neem comb.

I sometimes supplement the wooden combs with a drop of neem oil (which stinks) or a drop of black walnut extract. Not everybody would consider neem oil or walnut extract to be totally safe, though. Just google them before using.

As I mentioned before, I also use combs made of lignum vitae, verawood, black sandalwood, green sandalwood, cherry wood ... all of which have advertisements saying that they "combat premature gray".

Kalamazoo
November 13th, 2018, 03:04 PM
Hi blackgothicdoll! Now that I can see your avatar photo, you are indeed a doll! (I haven't figured out how to have an avatar pic yet, so you're ahead of me on that!)

You want your hair to shine. Mine's shiniest after I've oiled it.

You might be interested in a YouTube video in which two college girls, one Caucasian & the other Afro-American, swapped hair care routines for a day.

Kalamazoo
November 13th, 2018, 03:35 PM
Keratin's keratin, so they were both using the same basic hair care products, but different hair textures need vastly different amounts of the same item.

"Cristina & Devri Swapped Hair Care Routines - YouTube"

So what I'm trying to say is that you're beautiful, and you are in the process of figuring out how to optimize that beauty that you've already got. The fashion advertising business has long been trying to convince every woman that she's ugly, so that the beauty manufacturers can sell their wares. White women are routinely told that they need suntans, straight-haired ladies are told they need to get perms so they can have afros, etc. Just don't buy it! You're already totally gorgeous, & you have a flair for artistry to arrange the beauty that you were born with. If you choose to use a natural product or a synthetic one, or 2 or 3 or a million, you're going to use it/them beautifully & wisely.

I read a free book sample on Kindle that I really like. When my budget allows, I'll probably get the whole book: If You Love It, It Will Grow: A Guide to Healthy, Beautiful, Natural Hair by Dr. Phoenyx Austin.

lapushka
November 13th, 2018, 04:29 PM
The wooden combs are amazing at changing one's hair color.

I might be mistaken here but didn't you just post in the salt & pepper thread that you colored your hair because you no longer could stand the gray? If a comb could fix that then why would you need to color the hair? This is what I don't get. :flower:

Would you mind explaining it to me? At least, it was you that just recently colored, right? :hmm: Sorry if I'm mistaken.

blackgothicdoll
November 13th, 2018, 04:46 PM
Keratin's keratin, so they were both using the same basic hair care products, but different hair textures need vastly different amounts of the same item.

"Cristina & Devri Swapped Hair Care Routines - YouTube"

So what I'm trying to say is that you're beautiful, and you are in the process of figuring out how to optimize that beauty that you've already got. The fashion advertising business has long been trying to convince every woman that she's ugly, so that the beauty manufacturers can sell their wares. White women are routinely told that they need suntans, straight-haired ladies are told they need to get perms so they can have afros, etc. Just don't buy it! You're already totally gorgeous, & you have a flair for artistry to arrange the beauty that you were born with. If you choose to use a natural product or a synthetic one, or 2 or 3 or a million, you're going to use it/them beautifully & wisely.

I read a free book sample on Kindle that I really like. When my budget allows, I'll probably get the whole book: If You Love It, It Will Grow: A Guide to Healthy, Beautiful, Natural Hair by Dr. Phoenyx Austin.

Thank you so much for your kind words. They made me smile. :)

blackgothicdoll
November 13th, 2018, 04:50 PM
(I haven't figured out how to havw an avatar pic yet, so you're ahead of me on that!)

.

Click "Settings" on the top right of your screen. Scroll down a little bit and on the left hand side, in the box titled "My Settings", you should see "Edit Avatar". Click on this, select the dial for "Use Custom Avatar", and upload your image of choice. Hope that helps. :)

lenu60
November 13th, 2018, 10:52 PM
My mom and sister uses Bigen. They stopped for a while now. No rash

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 10:27 AM
I might be mistaken here but didn't you just post in the salt & pepper thread that you colored your hair because you no longer could stand the gray? If a comb could fix that then why would you need to color the hair? This is what I don't get. :flower:

Would you mind explaining it to me? At least, it was you that just recently colored, right? :hmm: Sorry if I'm mistaken.

Hi Lapushka! Well, I'm not sure my view of my hair is entirely rational, because I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm younger than what the calendar says. :magic:

I also have this weird quirk about thinking that I'm not dying my hair because of using only natural means.

So the wooden combs help somewhat, but occasionally I look in the mirror & my temples look whiter than I want to admit, so I apply a drop of something to the spot & rub it in. The "drop of something" may be a little neem oil (which smells bad & may be a no-no for women of child-bearing age, but I'm not), or black walnut hull extract (which may also have a cautionary statement), ...

or, when I'm serious about wanting to grow my hair overnight & follow the advice of those YouTubers who combine the Inversion Method with Egg & Oil Under a Plastic Head-Wrapping Overnight, among the ingredients in my hair mask, I include some Ayurvedic herbs which are known to change hair color a bit, including neem & amla powders.

I've also tried henna a couple times because I thought having red hair might be fun; but the orange that it gave me didn't go with my complexion, so I got rid of it the next day. I did another hair mask with 4 blueberries crushed in it.

I must say that whatever I put on my scalp has a huge impact on my health! Usually, if I eat about a quarter cup of blueberries, I start seeing better (because of that visual purple dye in the berries); but mashing just 4 blueberries into that hair mask had me seeing better the next day, & for a longer time, than just eating 10 times as many as what I put on my scalp.

And then there's the Caboki powder, which also changes hair color temporarily.

So using wooden combs is one of about half a dozen things I do to adjust my hair color.

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 10:42 AM
Click "Settings" on the top right of your screen. Scroll down a little bit and on the left hand side, in the box titled "My Settings", you should see "Edit Avatar". Click on this, select the dial for "Use Custom Avatar", and upload your image of choice. Hope that helps. :)

Thanks Blackgothicdoll! It will help, once I get to that point. I'm having resizing issues uploading pics from my phone, & I think I need a new computer so I can upload photos from my videocam. (My computer picked up a trojan horse.) So I'm functioning from my cellphone for now. So some things just need a full-blown computer to operate right. And then, I need to go through the process of learning how to do all this stuff that I want to do...

But I haven't yet managed to upload a photo that I want for an avatar, so ... But I'm going to! :brickwall

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 10:55 AM
And I discovered yesterday that I had enough Kindle credits from other purchases, so that I was able to get If You Love It, It Will Grow: A Guide to Healthy, Beautiful, Natural Hair by Dr. Phoenyx Austin for free. "Free" is definitely within my budget, so I got it! Dr. Phoenyx thinks she's only writing to black women, but the self-acceptance problems she's written about are something I'm definitely struggling with, which is why I wanted the book. She also has practical advice on how to pamper what she calls “afro-textured” hair, which may or may not work for me personally, but at least I'll have more understanding.

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 11:08 AM
I might be mistaken here but didn't you just post in the salt & pepper thread that you colored your hair because you no longer could stand the gray? If a comb could fix that then why would you need to color the hair? This is what I don't get. :flower:

Would you mind explaining it to me? At least, it was you that just recently colored, right? :hmm: Sorry if I'm mistaken.

I just rechecked My Dashboard. No, I haven't posted anything on the salt & pepper thread.

lapushka
November 15th, 2018, 03:38 PM
I just rechecked My Dashboard. No, I haven't posted anything on the salt & pepper thread.

I must have mistaken you with someone else then. I'm so sorry! :flower:

lapushka
November 15th, 2018, 03:40 PM
Hi Lapushka! Well, I'm not sure my view of my hair is entirely rational, because I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm younger than what the calendar says. :magic:

I also have this weird quirk about thinking that I'm not dying my hair because of using only natural means.

So the wooden combs help somewhat, but occasionally I look in the mirror & my temples look whiter than I want to admit, so I apply a drop of something to the spot & rub it in. The "drop of something" may be a little neem oil (which smells bad & may be a no-no for women of child-bearing age, but I'm not), or black walnut hull extract (which may also have a cautionary statement), ...

or, when I'm serious about wanting to grow my hair overnight & follow the advice of those YouTubers who combine the Inversion Method with Egg & Oil Under a Plastic Head-Wrapping Overnight, among the ingredients in my hair mask, I include some Ayurvedic herbs which are known to change hair color a bit, including neem & amla powders.

I've also tried henna a couple times because I thought having red hair might be fun; but the orange that it gave me didn't go with my complexion, so I got rid of it the next day. I did another hair mask with 4 blueberries crushed in it.

I must say that whatever I put on my scalp has a huge impact on my health! Usually, if I eat about a quarter cup of blueberries, I start seeing better (because of that visual purple dye in the berries); but mashing just 4 blueberries into that hair mask had me seeing better the next day, & for a longer time, than just eating 10 times as many as what I put on my scalp.

And then there's the Caboki powder, which also changes hair color temporarily.

So using wooden combs is one of about half a dozen things I do to adjust my hair color.

Don't we all wish we were younger than the calendar says. ;)

Amla can darken, I know that much.

But I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you can get "color" from using a wooden comb. That has me well confused. :confused:

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 07:31 PM
Here are some eBay and Amazon ads that claim that their wooden combs "delay the development of grey hair":

<https://www.ebay.com/itm/RoyaltyRoute-Handcrafted-Neem-Wood-Comb-Wide-Tooth-Detangling-Anti-Static-Wo/264022440847?hash=item3d78f6bb8f:g:v1gAAOSwF8Fb3od U>

OK, copy & paste this into your browser's address bar:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RoyaltyRoute-Handcrafted-Neem-Wood-Comb-Wide-Tooth-Detangling-Anti-Static-Wo/264022440847?hash=item3d78f6bb8f:g:v1gAAOSwF8Fb3od U

<https://www.amazon.com/Olina-Handmade-Sandalwood-Aromatic-Wide-tooth/dp/B00EPEZUUM>

Try this link instead:

amazon.com/Olina-Handmade-Sandalwood-Aromatic-Wide-tooth/dp/B00EPEZUUM


That didn't work either. OK, try going to Amazon.com & paste this into Amazon's search bar:

Olina Sandalwood Aromatic Wide tooth




<https://www.amazon.com/FREUDEWOOD-Narrow-Handmade-Sandalwood-Handle/dp/B00B4VH372>

And here's an article, "Restore Your Natural Hair Color With A Comb by Joyce Wang", at:

<https://www.google.com/amp/s/naturopathicinstitute.info/newsletter/herbs-etc-articles/restore-your-natural-hair-color-with-a-comb-by-joyce-wang/amp/>

ETA: Hmmm... That link for the article doesn't work. OK, try copying & pasting the following into your address bar:

naturopathicinstitute.info/newsletter/herbs-etc-articles/restore-your-natural-hair-color-with-a-comb-by-joyce-wang/amp/

I'll be back with corrections for the comb ads.

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 07:33 PM
I must have mistaken you with someone else then. I'm so sorry! :flower:

It's OK. Since I haven't posted an avatar picture yet, we sort of all look alike!

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 07:48 PM
The way I use wooden combs? I like to use 2 of them simultaneously, 1 in each hand, & scratch my scalp vigorously, back & forth. I have fine hair, & I use fine-toothed combs. Sometimes I do this while sitting, & sometimes while inverted (bending over enough so that my heart's above my head). It really doesn't tangle my hair!

To detangle, again, I use a fine-toothed comb, either wood or ox horn. I kind of prefer wood for detangling. I add just a little bit of oil by smearing it on the teeth of the comb. If I come to a knot, I apply extra oil there. The oils I'm most likely to use for detangling are either cocoa butter or Earthly Delight Hair Growth Pomade. <https://www.walmart.com/ip/Earthly-Delight-Hair-Pomade-4-Oz/120966744?athcpid=120966744&athpgid=easyreorder&athmtid=eroData&athznid=eroData&athena=true>

OK, that Walmart link dudn't work. Here's my favorite pomade on the manufacturer's own website:

https://lafes.com/collections/all/products/earthly-delight-hair-pomade

Kalamazoo
November 15th, 2018, 07:52 PM
I wonder what results we'd get by taking a poll & asking:
1) Do you have grey hair?
2) What materials are your combs &/or brushes made of?

Kalamazoo
November 16th, 2018, 12:23 AM
More questions for a poll:

3) Do you use a. combs, b. brushes, c. both, d. neither?

4) How do you use them?

5) What is your hair type?

6) Do you find that your comb/brush technique is good for your hair?

7) How so?

Kalamazoo
November 16th, 2018, 12:26 AM
Can I start a poll? How?

lapushka
November 16th, 2018, 06:04 AM
Can I start a poll? How?

You just make a post, I think, with why you want to start the poll, then edit it and then click on "add a poll" below. I'm sure you can figure it out. I for the longest time had no clue how to do this either.