Covering gray hair with henna+cassia? Will it work?

[curly girl fla]

I have been doing full-head henna for years now. I don't have too much gray coming in, but have always had some large streaks for lack of better terms coming in at a few spots on my hairline. I've toyed with the idea of stopping henna altogether, but I do like how healthy it keeps my hair. If I start doing a 50-50 mix henna/cassia will it make any impact on gray or white hair at all, and will it last? I know the permanence of henna, but I don't know what to expect if I mix. I did do just cassia years ago as a deep conditioner of sorts since I heard it was all the goodness of henna without the color, but it seemed drying so I never considered adding it to a color or conditioning mix. I also figured if I tone down the henna now, it may make the eventual transition to gray less impactful...Thoughts? Words of wisdom?

[akurah]

YMMV, but if it does cover the greys it will be bright orange unless you do enough henna applications to make it darker. If your goal is grey coverage and if I were you, I can't say I would cut the henna with cassia unless you're looking for the brighter, more orangy shades. I would collect greys and strand test, and if the strand test works (that is, henna sticks), if the color is not what you want on the initial application, I would I would repeat applications until it hits the shade you want, then do that many applications on your greys.

[curly girl fla]

thanks for your input. i thought about it and figured i can henna over the grays if it seemed too orange. i did it saturday, probably more like 60/40 henna to cassia, and it worked really well. the grays did take the color (yay), and it's more of a muted copper color. it works well, actually. the rest of my hair just seemed to get a copper boost, not really darker. i think i need to order me some more cassia, lol. i had two people in one day compliment my hair and ask if the curl and color was natural.

[Faraniel]

I am a bit late but I have just done a strand test with a few grey hair in it (and by grey I mean competely white) and honestly it came out good. I mixed like 1/3 henna and 2/3 cassia. The question is how it will look like after a few washes.

[akurah]

I am a bit late but I have just done a strand test with a few grey hair in it (and by grey I mean competely white) and honestly it came out good. I mixed like 1/3 henna and 2/3 cassia. The question is how it will look like after a few washes.

Washing doesn't affect henna color except in a tiny fraction of people. Time will change the color though. Freshly hennaed hair will oxidize over 2 or 3 days and during that span the color will change until it reaches its final shade

[Faraniel]

Washing doesn't affect henna color except in a tiny fraction of people. Time will change the color though. Freshly hennaed hair will oxidize over 2 or 3 days and during that span the color will change until it reaches its final shade

Yeah, I am waiting for the colour to oxidize to see how it will look like on my hair.

[czech it out]

I have a few grays and do a 100g cassia, 5g henna (yes, only 5 grams!) treatment once a month. My grays look golden - I love it!

[curly girl fla]

I have a few grays and do a 100g cassia, 5g henna (yes, only 5 grams!) treatment once a month. My grays look golden - I love it!

So good to know! I have to admit, I love the results of 60/40 but will probably go more cassia/less henna next time. I like the lighter, more golden look, and my darker hair will do better with less color layering going forward I think. And slowly phasing out the heavy-handed henna will make it easier if/when I do decide to transition to let the natural gray come out and play.

[Belgrade Beauty]

Can I buy cassia tea? I can't find the powder?

[SleepyTangles]

Can I buy cassia tea? I can't find the powder?

No, pretty sure you need the herbal powder of cassia obovata (also written as Senna italica).
I think the variety called Senna alexandrea is equally good or even better, but I've never seen it locally.
'Cassia' may sometimes refer to more than a single plant. In ancient times even some kind of cinnamon was called Cassia, I think

[Belgrade Beauty]

No, pretty sure you need the herbal powder of cassia obovata (also written as Senna italica).
I think the variety called Senna alexandrea is equally good or even better, but I've never seen it locally.
'Cassia' may sometimes refer to more than a single plant. In ancient times even some kind of cinnamon was called Cassia, I think

I googled cassia and the result was senna italica which we consume here as a tea,usually when having constipation problems. So I figured I just grind the tea :)

[Faraniel]

I was just wondering, is it possible that henna cassia mixture sticks less to coarser hair? I don't think it is fully coarse but I was told I have "strong" hair that doesn't hold waves or curls made by curling iron.

[lapushka]

I was just wondering, is it possible that henna cassia mixture sticks less to coarser hair? I don't think it is fully coarse but I was told I have "strong" hair that doesn't hold waves or curls made by curling iron.

I never heard of there being an issue between F, normal and C hair as far as application of henna goes. I mean you can hardly get it out of your hair afterwards, so I'm betting it "sticks" to all hair types/textures. Maybe if it's low porosity (can't hold chemical services), then... possible.

[curly girl fla]

I was just wondering, is it possible that henna cassia mixture sticks less to coarser hair? I don't think it is fully coarse but I was told I have "strong" hair that doesn't hold waves or curls made by curling iron.

I don't have a ton of gray, but what I do have is much more coarse than the rest. The henna/cassia mix, although lighter color as intended, produced good color which has retained until now. I am ready to do another since I have about 1.5 cm roots now. I will do a higher percentage of cassia in the mix this time and see how the more golden strawberry looks on those grays.

[Faraniel]

I have a few whites here and there but my natural hair has stronger texture. Not sure about porosity. I googled it and it told me to put one hair in a glass of water and watch if it sinks or not. Is that a reliable test? Because mine sank like a potato, which would mean high porosity? My problem might have been the mixture. I added more cassia than henna and it was just one application so maybe I need more of them.

Edit: so the hair went up which would mean low porosity but I have never experienced any issue with hair dyes not working on me.

[lapushka]

I have a few whites here and there but my natural hair has stronger texture. Not sure about porosity. I googled it and it told me to put one hair in a glass of water and watch if it sinks or not. Is that a reliable test? Because mine sank like a potato, which would mean high porosity? My problem might have been the mixture. I added more cassia than henna and it was just one application so maybe I need more of them.

Edit: so the hair went up which would mean low porosity but I have never experienced any issue with hair dyes not working on me.

No the "sink" test isn't reliable much at all.

If dyes usually work on you, then I'm betting it's normal porosity.

[tevta]

I've tried with 50/50 amla and cassia and it didnt color my gray at all. How do you prepade your mix of 5g of henna and 100g cassia? Chamomile tea? How long do you leave it in? Thank you for your reply.

[tevta]

New update, color didn't change on the grey hair, but overall my hair is much more shiny. This is after overnight soaking in oil.
http://imgur.com/a/A31h167

[curly girl fla]

Very shiny and full, pretty hair, tevta. I planned to do this again sooner with less henna, more casssia but still haven't. My area of gray is actually a shiny white that I kinda like, but I did pull out my stash in case I get motivated to mix it up later today.

[Faraniel]

I had the same issue, the henna+cassia didn't stick at all (it washed out after the first washing). I want to try again if it gets better and this time I want to put it on freshly washed hair. Also my henna was getting really dry so I want to add more water to make it easy to apply. I did 1/3 henna, 2/3 cassia. This time I want to try half and half.

[SleepyTangles]

When I dyed a friend´s mom hair with an henna and indigo, the key to make the brown stick to the white base was a preliminary application of pure red henna. The brown was ok even on its own, but it just didn´t stick as well without henna underneath... :(
But if you want a light color, I think the only way out is targeting the roots over and over again, until the cassia-henna mix doesn´t wash away anymore. In my experience, is not until the 3rd application that the color becomes properly permanent.

[Faraniel]

Second attempt...wish me luck!

[EliL]

Second attempt...wish me luck!

Hi Faraniel, did the second attempt work? Thank you for sharing.

[Faraniel]

Hi Faraniel, did the second attempt work? Thank you for sharing.

Well, I mixed 50/50 henna cassia and it went much better than the last time. Roots aren't obvious anymore and it didn't wash out after the first washing. I will have to wait to see if it dyed the greys properly because most of my greys are tinted by chemical hair dye and the effect of henna aren't that obvious.

EDIT one day later: I washed my hair the second time (probably 14 days after application) and henna is gone again. I have absolutely no idea what I did wrong this time.

Edit 2: another day later: so, this is weird but I parted my hair in the middle now (before I had side parting) and the henna is there but it has a bit weird colour. It is sort of changing copper and really weird brownish red. Unfortunately, the whites are visible on the sides.

[czech it out]

I finally got around to documenting my cassia/henna grey coverage! It was challenging to get a good picture since the greys are few and far between! Here's what I got:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41811&d=1593201371

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41810&d=1593201350

And here is what it looks like from a distance:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41809&d=1593201329

[Belgrade Beauty]

I finally got around to documenting my cassia/henna grey coverage! It was challenging to get a good picture since the greys are few and far between! Here's what I got:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41811&d=1593201371

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41810&d=1593201350

And here is what it looks like from a distance:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41809&d=1593201329

Looks like it was very successful! Can you tell me how did you mix the two? Measurements and the procedure?

[curly girl fla]

Your hair is so pretty, czech it out! It worked very well. I, too, am interested in your henna to cassia ratio. I did approx 60/40 cassia/henna last time, and it leaves the grays orangish still. I like it, but I think I want it to look lighter still.

[SleepyTangles]

czech, your hair is amazing!! So long and silky :thudpile:
The color is gorgeous!

[Belgrade Beauty]

Your hair is so pretty, czech it out! It worked very well. I, too, am interested in your henna to cassia ratio. I did approx 60/40 cassia/henna last time, and it leaves the grays orangish still. I like it, but I think I want it to look lighter still.

Isn't that gonna completely change the hair color we already have? If I do it, am I going to be full length orange?

[curly girl fla]

It won't lighten the existing darker hair. My goal is to cover gray and, yes, I sort of do want an orange-y-blonde highlight for those hairs. I think it blends nicely with the dark auburn I have otherwise. And then the lighter mix will still give me a red boost and strengthening all over. I may think twice if I had a ton of gray, but thus far there isn't a super-high percentage. I feel like I just did a henna/cassia, but the roots that I do have are showing, about a cm already. I may do it again next weekend with a higher cassia percentage...baby steps, lol.

[Tinyponies]

Hey guys,
My mum dyes her hair using blonde box dye but is experiencing a lot of breakage at the roots. I would love to steer her towards herbal dyes but can you actually achieve a blonde - ish colour over white hair using any of these herbs?

I saw chamomile tea mentioned, is that because it’s yellow?
Thanks for any info :heart:

Edit just found the cassia faq thread :mindblown:

[kellystone]

In my area, ground coffee beans, black tea, cocoa and walnut shells are often used together with henna. This makes it possible to give the strands luxurious shades of chocolate:D

[Betazed]

I’m currently sitting with a plastic bag over my head, marinating a 60/40 henna-cassia mix. I had wanted to try henna since first discovering LHC but just recently built up enough courage to try (quarantine boredom probably had something to do with it). I strand tested with just straight henna to see what kind of colour I was going to get. Even though I had read that henna doesn’t make much of an impact on dark hair, I guess mine just wasn’t as dark and I thought, because it came out ORANGE! After playing around with ratios (and using up all the hair my brush collects), I found a 50/50 mix added some colour but nothing drastic. I just want a subtle tint of red. I’ve since gotten used to the colour and decided I wanted a little more red, so that’s why I’m at 60/40 right now. I don’t have any greys so I can’t help in that regard. Fingers crossed that this mix works because I really don’t want to do this again for awhile. Henna is much more work than standard box dyes!

[Jane99]

I hope it comes out nice!!

Fingers crossed that this mix works because I really don’t want to do this again for awhile. Henna is much more work than standard box dyes!
More work for sure but at least it doesn’t smell like toxic waste like box dye does!!

[curly girl fla]

I hope you had great results, Betazed! I'm still doing about 60/40 henna/cassia right now on my head, but added a few tbsp of aloe vera powder. i again was going to see what my grays did-they actually come in white and bright and i kinda like'em, but one of my daughters and my husband think it's ridiculous to let the white's come in. honestly, i have lots of henna in my stash, so i guess i'll keep going with it.