Henna dread: trying to remove henna

[MotherofPhoenix]

So I haven’t hennaed my hair since November and I have about an inch give or take of hair growth. I have been oiling my hair overnight for a week which barely seemed to lift the henna. I started using Suave clarifying shampoo two days ago and I actually notice my hair lighting. Some of my natural blonde highlights are starting to poke through. I’m going to continue oiling and clarifying for about a month until I take it to the salon for bleaching. Is there anything that has worked for any of you besides oiling and strong sulfate shampoos? I am just so sick of henna.
(live and learn but henna was a huge mistake for me)

[Bat]

I don't think bleach works on henna, it goes green, you'd best try and tone it or leave it to grow out, I'd never henna I change my mind every day

[akurah]

I don't think bleach works on henna, it goes green, you'd best try and tone it or leave it to grow out, I'd never henna I change my mind every day

It goes green with indigo. If OP used henna only, OP should be ok.

Nightshade has a great thread here about how she lightened her henna:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=19317&highlight=lightened+henna

Here's another thread where a user actually successfully removed it:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85463

Now, I'm going to level with you. Your henna may not come out even with bleach without bleaching it to oblivion. It depends on a number of factors, generally, how dark your henna is, how cooperative your hair is, and how lucky you are. For the vast majority of people, henna is permanent and it should be treated as such. While you absolutely should try the above linked methods, you may find they don't work and your only option may be to live with it until you cut it out.

I really suggest trying the above methods before going to bleach too. If you get lucky (and you might, though I seriously doubt it) your hair will be less damaged for it.

[MotherofPhoenix]

Thank you, I will check them out! And yes I never used indigo, always 100% pure henna. I will honestly be satisfied with a cooper blonde or anything light as long as it’s well blended even if it has orange or red tones.. As long as I can lighten it up enough to grow out my natural color. The henna just got really dark. I honestly feel good about the progress so far, it has lightened up a lot. If I could ever figure out how to post pictures I will try to post updates in this thread for other people in my position or may be in my position in the future.

[Bat]

Oops sorry guess I was wrong

[akurah]

Thank you, I will check them out! And yes I never used indigo, always 100% pure henna. I will honestly be satisfied with a cooper blonde or anything light as long as it’s well blended even if it has orange or red tones.. As long as I can lighten it up enough to grow out my natural color. The henna just got really dark. I honestly feel good about the progress so far, it has lightened up a lot. If I could ever figure out how to post pictures I will try to post updates in this thread for other people in my position or may be in my position in the future.

I wish you luck. Don't let my negative nancy attitude discourage you from trying either, it's just... I've seen so many people try to remove henna and fail that I want people to have realistic expectations. The unfortunate fact of the matter is there is no statistical data to give people a better idea (ex: 10% could expect henna to be removable completely, 10% can expect to see lightening, and the remaining 80% are just out of luck). If something like that were available, it might be easier to advise people on how to proceed (or warn them of the risk involved so they have an accurate picture without scaring them off needlessly).

[Obsidian]

I've bleached henna, two or three rounds of bleach just made it a lighter and brighter orange. I could have kept bleaching it until actually went blonde but I'm sure that would have melted my hair off.

You can use nightshades method to lighten it some but it will still be henna red. The only way to really get rid of henna is cut it off, grow it out or dye it dark.

[jane_marie]

Hello! I'm sorry henna did not work out for you. I can sympathize. I always wanted red hair and then when I achieved it I found that it made me look as if I had jaundice. :lol:

Right before I joined LHC I decided to color my hair with henna... only my natural shade is just on the brown side of black and I knew that the henna would never show up red on it. So, I bleached my hair once with a low volume developer, waited a week or two then went over it with henna.

Here's a look at the the color that little experiment resulted in:
https://i.imgur.com/F8kSver.jpg?6

Since I despised how sick it made me look I started working at getting it out within the next month. Thanks to the help of quite a few members in the henna & natural haircare section I managed to fade it significantly. I know there must still be henna in it because my hair appears different shades in different light but in most lights it's now more or a warm mid tone brown.

Here are my two most recent photos that show its current "range"

https://i.imgur.com/Qehqgx1.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/WWIjVh4.jpg?1

As you can see in the second photo, it's still pretty brassy but it's not the neon vermillion it had been. I suspect that some of the warmer coloration is from bleaching my very dark hair and some of it is from henna remnants.

I don't remember what I did to get it to fade as much as it did. However, if you are interested you can check out these threads to see for yourself:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150683

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=153118&highlight=jane_marie

I'm not sure if it contributed or not however several times (5-10?) over the year and a half since I applied the henna I neglected to wash my SMT out in a timely fashion. I was depressed and applied the SMT with every intention of only leaving it on overnight but I would routinely forget or not care and didn't end up rinsing for several days or a week later. Sometimes I wonder if the honey in my SMT played a part in lifting my henna.

I will say two things though...

First it's possible that I got the henna to fade so much because I bleached it first or because the brand I used was an inferior henna mix (henna, indigo and cassia) which although done as directed was faulty due to the directions being unconventional compared to how people on LHC use henna.

The other thing is that obsessively trying to get the henna out of my hair did not do me any favors as far as the health of my hair goes and I can't really say that I like the color it is now any better. I feel like I wasted a lot of time getting the color to fade as much as it did. Honestly, if I could go back, I think a better option might have been for me to simply shave it off. I still remain tempted to cut it off at chin length so I can have a head of my natural color sooner rather than later. Either that or just... accepted it. I think I might have been happier then (and feel about the same now) if I had just accepted the color.

Just my thoughts. I don't know.

Good luck. I hope the links help.

Edit - One saving grace or having a demarcation line/ growing out color is that the stark contrast in shades makes braids look really interesting. There's always a silver lining. :shrug:

[MotherofPhoenix]

Hello! I'm sorry henna did not work out for you. I can sympathize. I always wanted red hair and then when I achieved it I found that it made me look as if I had jaundice. :lol:

Right before I joined LHC I decided to color my hair with henna... only my natural shade is just on the brown side of black and I knew that the henna would never show up red on it. So, I bleached my hair once with a low volume developer, waited a week or two then went over it with henna.

Here's a look at the the color that little experiment resulted in:
https://i.imgur.com/F8kSver.jpg?6

Since I despised how sick it made me look I started working at getting it out within the next month. Thanks to the help of quite a few members in the henna & natural haircare section I managed to fade it significantly. I know there must still be henna in it because my hair appears different shades in different light but in most lights it's now more or a warm mid tone brown.

Here are my two most recent photos that show its current "range"

https://i.imgur.com/Qehqgx1.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/WWIjVh4.jpg?1

As you can see in the second photo, it's still pretty brassy but it's not the neon vermillion it had been. I suspect that some of the warmer coloration is from bleaching my very dark hair and some of it is from henna remnants.

I don't remember what I did to get it to fade as much as it did. However, if you are interested you can check out these threads to see for yourself:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150683

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=153118&highlight=jane_marie

I'm not sure if it contributed or not however several times (5-10?) over the year and a half since I applied the henna I neglected to wash my SMT out in a timely fashion. I was depressed and applied the SMT with every intention of only leaving it on overnight but I would routinely forget or not care and didn't end up rinsing for several days or a week later. Sometimes I wonder if the honey in my SMT played a part in lifting my henna.

I will say two things though...

First it's possible that I got the henna to fade so much because I bleached it first or because the brand I used was an inferior henna mix (henna, indigo and cassia) which although done as directed was faulty due to the directions being unconventional compared to how people on LHC use henna.

The other thing is that obsessively trying to get the henna out of my hair did not do me any favors as far as the health of my hair goes and I can't really say that I like the color it is now any better. I feel like I wasted a lot of time getting the color to fade as much as it did. Honestly, if I could go back, I think a better option might have been for me to simply shave it off. I still remain tempted to cut it off at chin length so I can have a head of my natural color sooner rather than later. Either that or just... accepted it. I think I might have been happier then (and feel about the same now) if I had just accepted the color.

Just my thoughts. I don't know.

Good luck. I hope the links help.

Edit - One saving grace or having a demarcation line/ growing out color is that the stark contrast in shades makes braids look really interesting. There's always a silver lining. :shrug:

oh wow. Yeah I have notice people who bleached prior to henna are the marjority of those who successfully remove it. Still gives me hope. I honestly would be fine with bright orange hair if I can get a really good stylist to blend it out. The way it is now is just WAY too dark for my complexion. Nothing looks good on me anymore and my confidence is just at an all time low. Henna is so beautiful but not a good color for me. Hopefully I can get it to fade like yours and then blend it out to be a strawberry blond until it’s all gone.. I read that whole thread. Nightshade mentioned color oops. Did you ever try that? Thanks for your reply. It’s been really helpful and I feel pumped to conquer this. Haha.

[MotherofPhoenix]

I've bleached henna, two or three rounds of bleach just made it a lighter and brighter orange. I could have kept bleaching it until actually went blonde but I'm sure that would have melted my hair off.

You can use nightshades method to lighten it some but it will still be henna red. The only way to really get rid of henna is cut it off, grow it out or dye it dark.

Was the bright orange attractive/ workable? Like enough to throw a color on it and it look some what nice? I’m just trying to have somewhat of a realistic game plan when I eventually go to the salon. I’m thinking I might have to be copper blond for a while until it grows out. I don’t know anything about color or if that is even possible with henna.

[MotherofPhoenix]

***Just an FYI to anyone else in my situation. I have a photo album set to public on my profile that I will be posting progress pictures. If you’re like me, I just want to see pictures of before and after different attempts. (I would post them here but I don’t know how). I’m being patient with this so I’ll be spacing everything out and doing lots of oiling and clarifying treatments. I will also be spacing bleaching treatments out when I get to that point. My hair is naturally dirty blonde and I applied henna on virgin hair. So this will be raw results of success or complete failure. Lol. We will see...***

[jane_marie]

I didn't ever use color oops. I'm very sensitive to smells and I was worried that I would have to deal with smelling like rotten eggs for several days after doing it. :shrug:

[lapushka]

Just don't bleach it out too much. Be grateful when it comes out a tiny bit, and then let them put a semi over it to tone it to "somewhat" your own natural color, so you can grow it out a little more even, perhaps?

But still, I vote for: grow it out, and be thankful you still have hair.

Let me tell you how tenacious henna is. I applied it to my hair just a couple times (let it sit just 30 minutes), and 2 solid strength full-on bleachings could not get it out. My hair was still orange! We put a box dye over it (light brown, because: orange, can't put blonde over that), went OK, but with the second touch up (roots), it all went to hell. Chemical cut, chemical burn (scalp) and my hair went from BSL to chin (it just fell off).

So... Be sure you know what you're getting into!

Henna is super hard to remove, I can tell you that. Bleach can be a betting game.

[MotherofPhoenix]

Just don't bleach it out too much. Be grateful when it comes out a tiny bit, and then let them put a semi over it to tone it to "somewhat" your own natural color, so you can grow it out a little more even, perhaps?

But still, I vote for: grow it out, and be thankful you still have hair.

Let me tell you how tenacious henna is. I applied it to my hair just a couple times (let it sit just 30 minutes), and 2 solid strength full-on bleachings could not get it out. My hair was still orange! We put a box dye over it (light brown, because: orange, can't put blonde over that), went OK, but with the second touch up (roots), it all went to hell. Chemical cut, chemical burn (scalp) and my hair went from BSL to chin (it just fell off).

So... Be sure you know what you're getting into!

Henna is super hard to remove, I can tell you that. Bleach can be a betting game.

Yes, exactly. ItS going to be awhile before I start bleaching. I just purchased some color opps because I found a thread that some people had really good results with that. Until it gets here in a few weeks I’m just going to continue oiling and clarifying. I will be so happy if I can get it just a little lighter. Sorry that happened to you! I’ve actually read your response on some other old threads about it and your the reason I’m trying to be as patient and cautious as possible.

[lapushka]

Yes, exactly. ItS going to be awhile before I start bleaching. I just purchased some color opps because I found a thread that some people had really good results with that. Until it gets here in a few weeks I’m just going to continue oiling and clarifying. I will be so happy if I can get it just a little lighter. Sorry that happened to you! I’ve actually read your response on some other old threads about it and your the reason I’m trying to be as patient and cautious as possible.

I have been dye-free for about 5 years now, for sure. And I'm glad! Just a number of years left (I'm 48) before the whites take over fully and I lose the enjoyment of my own natural color. :)

Hope you have some success with the color remover. Just don't try to rush, but I'm reading you *are* taking it slow, so phew. That's great! I wish you the best of luck with the whole process. And if you have more questions, ask away! :)

[akurah]

Yes, exactly. ItS going to be awhile before I start bleaching. I just purchased some color opps because I found a thread that some people had really good results with that. Until it gets here in a few weeks I’m just going to continue oiling and clarifying. I will be so happy if I can get it just a little lighter. Sorry that happened to you! I’ve actually read your response on some other old threads about it and your the reason I’m trying to be as patient and cautious as possible.

If you have honey on hand, honey has the ability to lighten at least a little bit, so here is one other thread for your reading pleasure:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148

SMTs contain honey. I don't think they contain enough to lighten, buuuuuuuuut color oops is gonna dry your hair like nuts anyway, so it might be nice to SMT between treatments (possibly SMT multiple times to soothe your hair and scalp)
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128

[JasminxCat]

I was thinking about trying henna. Not after this thread. I had no idea it was THAT hard to remove

Hopefully you are able to get enough of it out to be content, I'm sorry

[akurah]

I was thinking about trying henna. Not after this thread. I had no idea it was THAT hard to remove

Hopefully you are able to get enough of it out to be content, I'm sorry

My advice to people with henna typically goes:

Is your hair black? (talking pitch black here) Ok, proceed.

Is your hair red? Ok, but proceed with caution.

Have you been dying your hair red for most of your life? Ok, but proceed with caution.

If you fall outside of any of those three categories, I am personally of the opinion you should give henna a very wide berth. It's effectively permanent (it puts chemical box permanent dyes to shame) for most intents and purposes and while some lucky people do get it out, it's generally not gonna come out.

I'm glad you've decided to be more cautious. In that vein, have you considered Cassia? that might give you some fun benefits with less of the drawbacks

[paulownia]

There is a method of henna and indigo removal that I will test pretty soon ( I did the last henndigo yesterday ;)). I've been reading the description of procedure a couple of times. I don't think its described somewhere in English ( I found it on Polish hair blog)
It involves using phosphoric acid ( basically Coca-Cola) to remove henna or indigo.
You need to dilute coke with water ( proportions vary, could start with 1:3 and make it stronger if needed) spray your hair with it, then oil it with penetrating oil ( coconut for exemple) and let it sit a few hours or overnight. Then wash with clarifying, sulphate shampoo.
It needs to be repeated many times. I guess once a week will do and I would expect it to take 1,5 to 2 months to see some results.
I will start in the end of February and I will certainly post here about my results ;)

[JasminxCat]

My advice to people with henna typically goes:

Is your hair black? (talking pitch black here) Ok, proceed.

Is your hair red? Ok, but proceed with caution.

Have you been dying your hair red for most of your life? Ok, but proceed with caution.

If you fall outside of any of those three categories, I am personally of the opinion you should give henna a very wide berth. It's effectively permanent (it puts chemical box permanent dyes to shame) for most intents and purposes and while some lucky people do get it out, it's generally not gonna come out.

I'm glad you've decided to be more cautious. In that vein, have you considered Cassia? that might give you some fun benefits with less of the drawbacks

I saw a Cassia thread somewhere but unable to find it now
Henna is beautiful, but not something I would like permanently. I knew it was harder to remove than box dye, but didn't realize how good it sticks to your hair


There is a method of henna and indigo removal that I will test pretty soon ( I did the last henndigo yesterday ;)). I've been reading the description of procedure a couple of times. I don't think its described somewhere in English ( I found it on Polish hair blog)
It involves using phosphoric acid ( basically Coca-Cola) to remove henna or indigo.
You need to dilute coke with water ( proportions vary, could start with 1:3 and make it stronger if needed) spray your hair with it, then oil it with penetrating oil ( coconut for exemple) and let it sit a few hours or overnight. Then wash with clarifying, sulphate shampoo.
It needs to be repeated many times. I guess once a week will do and I would expect it to take 1,5 to 2 months to see some results.
I will start in the end of February and I will certainly post here about my results ;)

That's interesting. Definitely update with results

[paulownia]

That's interesting. Definitely update with results
Certainly :D
The main idea behind the method is that most lightening procedures involving bleach, peroxide or organic acids, like citric or lactic acid, are not dissolving henna and indigo, they only oxidise it ( that's why it just changes color, to orange or green in case of indigo). That's why came an idea to use non-organic acid that can actually dissolve henna and indigo.
Using coconut oil would help penetrate hair and lift the dissolved colours so they can be washed off.

[lapushka]

I was thinking about trying henna. Not after this thread. I had no idea it was THAT hard to remove

Hopefully you are able to get enough of it out to be content, I'm sorry

There used to be a good saying around here. You don't date henna, you marry it, and that is as true as it gets! It is very hard to remove, because it "stains" your hair.

If you want to change it up quite a bit, use semi's or demi's (there is an official thread on those around if you want it).

Yes it's chemical, but natural isn't always better.

[barnet_fair]

MotherofPhoenix, I took a look at your photo album, and your hair is beautiful. I know you feel like it doesn't suit your complexion, but you really do look great, so please don't stress or lose confidence over this. It may be that you can wear different colours for a while, or experiment with other aspects of your appearance, during this "henna phase" of your life, and look back on it in the future when your hair is all natural again. These are all better options than hurting your hair or scalp with over-zealous bleaching, or losing progress by trying to even out a partial removal with dark dye!

For those curious about cassia, here's the thread:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=406

There are lots of other threads about henna, henna/cassia, and henna removal in the Recipes, Henna, and Herbal Haircare section of the forum.

I've been tempted by henna a couple of times (for strengthening, mainly) but decided against it because while my hair is very dark, it's not pitch black as akurah says, so there would be some unpredictable colour change. Cassia is a fun way to gratify that urge to apply herbs to your hair for a lasting hair health improvement.

[akurah]

I've been tempted by henna a couple of times (for strengthening, mainly) but decided against it because while my hair is very dark, it's not pitch black as akurah says, so there would be some unpredictable colour change. Cassia is a fun way to gratify that urge to apply herbs to your hair for a lasting hair health improvement.

I dyed my hair with henna for something like... I want to say 5 to 7 years? I was one of those people, at the time of picking it up, had used red box dyes for the majority of my life.

Problem is my natural hair is ashy brown, and the regrowth sucked. Looked greyish green. Also in order to get the shade of red I wanted, I needed multiple applications on regrowth. And because my length, despite being dark enough to look nice, was not as dark as I wanted, I was regularly doing full head applications, which was killing my neck (knee length hair and all). So I just decided to quit.

If I could get the henna shade I wanted without the affiliated neck pain, and if I could darken the regrowth from neon orange (in darker lightening) to darker (neon orange in the sun being acceptable though) quicker than what I could back when I did it? I might still be doing it. But I just got so fed up I quit. If I ever go back to and maintain shorter hair (like APL or shorter) as a long-term commitment, I might pick it up again, but until then it's a solid no-go for me. As it is now, I've been bouncing from waist to knee for awhile because I can't be bothered to cut my hair and knee is apparently the tolerance I have for long hair.

[Nightshade]

Certainly :D
The main idea behind the method is that most lightening procedures involving bleach, peroxide or organic acids, like citric or lactic acid, are not dissolving henna and indigo, they only oxidise it ( that's why it just changes color, to orange or green in case of indigo). That's why came an idea to use non-organic acid that can actually dissolve henna and indigo.
Using coconut oil would help penetrate hair and lift the dissolved colours so they can be washed off.

This is totally untrue.

Lawsone binds to the hair via Michael Additon, it is a VERY stable chemical bond and not something coconut oil 'dissolves'. At best, you'll dissolve the plant wax coating that henna leaves behind, but that doesn't have any color in it anyway. This is why almost all attempts are removing henna fail, that sort of chemical bond is not coming undone.



More generally, for what it's worth
- hot oil may work a little if there is any lawsone residue tied up in the plant wax (this would have faded over time anyway)
- yougurt doesn't work
- amla doesn't work
- Honey doesn't touch my henna and it's just a weaker version of peroxide.

https://nightblooming.com/2020/01/13/how-i-lightened-my-too-dark-henna-to-natural-ginger-copper/
^ This talks about what I did, but keep in mind, my goal was not to remove henna, so much as get copper-orange back, so YMMV with if it's a viable path for you.

[jane_marie]

This is totally untrue.

Lawsone binds to the hair via Michael Additon, it is a VERY stable chemical bond and not something coconut oil 'dissolves'. At best, you'll dissolve the plant wax coating that henna leaves behind, but that doesn't have any color in it anyway. This is why almost all attempts are removing henna fail, that sort of chemical bond is not coming undone.



More generally, for what it's worth
- hot oil may work a little if there is any lawsone residue tied up in the plant wax (this would have faded over time anyway)
- yougurt doesn't work
- amla doesn't work
- Honey doesn't touch my henna and it's just a weaker version of peroxide.

https://nightblooming.com/2020/01/13/how-i-lightened-my-too-dark-henna-to-natural-ginger-copper/
^ This talks about what I did, but keep in mind, my goal was not to remove henna, so much as get copper-orange back, so YMMV with if it's a viable path for you.

I'm sorry to bother you but, out of pure curiosity what do you think the main contributing factor to my henna lifting so much might have been? Do you think it might be because I bleached my hair prior to applying the henna, that the henna I used was subpar (henna color lab), heavy oiling, heavy oiling using butter (:lol:), persistence, leaving on SMTs for a week or more at a time, or something else entirely?

I'm often a bit confused as to how my henna managed to fade so much when it doesn't budge at all on others.

[Obsidian]

I would guess its due to your hair being bleached. I know when I used henna on bleached hair, it faded quite a lot. It took 4 or 5 applications before it stopped.
When I had virgin hair, henna stuck to it like no ones business.

[Nightshade]

I'm sorry to bother you but, out of pure curiosity what do you think the main contributing factor to my henna lifting so much might have been? Do you think it might be because I bleached my hair prior to applying the henna, that the henna I used was subpar (henna color lab), heavy oiling, heavy oiling using butter (:lol:), persistence, leaving on SMTs for a week or more at a time, or something else entirely?

I'm often a bit confused as to how my henna managed to fade so much when it doesn't budge at all on others.

You're no bother at all :)

I think it's probably a few factors.

- The prior bleaching: when henna binds to the hair, it's binding to the protein molecules. If you had previously bleached your hair, it's going to tend to be protein deficient and might not have as many good undamaged ends on those protein molecules for the henna to grab onto. I suspect (but have no scientific proof) that a lot of fading in cases like this comes from a combination of a lot of the dye getting bound up in the henna wax (because it has little to bind to) and then fading and / or the damaged hair continuing to break off in tiny amounts (so if you picture the scales that make up the outside of a hair, those shed and break off over time).

- I've not used Henna Color Lab so I can't speak to their quality directly, but quality does matter when it comes to getting henna and indigo to stick.

- I do think deep oils prior to henna can prevent the water-based dye from penetrating deep into the hair. As far as heavy oilings after, I think this mostly gets the stuff bound up in the wax portion of the henna, and any residue generally left on the hair.

And some people are just magical unicorns that way. I've only encountered a few, but NotApooka (former member here) was one of those--no matter what she did, henna just would. not. stick. to her hair. I wish I knew why!

[jane_marie]

You're no bother at all :)

I think it's probably a few factors.

- The prior bleaching: when henna binds to the hair, it's binding to the protein molecules. If you had previously bleached your hair, it's going to tend to be protein deficient and might not have as many good undamaged ends on those protein molecules for the henna to grab onto. I suspect (but have no scientific proof) that a lot of fading in cases like this comes from a combination of a lot of the dye getting bound up in the henna wax (because it has little to bind to) and then fading and / or the damaged hair continuing to break off in tiny amounts (so if you picture the scales that make up the outside of a hair, those shed and break off over time).

- I've not used Henna Color Lab so I can't speak to their quality directly, but quality does matter when it comes to getting henna and indigo to stick.

- I do think deep oils prior to henna can prevent the water-based dye from penetrating deep into the hair. As far as heavy oilings after, I think this mostly gets the stuff bound up in the wax portion of the henna, and any residue generally left on the hair.

And some people are just magical unicorns that way. I've only encountered a few, but NotApooka (former member here) was one of those--no matter what she did, henna just would. not. stick. to her hair. I wish I knew why!

Thanks so much for the explanation. I really appreciate you taking the time. I think henna is really fascinating.

[Rini]

Just want to quickly chime in with my personal experience (as a former copper red henna head):

I tried ALL the methods, and ended up getting a hairdresser to do a bleach bath on my hair. Of course it went BRIGHT napalm orange and then she coloured over it with a green based toner and we ended up with a fairly neutral blonde which I then grew out gradually (I'm naturally blonde/silver so it wasn't that annoying!).

Henna sticks with you and can be your BFF, but if you've fallen out of love with it, it can be a tough break up. Best of luck!!

[lapushka]

Hey Rini! Nice to see you back here! :waving:

[Nightshade]

Just want to quickly chime in with my personal experience (as a former copper red henna head):

I tried ALL the methods, and ended up getting a hairdresser to do a bleach bath on my hair. Of course it went BRIGHT napalm orange and then she coloured over it with a green based toner and we ended up with a fairly neutral blonde which I then grew out gradually (I'm naturally blonde/silver so it wasn't that annoying!).

Henna sticks with you and can be your BFF, but if you've fallen out of love with it, it can be a tough break up. Best of luck!!

RINI!!! Holy cats it's you! I've missed you lovely :D

[paulownia]

This is totally untrue.

Lawsone binds to the hair via Michael Additon, it is a VERY stable chemical bond and not something coconut oil 'dissolves'. At best, you'll dissolve the plant wax coating that henna leaves behind, but that doesn't have any color in it anyway. This is why almost all attempts are removing henna fail, that sort of chemical bond is not coming undone.



More generally, for what it's worth
- hot oil may work a little if there is any lawsone residue tied up in the plant wax (this would have faded over time anyway)
- yougurt doesn't work
- amla doesn't work
- Honey doesn't touch my henna and it's just a weaker version of peroxide.

https://nightblooming.com/2020/01/13/how-i-lightened-my-too-dark-henna-to-natural-ginger-copper/
^ This talks about what I did, but keep in mind, my goal was not to remove henna, so much as get copper-orange back, so YMMV with if it's a viable path for you.
It's not the coconut oil that is supposed to dissolve henna, it's phosphoric acid;)
Sorry, I'm not a chemist. But the girl who wrote the article is:D
I can give you a link but it's in Polish just so you know......:bluebiggr
https://kascysko.blogspot.com/2014/08/problemy-wosowe-xvii-jak-wypukac.html?m=1

[Nightshade]

Oh THAT makes more sense, my apologies for misunderstanding. I don't know much about it, but that's super-interesting in any event.

[MotherofPhoenix]

There is a method of henna and indigo removal that I will test pretty soon ( I did the last henndigo yesterday ;)). I've been reading the description of procedure a couple of times. I don't think its described somewhere in English ( I found it on Polish hair blog)
It involves using phosphoric acid ( basically Coca-Cola) to remove henna or indigo.
You need to dilute coke with water ( proportions vary, could start with 1:3 and make it stronger if needed) spray your hair with it, then oil it with penetrating oil ( coconut for exemple) and let it sit a few hours or overnight. Then wash with clarifying, sulphate shampoo.
It needs to be repeated many times. I guess once a week will do and I would expect it to take 1,5 to 2 months to see some results.
I will start in the end of February and I will certainly post here about my results ;)

Please do report back! That sounds promising.

[MotherofPhoenix]

Hey guys I did color opps last night for 3 hours and rinsed for 30 minutes. I can’t figure out how to post pictures here but if you check out my profile I have the before and after on there. HUGE difference. Hopefully it doesn’t darken back up. I will post pictureS in three days as well. Still have two more rounds of color opps but won’t be doing those until they get here in February

[jane_marie]

Adding photos onto a thread is really easy but I was a bit confused about how to do it when I first joined the forum as well.

Here's how you do it:

1. Take your photo and use the editing functions on your phone to make the image a proper size. (I suggest something between 250 & 400 on the top side depending on if it landscape or portrait).

2. Upload your photo to an image hosting site such as imgur. (Note, if you use imgur and want to avoid harassment I STRONGLY suggest not posting onto the community. Choose "hidden" instead).

3. Copy the address of your image. (The address should end in a .jpg or .png a copied address without those endings will make a link to your actual post on the image hosting site instead of linking the photo itself.)

4. When making your post on LHC click the icon of the little tree in the square. This icon is located above the box that you type in. It's the third icon from the far right.

5. After pressing the little tree icon you will get a pop up. Paste the address you copied into the blank on the pop-up.

[MotherofPhoenix]

Before color opps:

https://ibb.co/Z8qvRMC

After color opps:

https://ibb.co/svdTPh8

[jane_marie]

Before color opps:

https://ibb.co/Z8qvRMC

After color opps:

https://ibb.co/svdTPh8

It's not showing up. My guess is that you copied the page address instead of the image address.

[MotherofPhoenix]

Before color opps:

<a href="https://ibb.co/Z8qvRMC"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/wW58Zz1/DDFD1-CDB-E681-4619-9-AEA-FF0-C6963-F658.png" alt="DDFD1-CDB-E681-4619-9-AEA-FF0-C6963-F658" border="0"></a>
After color opps:
<a href="https://ibb.co/svdTPh8"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/Gv4ZJXz/C3-BCFF83-BC25-4-D63-89-D9-C64-D662736-F5.jpg" alt="C3-BCFF83-BC25-4-D63-89-D9-C64-D662736-F5" border="0"></a>

[MotherofPhoenix]

It’s not working. If anyone is interested they can look at my profile.

[jane_marie]

... I don't understand what your doing. The link you are pasting should be structured like this: https://i.imgur.com/Brz4N5V.jpg

Let me try with one of your links minus the extraneous junk:
https://ibb.co/Z8qvRMC"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/wW58Zz1/DDFD1-CDB-E681-4619-9-AEA-FF0-C6963-F658.png

hmm... you should probably use a different image hosting site. Just trying to help.

Although people can go to your profile you will likely get more help in future matters if you learn how to link images. :shrug:

[DropStitches]

Hey, MotherofPhoenix, sorry to hear about your henna woes! For what it's worth, I think the colour actually looks lovely on you. If you can stand it, I would be tempted to try to grow it out - but then I rather love two-toned hair, I think it can look particularly interesting in braids and swirled updos. If the red is making you really unhappy, of course, that's another thing, but from everything I've read on here from people trying to remove henna, I'm afraid it won't be possible without sustaining a lot of damage on the way (and maybe not even then - sorry to be a harbinger of doom!).

For posting photos, there are several threads over on the Test Board to practise (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17) (I was confused too, when I first joined here :) ). I use imgur - as jane_marie said, make sure to select 'hidden' rather than 'public', then when the picture is uploaded, if you click on it, it should give you several different options underneath 'View and edit post' - if you pick 'BBCode (message boards & forums)', which is a link snuggled in between two img (image) tags, you can just copy and paste it right into your posts. If you want to check whether it's worked, rather than hitting 'Post quick reply', you can choose 'Go Advanced', which should show you a preview of your post, hopefully complete with a beautiful image!

[lapushka]

Before color opps:

https://ibb.co/Z8qvRMC

After color opps:

https://ibb.co/svdTPh8

I just turned them into links! This should work.

BTW, html code doesn't work. You need to grab the BBcode and copy/paste that into a message!

[Nightshade]

Hey that looks a LOT lighter already!

[MotherofPhoenix]

Hey that looks a LOT lighter already!

I know! I’m digging it too. I was expecting nothing since everyone says it impossible. So I’m very stoked about it. (Let’s just hope it doesn’t darken In two days)

[MotherofPhoenix]

Okay so I was busy with my kiddos earlier but I wanted to post some updates and also figure out how to post pictures lol. I am extremely technologically challenged so I apologize. Here are the photos *fingers crossed it works this time*

https://i.ibb.co/sshgQJB/C54-A0342-7705-49-BB-A472-6-FC0-B599-BAC9.jpg (https://ibb.co/ygDN5B3)

https://i.ibb.co/wNYQc7P/0-AB7-CCB3-8071-4-C09-A7-A0-375081-CDEF5-C.jpg (https://ibb.co/kgMDmJw) image uploader (https://imgbb.com/)

https://i.ibb.co/vVZRQ1H/84-FC3-F5-D-69-A8-4049-AD0-A-E83-C8-A146408.jpg (https://ibb.co/RYzdB29)

[MotherofPhoenix]

*ps I tried to get the lighting and angle the same but it’s not exact.*

[JasminxCat]

It looks like you got a good amount out! That's good! Also, I have to add...
You are gorgeous :)

[Jane99]

WOW, your hair looks great! Both with and without so much henna!

[WavyWannabe]

That's a good amount of lightening, I'm glad it worked out for you :)
Also love the copper color, looks lovely!

[DropStitches]

Heyyyy it looks great!

[lapushka]

Yes it looks amazing. Nice color. I have to say, I do like it better than the color that was in there, but I have grown to loathe henna :lol: ;)

[MotherofPhoenix]

Yes it looks amazing. Nice color. I have to say, I do like it better than the color that was in there, but I have grown to loathe henna :lol: ;)

Lol thank you! You’re comment made me giggle because same! Haha. I just couldn’t say enough to someone reading this right now thinking about doing it...just...DONT. It’s just honestly not worth it. I don’t want to offend anyone because there are so many people who rock it. It just inherently darkens, the color is unpredictable, it’s a mess, it takes for ever, and is so hard to get out. Its a wonderful plant and I personally love the smell of it, but I just don’t think it’s worth coloring the hair with.

Thank you everyone. It still hasn’t darkened so that’s good!

[shelomit]

There used to be a good saying around here. You don't date henna, you marry it, and that is as true as it gets!

LOL, I've never heard that expression, but it's very true!

[lapushka]

LOL, I've never heard that expression, but it's very true!

Yes it's been around for a long time! I forgot who first said it, but...? Was it Neoma? :hmm: I forgot. Oh darn it! :(

[MotherofPhoenix]

**quick update. So my hair did darken a little but not like it was before. The photo below is before color opps, one day after, then two days after. I did buy some “go blonder” shampoo and conditioner which I read helps with the brassy color. That may have been what caused the change (but I doubt it works that quick)**

https://i.ibb.co/p1SWhRJ/6143-FB0-C-E094-4-E1-A-9-FCA-5955-C4-EB32-DC.jpg (https://ibb.co/S6zQfdR) https://i.ibb.co/HhBHynN/E87-E7-ABB-BFD2-4961-A798-3-D6-ADC0939-E2.jpg (https://ibb.co/wcBzqMJ)

[xanthochromia]

**quick update. So my hair did darken a little but not like it was before. The photo below is before color opps, one day after, then two days after. I did buy some “go blonder” shampoo and conditioner which I read helps with the brassy color. That may have been what caused the change (but I doubt it works that quick)**

https://i.ibb.co/p1SWhRJ/6143-FB0-C-E094-4-E1-A-9-FCA-5955-C4-EB32-DC.jpg (https://ibb.co/S6zQfdR) https://i.ibb.co/HhBHynN/E87-E7-ABB-BFD2-4961-A798-3-D6-ADC0939-E2.jpg (https://ibb.co/wcBzqMJ)

That's looking great! Much more natural, and I hope it continues to go in the direction you're looking for!