Indigo: Some can become itchy or break out

[Henna Sooq]

Just wanted to let you all know that while many love indigo and it works so well. I have found a small percentage of people, usually those using a majority of indigo in their henna/hair recipe, found that they were itchy or broke out a bit, along the hair lines or scalp area.

So just be aware that there is a possibility, even though a small percentage, it is best to always do spot tests if you are more sensitive then others or do have allergies in general.

If this has happened to you, please share your experience with us.

[Elfling]

I actually *did* get a bit of the scalp itchies from my henndigo treatment. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely wasn't expecting it. It felt rather like I'd been in a hot shower for too long. It probably lasted a day to a day and a half, and I could feel a raised area where it was especially itchy. I didn't get this with straight henna.

[Henna Sooq]

thanks elfling that is a good share. Because I feel that this is a real issue amongst some people and would like to collect proper information regarding it.

[Celebrian]

Sorry I was slow to reply. Yes, I itch after Indigo, and always have done, whether I've done onestep/twostep process. All my Indigo is Catherines stuff.

I think I get a similar reaction with the henna alone, but am not entirely sure about that as I generally indigo at the same time or very shortly afterwards.

That's why I'm considering going back to synthetic types of hairdyes, because they're quicker acting (a bit plus for 'grey' people, believe me!).

[Loviatar]

Me too Khadija - I never get itchy from straight henna, even when I used henna powder mixed with straight lemon juice. However, indigo in my henna mix made me very itchy. I didnt break out though, thank goodness.

[Catia]

Hey Celebrian, I'm with you on the temptation to turn to standard dye.

This isn't a case of mild discomfort for me, I'm doing deep breathing and putting cold washcloths on my neck to refocus from the itching. It sucks, and I'm no wuss.

I do requent touch-ups for grey root coverage so the idea of only dedicating a half-hour to the process is mighty tempting ...

but then, my hair is so much healthier now ... and I hate to ruin that.

Aggh.

There's got to be an answer to this...

[Catia]

Oops. Forgot the point somewhere ...

I never have any breakouts from the indigo, or residual itching after its rinsed out either. I have instant relief once I run water over my scalp.

I also never have had any issues with straight henna. I love the henna part of my two-step process by comparison.

[Celebrian]

Well, my itching seems to continue for a good 24 hours - despite much rinsing, shampooing and conditioning. I usually have to re-wash etc. again the next day for further relief!

Have you seen my 'goodbye henindigo: hallo PPD dye' thread? You might like it - we're a mixed bunch; some wanting to stay with henna and stuff, and others breaking away towards synthetics!!

[paprikapapaya]

Bumping this up!
I just had an experience like this. I had used indigo 3 times before with no problem at all, no itch, no sensitivity.
This time, however, all along my hairline and my ears (gaaah! they were the worst!) were so itchy. I noticed faint purplely red marks, too (not quite like welts, but just marks). After I washed my hair for the second time, the marks and the itch went away.

I'm kinda scared that this is a sign I should stop using indigo...but I LOVE using indigo :(

Any insight?

[mellie]

Yes, I have itchiness with indigo. It is quite bad at my ears, but the scalp is bad too. It lasts for quite a few days afterward, even when I shampoo it out.

I have not noticed this problem with straight henna or with katam.

[Henna Sooq]

Yeah it does seems for sure the indog can be itchy for some....hhmmm would like to get some katam but didn't find it evry well sifted as well. hhhmmm where was your source for katam?

I would say for indigo just make sure you wash it out very well.

[lora410]

I got itchies just from regular henna, but only on the back of my scalp near my neck :shrug:

[Henna Sooq]

hhhmmm henna too...

I find that herbal treatments can be drying too, so if you're hair/scalp is on the dryer side then please add some moisturizers and/or hair oil. Some of the itchiness can be due to the drying out.

[mellie]

Yeah it does seems for sure the indog can be itchy for some....hhmmm would like to get some katam but didn't find it evry well sifted as well. hhhmmm where was your source for katam?

I would say for indigo just make sure you wash it out very well.

I got my katam from hennaforhair.com.

[wintersun99]

I hadn't really noticed until it was mentioned here, but I do get very slightly itchy as well although only if indigo directly (not mixed with henna/gloss/etc.) touches the scalp. Noticed it with Buxus/Katam as well.

[Henna Sooq]

you got itchies with katam as well. Oh okay. Katam comes from yemen, and was wondering how was the sift of the katam compared to the indigo?

[mellie]

The katam was a slightly coarser sift than the indigo, which was good for me actually, because my husband has sinus/allergy issues with fine sift powders.

[wintersun99]

you got itchies with katam as well. Oh okay. Katam comes from yemen, and was wondering how was the sift of the katam compared to the indigo?

I got mine from H4H as well. I was thinking it was quite similiar sift as Indigo, but maybe it was courser? Same general range, I guess :)

[Anje]

I get itchy and little bumps after henna only, too. I get similar reactions when my skin gets really really dry, though, so I suspect I'm one of those people who gets dried out by henna.

[JasmineDaisy]

Aha! So that explains why my hair was so itchy after I used a henna/indigo mix. It felt like I had a ton of little bugs crawling all over my scalp. Luckily, the itch went away the next morning.

[Nevermore]

For those of you who are thinking about going back to synthetic dyes, have you tried other natural, non-henna/indigo, dyes? There are some old recipes for things like black and brown dye made from boiled onion skins and walnut shells, respectively, that might work.

[Martha]

I got some Aloe "juice" from www.renaissancehenna.com

It is supposed to work wonders with that itchy feeling from Indigo, though now I've decided not to use indigo so I'll never know!

I think it is probably good for hair overall.

[Henna Sooq]

Aloe juice! That would be nice to know if it helps. If anyone does it give us the heads up :)

[Tai Shan Fan]

I don't get indigo itchies doing a 2 step process where the indigo stage is only on for between 1/2 - 3/4 hour.

When I did hendigos, the stuff was on my head for much longer and then it did itch a bit.

It will still itch if I don't remove it properly after treatment. I CO after indigoing 3 times, yes that much and then wash with a shampoo bar, which is brilliant for removing residues. I finish with an acv rinse to fix the dye.

[Celebrian]

I don't get indigo itchies doing a 2 step process where the indigo stage is only on for between 1/2 - 3/4 hour.

When I did hendigos, the stuff was on my head for much longer and then it did itch a bit.

It will still itch if I don't remove it properly after treatment. I CO after indigoing 3 times, yes that much and then wash with a shampoo bar, which is brilliant for removing residues. I finish with an acv rinse to fix the dye.

Is that 1 CO after indigo'ing 3 times - or 3 CO's after indigo'ing 1 time? :D Sorry, it's past my bedtime...

[Tai Shan Fan]

Is that 1 CO after indigo'ing 3 times - or 3 CO's after indigo'ing 1 time? :D Sorry, it's past my bedtime...

Sorry, rereading what I wrote I see the ambiguity. After using indigo I CO then rinse out fully and repeat the CO rinse cycle 3 times. Then I wash with a shampoo bar, which I find is great for removing those black spots that stick to the scalp. Then I rinse that out and finish with a weak acv rinse to balance the ph and maybe fix the dye.

The the whole rinse out process maybe takes about 1/2 hour, but doing it this way means a happy scalp and I don't get annoying rub off on my pillow or hands - that used to bug me. (That said after the initial henna stage I'm less fussy about rinse out and only WO to get it approximatey out before slapping on the indigo straight away.)

I know that some people find that trying to remove all the residue on the day of processing hard and not worth the bother and find that it all comes out easier a day or two later, but I prefer to do get the whole thing over with on one day and then forget about my hair until it's time to do it over again.

[Celebrian]

Sorry, rereading what I wrote I see the ambiguity. After using indigo I CO then rinse out fully and repeat the CO rinse cycle 3 times. Then I wash with a shampoo bar, which I find is great for removing those black spots that stick to the scalp. Then I rinse that out and finish with a weak acv rinse to balance the ph and maybe fix the dye.

The the whole rinse out process maybe takes about 1/2 hour, but doing it this way means a happy scalp and I don't get annoying rub off on my pillow or hands - that used to bug me. (That said after the initial henna stage I'm less fussy about rinse out and only WO to get it approximatey out before slapping on the indigo straight away.)

I know that some people find that trying to remove all the residue on the day of processing hard and not worth the bother and find that it all comes out easier a day or two later, but I prefer to do get the whole thing over with on one day and then forget about my hair until it's time to do it over again.

I agree. I usually try hard to get every last speck out: however, I rarely seem to succeed!

[TheSpottedCow]

I did a test strand in henna and indigo, at the bottom of my head behind my ear. I got a little hennindigo mix on my neck and wiped it off after a few seconds but it still itched a lot and got red (probably the red skin was a result of me itching it, but it was so hard not to) and it stayed that way for about 30 minutes and went away. I did not go all the way to my roots with the strand test btw, I stayed a few cms away, just for the ease of rinsing.

My mix was between 60 and 70% indigo.

I will still probably use it, since I am only doing the underneath layer of my hair, it doesn't really matter if I get it on my scalp.

I am going to try a big patch test though, next time, just to see what would happen if I decided to do my whole head, and inevitably get some on my scalp.

[mellie]

TheSpottedCow, you might want to try Katam instead of Indigo, it is much better for me on the itching! :-)

[Fluff]

I got itchy scalp from indigo. I first didn't connect it to indigo but asked my dh to check if there are some tiny monsters running there but luckily there were no head lice or anything else... my scalp was only reddish, probably from scratching. So however beautiful color I got I think I cannot use indigo any more, itching was that bad and stayed over a week even though I carefully washed my scalp every evening.

[ljkforu]

I just did a henna gloss last night. I did a test run on the under back third of my hair and did get the itchies. I took some coconut oil and rubbed it into the itchies and they went away immediately to never return.

[Tai Shan Fan]

Hi indigo people :)

About those itchies - obviously there are several possibilities - allergic reactions for example, which I'd suspect with those with actual red bumps, but I had an idea that for some bumpless ones :eyebrows: for want of a better term, the itching might be to do with hard-to-remove residues - you know those black spots on the scalp you get when all is rinsed off. If ljkforu found that applying coconut oil helped and I know over at Renaissance henna they recommend aloe vera. Well I wonder if it's because the aloe and the coconut act as solvents for the residual indigo, loosening those spots away from the scalp thereby eliminating the source of irritation.

In my own indigo adventures, I find that a long rinsing/cleansing process after dyeing - to the extent that I think most people wouldn't want the fuss with, prevents it happening with me. As you all know indigo is very different to henna. Henna is easy to remove from the scalp post treatment, indigo isn't.

What do you think? :flower:

[wintersun99]

I definately think, that in my case, the itchies are do to indigo residue. The itchies are not excessive (certainly not as bad as a mosquito bite) so I don't think it's anymore than that, for me.

[RavennaNight]

Today is my first ever henna-indigo 2 step :) I will chime in that the indigo itches mildly, not more than chemical dye, though. I patch tested on the inside of my elbow prior to make sure I'm not all out allergic, and I'm not, but there was a mild itch then too, but no redness. Its still on my head right now. ;)

[Satyria]

I did my second henna/indigo application yesterday and my head became veeery itchy! Today my scalp is a little bit sore and I can see some redness. Also a part of my forehead is swollen! Is this a bad thing? Should I stop using indigo? I really don't want to. :(

[Henna Sooq]

Make sure the indigo washes out well. The other alternative if you can't take the effects of the indigo is you could try katam but it won't be as dark as henna with indigo, if you are trying to go dark. It's worth a shot if you can't take the indigo.

[Tangles]

I don't, but my massive shed began soon after I indigo'ed with Rainbow. I am not sure if there's a correlation. I was thinking about doing an indigo gloss soon, but worried it might worsen the shed.

[Aisha25]

I get one or two bumps after the indigo gets rinsed out and is a little itchy too but it goes away right as soon as I shampoo the next day.

[Neoma]

I become allergic to indigo (indigofera tinctoria). My scalp was itchy and my hairs started to fall out. Before that I developed the same allergy to chemical dyes. But I love my black colour and I have never gave up.

It sounds strange what I did, but it helped.

Indigofera tinctoria is a natural plant used also for healing in traditional medicine.

I sniffed indigofera tinctoria powder through my nose, two times a day for a month.
Just took a paper, put on indigofera tinctoria and made a paper sniffer.

After first sniff, itching stopped.

If you raise your alergen level in your blood, the body stops reaction!!!Folks, please do not take this person's advice. Do not do this. Indigo is not meant to be taken internally. I guarantee you that no reputable health care professional would condone this advice. It's down-right dangerous.

[Mrs. K]

I get really bad itchies with indigo. I found that if I take benedryl before I use indigo, there is only very mild itching. The next day it itches a little more, but not as much as if I didn't take the benedryl. Also, like others have said, the more time and effort spent rinsing results in less itching too. What I hate along with the itching is the black fingernails that I get after scratching my scalp. Of course, I think that shows that I didn't get it all rinsed out. It usually all only lasts a couple of days, so it is worth it for the resuts I get from hendigo.

[Catia]

Benedryl worked a while for me too.

Then it took 2 ... then 3 ... and then I was nodding out like a junky before I could rinse it out lol. I was so dedicated to indigo I fought valiantly to not give it up (obviously) but after a few months NO amount of benedryl could fight off those itchies. That was maybe a year and a half to 2 years ago. I have since tried two more times but the itching becomes pure torment.

I used indigo for 5 blissful years before developing this problem (I did my roots 1-2x/month)

I have found Elumen to be a splendid replacement. Thank Goodness! :thumbsup:

[Evie]

Hi

I used to get the itchies with henndigo mixes too, I generally used a roughly 60:40 henna:indigo mix, and would find my scalp itched a lot in the next 48 hours, especially on the back of my head. I found a bit of coconut oil rubbed on the scalp would help - I wondered if indigo was somehow more astringent than henna?