I caved on chemicals--and I'm glad!

[fishwich]

If I'd known about cassia sooner, this wouldn't even have come up, but...the most recent foot of my henna'd hair had gotten far too dark for my taste. Sometimes it looked mahogany, sometimes burgundy, both of which are beautiful colors in their own right and gorgeous on people who are not me. Honey lightening did sweet F-A.

So I caved. I went to the drugstore and got me a nice little box of evil evil chemical dye. And I couldn't be happier! Everything's the perfect color now, bright as a new penny. I'm full of joy and I'm especially cheerful that it didn't take me nine years of grouchy dissatisfaction and mostly-cassia growing-out.

I'm mentioning this mostly because the part of me that loves olive oil conditioning and catnip tea and henna was honestly surprised that my hair didn't shriek and fall out at the first touch of chemical color. But it didn't! :D

[SHELIAANN1969]

I love some of the colors people get from boxed dye, I saw a gal at the park who had fabulously red hair, I actually asked if she Henna'd and she said the color was Chocolate Cherry by Feria, I was in love with that shade! :D

Some people can use dye and have no issues, I am chemically sensitive and it makes me sickie, but I am glad you found a shade that makes you happy! :flower:

And where are the new pics ma'am?

[fishwich]

And where are the new pics ma'am?

I am a fresh-baked failcake. Here's one!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3039&pictureid=38919

Feria does make some really fabulous dyes, doesn't it? I have a friend with ringlet-curly hair who's managed to get it to her waist while brushing, washing daily, and dyeing a new color every month...and her hair's pretty fine, too. I have no idea how she does it, I think she's actually made of Tupperware or something. Anyway, her longstanding fave is Black Cherry. Never seen such a beautiful purple-black.

[SHELIAANN1969]

It's very lovely!! (snickers at the *made of tupperware* remark) :rollin:

[Lixie]

What a lovely colour! It looks just right on you, glad you're happy with it. :)

[iris]

That color looks great on you - like it grows out of your head that way. Beautiful!

[ktani]

Gorgeous colour! Chemical dye is not evil. Conventional chemicals are not evil! It depends on how they are used.

I think that your hair looks beautiful.

[Samikha]

Stunning colour! I hope you and Feria will be happy together :D

[Pixna]

Rich, lush color, Fish -- looks gorgeous!! I'm glad you are happy with it. No two heads of hair are the same -- you've got to do what yours demands. Glad you found something that made you (and your hair) filled with joy and beauty!!

[kdaniels8811]

I love your color! I am glad it worked for you, Feria gave me beautiful color but faded within weeks so hendigo works much better for me. Your hair is lovely.

[Gothic Lolita]

I love it! It suit you really well and looks like the perfect copper shade and very natural! Plus, it blends nicely with you brows and skin color!

[fishwich]

Thanks everybody. :) I don't mind if this fades a bit, mostly I needed the lightening. I'm super-glad you don't think I'm a bad hair-mama.

[SheWolf]

Thanks everybody. :) I don't mind if this fades a bit, mostly I needed the lightening. I'm super-glad you don't think I'm a bad hair-mama.

Well if you are, then I am too: I opted for salon coloring years ago, and I am discovering that for me, it's not so much natural vs. chemical haircolor, that matters, but the way I care for my hair in between touchups.
Sulfate free shampoo every 3-4 days, CO washing in between, leave in conditioner on damp hair and coconut oil on dry hair.
So far, zero fading, the color is rich and vibrant, and my hair feels really soft, especially with the tiny bit of oil on dry hair.

... Bad Hair Mama sounds purrrrdy good! :D

[Firefly]

That is a seriously beautiful color, and it looks so natural on you!

[SimplyViki]

Looks good! I personally have very fond memories of Feria (see below). Even the name is pretty!


I love some of the colors people get from boxed dye, I saw a gal at the park who had fabulously red hair, I actually asked if she Henna'd and she said the color was Chocolate Cherry by Feria, I was in love with that shade!

Ooh! I miss that shade. That was the first color I ever dyed my hair, and it's a constant temptation, I'll have to say... The only reason I stopped, really, was because I couldn't apply it evenly as my hair got longer, and a hairdresser messed it up with some other color she mixed up when I tried to get her to replicate it.

[Kirin]

I recently caved too! I've been a henna-head for a long time, but the length and duration of application, the mess, the stained temples LOL, all converged. However, what recently did me in was seeing my hair in the daylight, as it got DARK from henna over so long, while a pretty color, it looked highly FAKE.

I've used Revlon "lightest brown-red" currently, and now my hair actually looks like a natural color. Again henna is great, but the "fake hair" instant knowing thats not real was bugging me a LOT.

[enfys]

It looks so natural! I don't recognise that brand so I don't think it's one we have here.

Are you keeping it that colour, or is it closer to your natural colour?

[fishwich]

as it got DARK from henna over so long, while a pretty color, it looked highly FAKE.

That's it EXACTLY. Not only was it darker than I like, but it was starting to look unnatural both for me and for hair in general. So I figured: if natural dye got me here, it's going to take unnatural to fix it. :D


Are you keeping it that colour, or is it closer to your natural colour?

There's nothing magicpants about Feria, it's just moderately high-end drugstore dye. I would be surprised if there wasn't an identical formula in a shop near you.

The red is nowhere near my natural color, I'm a...er...mid-range ash blonde? The conventional shorthand for my color is "dishwater blonde" but that term makes me rage and froth like nothing else. I'm definitely keeping this, but I'll be keeping it with a 70-30 cassia-henna mix. This was just to undo old mistakes.

[Roseate]

Wow, gorgeous! You folks on this site tempt me so with your lovely dyed hair (henna or otherwise). I rarely see colored hair IRL that I like, but y'all do such a good job.

I'm constantly having to remind myself that I hate dying my hair! Every time I do it I pine for my natural color within weeks, and even a hint of roots drives me mad. Note to self: Do. Not. Henna.

[GlassEyes]

Wow, gorgeous! You folks on this site tempt me so with your lovely dyed hair (henna or otherwise). I rarely see colored hair IRL that I like, but y'all do such a good job.

I'm constantly having to remind myself that I hate dying my hair! Every time I do it I pine for my natural color within weeks, and even a hint of roots drives me mad. Note to self: Do. Not. Henna.
Keep chanting that if you hate upkeep; henna can be a paaaaain. xD

I'm always tempted to dye over my now burgandy ends to make them match the rest, and I have in the past, but it always faded. ):

[GlennaGirl]

Am I reading this right? You girls are coloring over henna using a lighter color, and it's coming out looking good and not an odd color or anything?

I have seen so many threads about people trying to lighten henna, even getting out the bleach and doing multiple bleachings, hence destroying the hair, and yet still being unable to lighten without SEVERE damage. If henna can be colored over to make a lighter color using just plain old boxed dye, I'll be surprised, though glad. But I'll be confused because as I said...I have seen people jump through hoops to lighten henna and not get any results without completely ruining the hair.

[Wildcherry]

Looks great!
I recently went from henna(only one coat tho) to boxed dye copper since the henna was just a little too orange for me in the sun and I wanted a more golden glint. Im definitely trying cassia soon tho^^

Here's a pic of the color difference, to some people it might be subtle but I just wanted something a little calmer for the summer(my siggy pic is also the "after"

http://i44.tinypic.com/rtnln4.jpg

[fishwich]

If henna can be colored over to make a lighter color using just plain old boxed dye, I'll be surprised, though glad.

Then be delighted! Body-art quality henna (that is, henna with no indigo or metal salts or anything other than henna in it) rarely causes problems with commercial hair dye. The nightmares about hair turning into greenish smoking goo are based on interactions with the PPD in 'compound' henna. Overbleaching henna'd hair can result in a highlighter-orange color, I'm told, but I've never bleached to that degree so I wouldn't know for sure.

A partial list of things I have done and seen done, and can conclusively determine will not kill you:

1. Using henna over hair bleached with commercial dye.
2. Using commercial dye to touch-up the roots of henna'd hair.
3. Lightening henna'd hair by a shade or two with commercial dye.
4. Dyeing the whole head black over previous layers of commercial dye and henna.

Henna is seriously easy-going stuff.

[GlennaGirl]

Then be delighted! Body-art quality henna (that is, henna with no indigo or metal salts or anything other than henna in it) rarely causes problems with commercial hair dye. The nightmares about hair turning into greenish smoking goo are based on interactions with the PPD in 'compound' henna. Overbleaching henna'd hair can result in a highlighter-orange color, I'm told, but I've never bleached to that degree so I wouldn't know for sure.

A partial list of things I have done and seen done, and can conclusively determine will not kill you:

1. Using henna over hair bleached with commercial dye.
2. Using commercial dye to touch-up the roots of henna'd hair.
3. Lightening henna'd hair by a shade or two with commercial dye.
4. Dyeing the whole head black over previous layers of commercial dye and henna.

Henna is seriously easy-going stuff.

Oh. Ouch...I have used indigo. I henndigo'd several times. I lightened it a bit with honey but now it's stuck where it is, I think. I have to think there's still indigo in there.

Good info, though. I didn't know this about henna (my top half is just henna). This is good news. Thanks! ETA: It was all BAQ.

[iris]

The nightmares about hair turning into greenish smoking goo are based on interactions with the PPD in 'compound' henna.
This is not true. There's no problem dyeing or bleaching over PPD - PPD is in almost every conventional hair dye. The green problems with dyeing/bleaching over hennaed hair are caused by indigo. Smoking hair can be a result of metallic compounds in compound henna (not PPD). Compound hennas with metallic salts are actually quite rare. Most boxed 'shades' of henna do contain indigo though, and that can give blue/green when dyed over or bleached out.

GlennaGirl, you can get henna to lighten up a shade or two with conventional color or bleach, but you can't get it to lighten past a certain point. The hair disasters happen when people do try to push past that point.