Indigo gloss?

[Ohio Sky]

I did my first full head indigo yesterday. Let me say something before continuing- If I ever consider doing that again just SHOOT ME! I didnt see how it could possibly be any harder/messier than henna, but dear baby Jesus was I wrong.

Anyways my hair is kinda... stubborn? Its black in spots, but then its orange and brown and purple in spots, too. The purple is actually kinda cool, but I at least want it all one color.

I know a lot of members here do henna glosses, but can indigo be used this way? I dont see why not, but I was curious about what results people may have had with this, since my hair probably just wants more than one application to decide what it wants to do with it.

My natural hair color is a mousy brown, so its a bit of a pain to maintain dark color with henna and indigo without the roots showing all the time. Is there a way to do a gloss of something that could darken my roots with one step rather than doing 2 4-hour steps?

Sorry about all the questions :D

[lora410]

we will just re-name you the spotted leper:lol: never did an indigo gloss but I sure got a chuckle from the wording of your disaster. This si why I am afraid of henna, etc.:couch:

[Ohio Sky]

Lol it wasnt a total disaster (well not for my hair... my bathroom, on the other hand...)
Its pretty dark in the parts that are visible with my hair pulled back and it looks good but I know theres orange hiding in there. I want it gone! lol

[zift]

Sure you can do an indigo gloos too just like you do with henna. But I tried twice and had zero effects on my coarse hair. They say that finer textured hair holds indigo better,oh well...And also it became too drippy with the conditioner in it and it was far more messy than doing the mud itself for me.

[Ohio Sky]

Hmm... I guess this, just like everything else, I will just have to see what works for me. Damn individuality. I feel like my own guinea pig.
Owell, Ill let you all know how it goes :D

[Elfling]

I did a henndigo gloss and had great results; I used a ton of henna/indigo in a 2:1 ratio, diluted with a no-cone conditioner. Came out pretty well and the color is holding after 3 weeks.

[Mrs. K]

I do a two-step to get very dark brown, but I leave the henna on for just one hour, then the indigo for just 20-30 minutes. I usually make the indigo very runny and then add in some conditioner to thicken it back up a little and make it smoother and to dilute it a bit so that it doesn't make my hair black. I make it runny so that it gets into all my roots. I don't measure the conditioner amount, just squirt some in. I think if ithe indigo is too thick, then it doesn't get spread evenly throughout all the hair and some spots can be missed - thus orange from the henna. I have had some roots missed by indigo before and had to re-do the indigo step to get them. I think an indigo gloss, having a lot more conditioner than indigo would turn out a lighter color, so might not work if you are going for dark.

[Ohio Sky]

Elfling, is your hair fine or course?
Zift, did you have trouble with the indigo sticking when you did the mud?
I have never heard that indigo works better for fine hair but mine is kinda medium.

ETA: Elfling, what color is your hair naturally, and how dark was it after the gloss?

[Girltron]

There are always coverage/saturation issues at first with indigo. I'm afraid you'll have to do at least one more full-head application, or possibly more depending on how much it washes out of your hair over the course of the month. Eventually you won't have to do anything but roots.

Two things: Indigo does best when it's quite wet, somewhat drippy. And it doesn't need to stay in your hair 4 hours. One hour is usually plenty.

Try mixing a little microwaved honey or a tablespoon of sugar into your next batch to make it easier to apply.

[Henna Sooq]

Girltron you put honey/sugar right in with your straight indigo? Neat! I know it helps with the henna application and it's a new thing to learn about what to add to your indigo. I just use a bit of salt so far.

[zift]

Zift, did you have trouble with the indigo sticking when you did the mud?
I have never heard that indigo works better for fine hair but mine is kinda medium.


I think I always have a problem with indigo sticking. It makes my hair very dark almost black after applying it as mud but it starts fading and is like entirely gone after three weeks. And even after three weeks the water runs dark blue when I use shampoo. It makes me think that it doesn't stick well enough.
When I applied the gloss it didn't even had a slight color change. Just made my hair shinier and soft,like a treatment.

[Girltron]

Henna Sooq, yep it does help to add sugar. It might not work exactly the same way as with henna, but it does something, so there you are. I forgot to mention that molasses is a good choice for this, too.

[iris]

I've tested (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1339130&postcount=1) indigo mixed with conditioner on wool, and while the conditioner did inhibit the indigo somewhat (compared to distilled water), it worked just fine. I use cheap low-quality indigo and it still came out pretty dark.

Iris

[Ohio Sky]

Thanks for that link, Iris, thats really helpful :)

[Jammy]

Sorry if this is a repeat thread but has anyone tried an indigo gloss over virgin brown hair to darken it a little.

Trying to avoid the red from hendigo.

I'm waiting on the results of a strand test right now but I never trust those, it'd be mixed with coneless conditioner and left on for about 15 minutes?

Anyone tried this before?
Thanks!!

[Jammy]

I've tested (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1339130&postcount=1) indigo mixed with conditioner on wool, and while the conditioner did inhibit the indigo somewhat (compared to distilled water), it worked just fine. I use cheap low-quality indigo and it still came out pretty dark.

Iris
This is the best page ever! Thank you so much for taking the time to test this!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Evie]

Seconding Girltron's comment on needing probably 2 full head treatments to get an even colour, it was certainly the same for me.

I've used indigo glosses to touch up henndigo, sometimes some batches of indigo seem less 'sticky' than others, I think my hair is between 2 and 3 in terms of curlyness, and is pretty 'coarse' although I'm not that great on hair typing, and these glosses have stuck around for me really well - I guess work your way up slowly, it is far easier to go darker than lighter with indigo....good luck!

ETA: my indigo glosses are around 3 tablespoons of indigo, with enough conditioner to cover my hair, left on for around 30 min to an hour depending on the shade I want, an hour gets it closer to black for me.

I also do henndigo glosses, just a small version of my henndigo mix, about 1:3 henna to indigo (henna dye released first) applied for the normal length I leave henndigo on for, so around 3 - 4 hours.

[Evie]

hmmm I posted in your other thread, but I'd be wary of this all over my head too....will be interested to hear how it comes out though.

Hope you find an answer that you are happy with - not sure how indigo alone would stick to your hair and be even, too.

[Evie]

by the way, mixing up a henndigo and leaving it on for a shorter time might help it be less red, the henna does not really deposit (from my understanding) until later in the process, so shorter henndigo might = less red, although with henna there will ALWAYS be some red tones?

[Jammy]

by the way, mixing up a henndigo and leaving it on for a shorter time might help it be less red, the henna does not really deposit (from my understanding) until later in the process, so shorter henndigo might = less red, although with henna there will ALWAYS be some red tones?
sighhhhh... I thought I had finally found the answer with an indigo gloss but it doesn't stick to my virgin hair at all!
As much work as I've put into this search I think I may just embrace my natural hair color, seeing as how it's not terribly different than the one I'm looking for.

Thanks so much evie!