Highlights over old henna?

[TinaDenali]

Hello!

I am sure this has been addressed, but I couldn't quite find it. If you find a thread that addresses this, please let me know! :)

I want to get some highlights done at the salon, but I have henna'd hair. I put LUSH's henna in my hair last year, about October or so. And then I put Light Mountain henna in my hair in January. Neither really seemed to stick or last and I have had no roots from either treatment - both times it seemed to 'wash out' within a month. When In the sun my hair does appear a lot more red than I think is natural, however. But, that could just be the way my hair is naturally! It's been a while since I've have virgin hair (which the top three or four inches is, as that's how much growth I've had since my last henna).

Anyway - so I want to get it highlighted, just some small highlights and crown only, not the whole head. Is this something I can do? I've always heard you can't dye hair that's had henna in it, but even after all this time? And I'm not sure my hair accepted it anyway?

Thanks! :)

[Oskimosa]

I am not 100% sure, but Lush doesn't have any metallic salts, does it? I think many members here use it with success. So long as it doesn't, you will be fine. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think Light Mountain does. In that case, I don't know what the outcome will be.


I highlighted my hennaed hair. I didn't get more than subtle results, though. If henna didn't really saturate your hair, you will more than likely have better luck than me. If you didn't have metallic salts in the henna, I wouldn't even bother mentioning it to the stylist since they mostly think henna will turn your hair green if you combine it with other dyes/peroxides. I used 30 vol, left it on for... hmm... 30-45 minutes. I used foils. My hair was pretty saturated with henna at that point. I strand tested and found the hair melted after about 2 hours.


Pretty much how it looked before:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_FegEvYoeN6E/S__zmmupASI/AAAAAAAAAJs/r7Z89lFp5gI/s400/hair.jpg

Result:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_FegEvYoeN6E/S__zTNpbrSI/AAAAAAAAAJc/Pq2Ad56fmOY/s800/highlights4.jpg

There's totally different lighting involved. It was a subtle result, to be sure. But it took my hair away from one solid color, and I still have a more 3-d color so I'm glad I did it. I have heat damaged ends, but nothing perceivably from the dye. If your hair is less saturated with henna, you may have far better results :) You can't lighten henna, but you can lighten the hair underneath it. If it's red tinted, it might go to a more brassy color than your natural color would've.

[TinaDenali]

Yeah, I looked and Light Mountain DOES contain metallic salts. However, I only had that henna on my head for about two and a half hours, and the LUSH henna I had on my head overnight - or about 10 hours. Would that make a difference?

Perhaps I should just put it off until next summer. I really don't want to melt my hair!

[GRU]

Take some shed hairs (bathtub drain, maybe?) and do a trial run. That'll tell you for sure what will happen.

[Oskimosa]

Take some shed hairs (bathtub drain, maybe?) and do a trial run. That'll tell you for sure what will happen.

^^ Exactly. Get a small bottle of 20 or 30 vol from sally's and soak your shed hairs in it. Grab the stuff from your hair brush. It won't be easy to read the color result, since a hairball never really ends up matching what the hair on your head looks like, but you'll be able to tell if it melts or goes green. It's been a long time since you hennaed, you may be ok. If the hairs don't survive your test, there may be other things you can do (but probably not highlights.)

[dropinthebucket]

oh my gosh, oskimosa! how long did it take you to get from those highlight pics length to your avatar and siggie!? wow, that's amazing! ..... :D

[Oskimosa]

Why, thank you! That pic is from sometime in '08, don't remember when. I cut it to a shaggy pixie in Jan '08, and the pics in my siggy are from about two months ago. So, 2 years?

[LoveMyMutt]

Were they just henna, or did they have indigo in there also? The brown colors usually have indigo added.

If it was just henna or henna and cassia, you can highlight over that fine. I found that my highlights were still kind of orangey but could be toned to an acceptable shade of blond.

If there was indigo in there, be careful. You might end up with some green streaks. Definitely do some strand tests first!

[Fractalsofhair]

Since when did Light Mountain contain metallic salts? That's news to me, since it smells like henna, stained like henna on skin, and when I gave some to a friend to ask his grandmother who uses henna, she said it was real henna as well.

[henna4grey]

Yeah, I looked and Light Mountain DOES contain metallic salts.

Tina, would you please make it clear where you have looked that you found Light Mountain contained metallic salts?

I'm thinking of trying Light Mountain, but I certainly want to avoid metallic salts.

Thanks

[marisa]

What?! Nooooo! I really hope not.
I occasionally use LM as a gloss treatment. I have a box of dark brown here, I mix a tablespoon or two into conditioner to darken my hair.
I thought they were known for being pure, but just giving a weak stain when compared to baq.

[marisa]

I just came across this~~

"Why use the Light Mountain Natural brand?

It is one of the few completely natural, botanical hair colors on the market. Our ingredients are 100% pure botanicals, straight from nature. Other brands use “all natural” only as a catch phrase on the front of the package, while the ingredients listed are synthetic conditioners for shine and metallic salts for color. Stay with the proven best, Light Mountain Natural—100% premium botanicals."

I really do think it's okay!

[Kome]

If you check my pictures you'll see that I have blonde bangs. That is bleached out Yemen Henna. It had to be bleached twice to get the orangish tint out. So it's possible, but just expect that you might have some pretty fried highlights. Give it a few months though and your hair should be fine. You'll just have to treat it nicely!

[TinaDenali]

Tina, would you please make it clear where you have looked that you found Light Mountain contained metallic salts?

I'm thinking of trying Light Mountain, but I certainly want to avoid metallic salts.

Thanks

I suppose the internet isn't a reliable source, eh? I searched through Light Mountain's website and they said specifically that they DO NOT use metallic salts - my original source was incorrect. :)

Sorry for the confusion!

[Nocturnal]

Oskimosa, did you use straight 30 vol peroxide, no bleach powder?