HELP! Red-Free Henndigo!

[Jammy]

I have read through the Henndigo thread, and the "desperately seeking no red" but I still haven't been able to find a recipe that gives a cool/neutral dark brown! I have heard mixed reviews about amla; some say it works some say it does nothing.


I dyed my hair once before with henndigo and it turned green (It was virgin hair). How can I avoid this again?

Mainly I'm trying to find out how I can tone out all the red or at least most of it just to get this color:

http://www.marieclaire.com/cm/realbeauty/images/3z/rb-brunette-long-hair-68-0809-de.jpg

[getoffmyskittle]

Never, ever, ever put henna on your hair with the expectation that there will not be any red. Just don't do it.

The reason you can't find a recipe is because there is no way to reliably knock the red out of henna. Henna IS red (well, orange), and it is stubborn, and it will glow through/stay around forever.

[Jammy]

I figured as much. I wonder if buxus or indigio could be mixed with conditioner and left on as a gloss?

[getoffmyskittle]

I know indigo can. Some people here use indigo alone. You could always strand test...

[serious]

You could try LUSH Caca Brun, it is premixed henna and indigo, loaded with cocoa butter, so it works practically as a gloss, and gives you a nice brown color with no red at all.

[dropinthebucket]

I've used both indigo and buxus. I preferred the buxus because it covered the red better at a less dark shade of brown (you tend to have to go much darker on the brown with indigo to cover the red, because indigo is a blue/purple dye, whereas buxus is a green/blue/grey dye, i think - at least if my color theory is correct, that's why). But, the buxus fades, whereas the indigo may not (though the indigo may as well). Also, even when my hair was almost a smoky grey/brown from buxus in indoor light, there is NO WAY to stop it getting that henna red-orange glow in direct sunlight. There is always going to be a red flare with henna, at least in direct light, no matter what you cover it with.

[Oskimosa]

What's your starting color? Your avatar? That will have a large impact on what you ought to do.

[Jammy]

starting color is ashy light brown like this
http://www.realbeauty.com/cm/realbeauty/images/hw/rb-long-brown-hair-17-0809-mdn.jpg

[Jammy]

ps i like your avatar, dbf and I are getting a ferret next week!!!

[Oskimosa]

To me there's not too big of a difference between the two pics. You're just looking to get a deeper, richer color? If you are looking for ash only, no red or golden tones, then skip cassia and henna, since that's all they are. Use straight buxus or indigo, just don't leave it on for a long time; do more of a gloss. See if that gets you the right shade, and go from there.

And thanks for the compliment! PM me with any questions you have about ferrets... they are a LIFESTYLE, I'm telling you! Be sure you have read up on them and ferretproofing your house. I love them to pieces, but they are alot of maintenance!

[LoveMyMutt]

Never, ever, ever put henna on your hair with the expectation that there will not be any red. Just don't do it.

The reason you can't find a recipe is because there is no way to reliably knock the red out of henna. Henna IS red (well, orange), and it is stubborn, and it will glow through/stay around forever.

What she said. I bleached out much of my henna, and dyed over it with the ashiest dark ash blond I could find -- and it STILL looks reddish in direct sun. My natural color is sort of a dark strawberry blond anyway so it looks OK but if I didn't want ANY red I'd stay far, far away from henna.

[loralie]

What about coffee, cloves or walnut husks?

I tried molasses but I'm almost certain it gave me subtle, almost reddish highlights. But it was barely noticeable at all... and I'm certain it washes out.

[Jammy]

I have been dutifully doing rinses with all those (except the walnut, which i haven't been able to get a hold of) but they just wash out with the next rinse.

I'll try to get a hold of indigo to do a strand test with a gloss. Maybe it with conditioner and leave it on for 15 minutes? Everything I've read about buxus says it fades super fast.

I hope i don't get a blue/green glow from just indigo... O___O

[Gulbahar]

What about coffee, cloves or walnut husks?

I tried molasses but I'm almost certain it gave me subtle, almost reddish highlights. But it was barely noticeable at all... and I'm certain it washes out.
Walnut husks don't work either. I used to mix my henna with a very strong decoction of walnut husks - the liquid was almost black. It subdued the red a lot, but it still was RED.

[emmabovary]

I started doing indigo glosses (very conservatively, not wanting to go black), and then did a mix of amla and indigo (maybe 20 % indigo).. my hair looks dark brown indoors, like I want it to, but still glows red in sunlight. It is much, much less glaringly red than before, though, so I'm fine with living with this until it grows out. Oh and in my glosses I used coffee, molasses and conditioner... and I think I put some cassia in there too.

[Jammy]

I started doing indigo glosses (very conservatively, not wanting to go black), and then did a mix of amla and indigo (maybe 20 % indigo).. my hair looks dark brown indoors, like I want it to, but still glows red in sunlight. It is much, much less glaringly red than before, though, so I'm fine with living with this until it grows out. Oh and in my glosses I used coffee, molasses and conditioner... and I think I put some cassia in there too.
thank you so much!!

Are you doing the glosses over hendigo or henna? or just over your virgin hair? My hair has no red in it right now, i just want it a little darker and richer, so there wouldnt be any red from a gloss right?

:)

[loralie]

Have you tried using a toner or a toning shampoo/conditioner? I think for red on the color wheel you need to use a green, but there's also purple for brassiness. I'm not so sure how it works on darker hair, though. You might want to just go for an ammonia free herbal dye like herbatint, it's pretty gentle and if you're only trying to correct your color, one or two applications shouldn't be too damaging.

The only place I have red in my hair is on the parts where I dyed after my bleach last summer, and at the beginning of the year, I dyed my whole head black and it has faded to an ashier dark brown, so I'm going to leave it, and trim out the dyed bits once I hit my goal.

[redneckprincess]

I have a semi-recent First henndigo post with pictures and a recipe several posts in...turned out great and still loving it w week later

[Jammy]

redneckprincess, thanks I checked it out. Very well documented! Looks beautiful too!

Loralie, YES! dark ashy brown is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to try to do an indigo gloss and leave it on for just about 10 minutes or so and see if that just gets me a darker cooler brown.

[Evie]

You could try LUSH Caca Brun, it is premixed henna and indigo, loaded with cocoa butter, so it works practically as a gloss, and gives you a nice brown color with no red at all.

I'm going to second what has been said about there always being a red glow with henna - I'm afraid I've always found this true. Whilst Lush caca brun, and caca noir, have higher percentages of indigo, they do also contain some henna. They don't give me the same level of red glow, but the colour is still, on me at least, still warm.

Are you determined to use natural dye? How about a semi permanent? I might get jumped on for suggesting this here, but would probably be better for your hair than trying henndigo and being disappointed, it really is not possible to bleach out and if BAQ does not fade.....

I'd be really wary of indigo alone over ashy light brown hair - you might get a greenish cast, as when I've put the dye on white tissue, it is blue / green / peacock blueish?

HTH

[Evie]

thank you so much!!

Are you doing the glosses over hendigo or henna? or just over your virgin hair? My hair has no red in it right now, i just want it a little darker and richer, so there wouldnt be any red from a gloss right?

:)

by the way, I'm not sure if you mean no red from a henna gloss here - there probably would be, you know, especially if the henna was fresh and good quality - this picture (http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/daniellen/) for example is the red that can be achieved from a gloss alone.

How about a mix of henna (red) cassia (gold) and indigo? This might help get a richer golden brown, especially if (from what I remember from hennaforhair.com) you mix everything in hot water at the start and then put it on for maybe an hour or so? Not sure, would need some more research, but I'm sure I can remember people on that forum who wanted similar results to you?

[jackie75]

starting color is ashy light brown like this
http://www.realbeauty.com/cm/realbeauty/images/hw/rb-long-brown-hair-17-0809-mdn.jpg

That is my virgin hair to a "T"!

I'm in the same boat as you, & I feel your pain. I wish I could come up with something natural to match my virgin hair....& to get rid of the red that's in my dyed hair.

If I wanted red, I would jump at the Henna option. You know, this is a big world, you would think that there would be a plant like Henna, same benefits, etc., but is a brown color. Sheesh! :)

[trinc]

You know, this is a big world, you would think that there would be a plant like Henna, same benefits, etc., but is a brown color. Sheesh! :)

I would pay for that plant!!! :D