Totally completely chicken, afraid of Henna !

[UltraBella]

I have read so much about Henna and looked at all the amazing pictures, but I am so so scared to try it. I feel like a big chicken !!
I have had my hair colored a coppery red with a Demi-color in the past (for five years) and loved it. I went back to a more natural color because I got sick of my ashy roots showing so quickly. I miss the red hair and some days I really want it back. Henna would be an alternative to the Demi-color, but I am afraid of having a disaster.
I love strawberry-blonde and coppery red on me, but not the more deep red/burgundy colors. How do you get the color results you desire ? How do you mix it exactly the same to only do your roots ? Anyone had a Henna oops ???
What about Henna on highlights ? I have some and they are fairly light blonde.
Any input is super appreciated :)

[Cholera]

I'm not an expert in henna, but have you thought about trying a henna gloss first, or mixing it with cassia for less dramatic red?

[Oskimosa]

It can be pretty daunting; if you dislike it, the consequences are starting over on your growth journey or living with damage; pure and simple. But if you liked red on you in the past, and want red, GO FOR IT!

To get a coppery red, all you have to do is mix it with cassia and keep the time down that you leave it on. 1-2 hours will do it! Cassia will encourage the coppery, strawberry-blonde tones. I think the underneath of my hair has more of a burgundy tone, but I can't tell you how awesome that makes the depth of color for me! The coppery tones are next to my face where it matters and the burgundy ones mix in.

For what it's worth, I thought about it for months before I did it. At your length, I'd do no less!

[Capybara]

Just wanted to say that you're not alone in your chicken-ness ;) I've never even completely coloured my hair, only highlights over 6 years ago!

Caution is better than not, because you'll have to live with the results. For what it's worth, I think henna red is lovely, but it looks better on some people than others.

[beastair]

www.mehandi.com has an ebook you can down load for free that has tons of info and mixes for henna for your hair. I used this and found it to be a great resource!!! Hope you do too!! Best of luck,,,,remember its only hair. : )

[Blueglass]

Actually it's good to be a little bit chicken if its henna. First of all, if you what Strawberry go with Morocco Method Neutral henna, if you are a blonde or even a light brunette you will find it Strawberry. So its real henna. I over did it this Spring, and for a time, looked like Sissy Spacek. Also you can get Strawberry in Avigal or Rainbow. Or you can use a very small amount like a teaspoon of reg. henna in a corn starch gel.

I like the idea of henna and Cassia but I have been struggling with the issue of highlights. I want my hair to be as light as possible. I've highlighted since doing a lot of Henna MM Neutral and Cassia this Spring. Henna and Cassia tend to defeat my desire to be blonder. But I want shiny too. I have decided that, that while I like the Strawberry on my darker areas, I really need lightness, and I need cooler highlights, the henna and Cassia tend to leave a brassy stain. I'm highlighting again on Aug 15th and when the henna has faded enough, maybe in Nov. or Dec. I'm using clear Elumen. It closes the cuticle even more the henna, and cassia.

[iris]

I have read so much about Henna and looked at all the amazing pictures, but I am so so scared to try it.
Henna is not something that you can just 'try'! It's unbelievably permanent on most people. More permanent than any 'permanent' conventional dye. The options to dye over it or bleach it out if you don't like it are very very limited, too.

I forget who here came up with the phrase (Shermie Girl? it must have been someone who went through a long grow-out process like she did in any case), but you don't court or date henna. You marry it.


I went back to a more natural color because I got sick of my ashy roots showing so quickly.
That will happen with henna, too - and henna is more messy and time-consuming to do than a demi color, and when you get sick of it, you can't just wait for it to fade like with a demi. You have to grow it out.

There are good reasons to be afraid of henna. The color does not suit everybody. And it's unbelievably permanent. Check out this thread (http://www.archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=71635) to see the horrors of how permanent it is. Many people in that thread ended up having to cut their hair because the removal attempts destroyed their hair, or waited for years to grow it out.

If you want to try henna, the way to do it is to collect a nice big wad of shed hairs and do a strand test. Make sure you test how the color looks on you in all kinds of lightings, as henna changes a lot with the lighting. And then think about whether having that color is worth sitting around regularly with a head full of mud, basically for the rest of your life (if you don't want to grow it out at some point).

Henna is great stuff - if you want to be a redhead for the rest of your life, don't mind (or enjoy) the time it takes, and aren't too picky about the exact shade of red you end up with. If that is not you, then it really is best to not do henna.

[spidermom]

Henna plus light blonde = orange.

[pennylane]

Henna plus light blonde = orange.


I have to agree with spidermom. :)

[GlassEyes]

I have to agree with spidermom. :)
If you only do it once, of course. Multiple applications can make it a nice, bright wine red. :)

And it can be a pretty orange, depending on what you look like.

And I'm just going to second Iris. If you're looking to 'just try henna', don't. It's incredibly permanent. In most cases, it won't wash out--it's the very rare case that does, at least if you use Body Art Quality henna (BAQ). You cannot bleach that stuff out completely. Ever. Not without sending your hair to the great beyond.

[UltraBella]

I spent five+ years as a redhead with a Demi, and it never faded out. Most people lose red so fast, but I am the opposite. A few years back I decided to not do my roots and let the Demi fade off over the summer, even spent 10 days in the Florida Keys submerged in salt water and sun..... Still red ! My hair really holds on to color, I had to weave a permanent color close to my natural and get highlights in order to no longer be a redhead. Thank god my hair does fine with bleach !
So I know that if I henna it will not be just to try it out, I realize it will stay until I grow it out. My issue is that I want a natural looking color, not burgundy bright red. I actually prefer orange-ish color on me instead of the purply undertone I see on some people. I am just afraid I will do it and then not get my roots to match next time I do it......... Ugh !!!! I want to, but I don't want to.....

[lastnite]

do you have any Indian shops around to pick up a couple of cheap boxes to experiment with? the best way to tell if you'll like the color on your hair is to do a test strand. Jamilla seems to be the more orange-y one. It's hard to predict henna, but on your hair I'd imagine the highlights will go orange and the darker parts more auburn.

[Athena's Owl]

basically ultrabella, start saving your shed hair from detangling and combouts. save a Lot, and then use your shed hairs to do small mix experiments with different blends and application times, etc.

Record everything meticulously. keep a full record of your results. if you can't get a blend you like, at least it's not anything you have to live with forever!

the mixes page on hennaforhair will show you a few nice examples.

[fairystar32]

Hi
henna is very permanent as others have said
I used henna and indigo over a few years and then got pregnant didnt dye for 2.5 yrs and the ends were still darkbrown/black with red streaks in the sun.
I have recently added henna streaks and it has blended the ends in nicely (still bf so didnt want it on my scalp yet)

Its a permanent dye and even after 2.5 yrs my ends were still dark so takes a LONG time to grow out..
Good luck with what you decide ;)

[MandaMom2Three]

If you aren't worried about the permanence but rather the darkness I would suggest either henna glosses or a mixture with lots of cassia in it (and lots of strand testing!)

[GlassEyes]

I don't think she needs to worry about the darkness if she doesn't do repeated applications. Unless you do full length henna a bunch of times on hair her shade, it won't turn burgundy.

However, if you do, it will. Nightshade is a perfect example of that--though she managed to get the color she wanted after with little trouble.

[iris]

The purply tone comes when you get more henna into your hair, the base tone is actually orange. It's a bit like with a glass pot of (regular, black tea): when the pot is full, the tea looks a cool-toned red-brown, but just a little bit of the same tea in a glass cup looks not only lighter, but also a different tone of red (warmer, more towards orange). Hold a full pot of tea up to the sun and you'll see the same warmer lighter shade appear that you see when you have just a bit of tea in a glass cup.

The actual precise color of tea is different from henna of course, but the principle is the same, the same, basically warm-toned and orangey color looks more cool-toned when there's more of it.

If you want it to stay on the orange side with henna, you just have to make sure you don't do repeated applications. You don't have to worry about overlap on the roots, a little bit of overlap won't be noticeable, it'll blend in.

If you decide to do a gloss, I'd still do a strand test first, to make sure you like the particular shade of orange that henna is. There's orange, and then there's orange. Not all shades of orange are the same.

Also, a henna gloss won't really show a lot of color indoors, the color will mostly show up in the sun (and will sparkle very orange then).

To give an idea of how much henna can not show indoors, check out this picture:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb198/irisalsusername/hennakleuren_2.jpg

This is a picture collage of my hair a few years ago - the thing is that I took all these pictures on the same day, the variations in color are only due to the light. You can see that I did have enough henna in my hair to make it look purple in some lightings, and that the color still did not show up at all in some lightings (second picture from the left in the bottom row - daylight from the North through a window). So in some lightings, you just don't see the henna at all. Applying more of it is not going to help that. Just a warning so you don't end up with purple hair by trying to gloss over and over again to make the red show up in all lightings.

This response-to-the-light thing that henna does, makes it not-so-suitable if you want a specific shade of red, - basically, with henna you get a whole range of reds depending on the light. It'll all be on the orange side as long as you don't do too many applications though. The only way to see if you like that range of oranges is to do a strand test on a sizable wad of hair and look at it in all kinds of light.

[CrisDee]

Another factor that will permanently darken henna to that winey burgundy color is heat styling, particularly with flat irons or the large barrelled curling iron that I know you like to use. I didn't know this when I first henna'd - the initial color I got, I just loved - then I totally ruined it with the large barrelled curling iron! That was one of the factors in my decision to hack all my hair off, I also am not a fan of the winey burgundy.

Another thing that is a bit off-putting when you first begin henna is the smell. It leaves your hair with a very strong hay/grass type of smell that I found to be completely oppressive, even when my hair was shoulder length - I can't even imagine how strong the scent would be with hair like yours!

That being said, at this point I've cut off 20 years of chemically dyed red, and my hair is now all henna/cassia for color. It's ridiculously shiny, healthier than it's ever been, and I think a pretty natural red (see my avatar). I do roots only at this point (did 'em last night, as a matter of fact). I've found that a mixture of 50/50 henna/cassia gives me a more coppery, natural looking red - and the cassia (plus the cinnamon and cloves I also add) really helps cut that strong henna smell to a very pleasant spicy/grassy scent.

[TrudieCat]

Another factor that will permanently darken henna to that winey burgundy color is heat styling, particularly with flat irons or the large barrelled curling iron that I know you like to use. I didn't know this when I first henna'd - the initial color I got, I just loved - then I totally ruined it with the large barrelled curling iron! That was one of the factors in my decision to hack all my hair off, I also am not a fan of the winey burgundy.

I was just going to say this! :D Actually, CrisDee, I owe you one big time for warning me about this on another thread.

I too had no problems with henna's permanence when I was thinking about it, but I was concerned that I would not ever, even like once or twice a year, be able to use a curling iron and that was enough to make me put on the henna breaks. I am still strongly considering a henna/cassia gloss since I've been successfully heat-free for a lot longer than I ever thought I would be, but I'd say per CrisDee's advice (and that of a couple other helpful longhairs) it looks like direct heat-styling with henna would not be a good idea for someone who really dislikes the wine burgundy color. But others had said that once the henna has fully oxidized a low blow-dryer is ok. This (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=47230&highlight=henna+heat+styling) is what other helpful LHC members had to say to me about the henna/heat-styling issue when I asked (I really hope it's not too tacky to link to a thread I started - I just wanted to make it easier for you to see what other hennaheads had to say about this).

[CrisDee]

I was just going to say this! :D Actually, CrisDee, I owe you one big time for warning me about this on another thread...

Hey, the lesat I can do is serve as a bad example :laugh:

[lastnite]

CrisDee made some good points about the heat styling, but some people like the grassy scent of henna or cassia.

I was also thinking with all your thick hair henna would take a while to really rinse out, and might not even rinse out completely the first go (you might find little pieces of henna mud here and there). Not to scare you off, just a heads up to be prepared if you go for it.

Even if you don't go for it, it's really refreshing to hear a hairstylist being open minded about henna. Usually stylist don't know much about it or think it's a bad thing when someone has henna in their hair. Maybe in the future you could do henna hair services at your salons. :)

[CrisDee]

Ooh, ooh, just thought of one more henna foible that might be a concern for you, Ultrabella - henna has been known for many people to pull the curl out of their hair. Some people have added amla to the mix to counteract this, but amla gives a darker result - which you (and I) are trying to stay away from. Just another factor to consider...

[GlennaGirl]

Hi, UltraBella!

If you're at all "iffy" about henna...just don't. That would be my advice. Do a demi again like last time. :)

What you said about having to weave another color in with the demi: you couldn't even do that with henna. Not unless you were going darker, and that might not even be successful. Henna simply does not act like chemical color.

Chances are you'd weave darker and darker colors in an effort to get rid of the red and would wind up with VERY dark hair, which I don't think you want. And after all that, you'd then have to grow *that* out, at least the part that's been done over henna.

I just don't think it sounds like henna is right for you.

I also have a question: Is your hair naturally blonde like in the picture, or is that highlighted/colored? Because if your hair is naturally darker than blonde, you *may* in fact wind up with a darker color than strawberry blonde with just one henna application, as the roots came in. You'd have that difference in color on the roots. Then you'd want to reapply because how else would you get the colors to match up...? ...and then, yes, you'd be turning more toward that darker red that you said you don't want.

You could always do a strand test but keep in mind that the color could look different on your entire head than just one strand looks...again, because of the fact that henna is like watercolors, adding a bit to the color that's there but taking none away.

I personally love henndigo but that's me and it was a HUGE learning curve to get the color the way I ultimately wanted it...years of one, including many chops. And with my starting color light to medium brown, I could never have achieved a strawberry blonde (unless I had bleached first, in which case, what would be the point?...might as well just do a one-step color process in that case). I would not do this unless I were 100% gung-ho for it and it doesn't sound like you are. Do a demi. :)

[Fractalsofhair]

You can do a henna gloss. I find on my hair, it fades within a month to a red blond from a bright deep red at the beginning. This is not the case with all people though!

[Pierre]

I had short hair when I started hennaing; the feel of hennaed hair is part of what motivated me to grow it long. I didn't do lots of strand tests, but I did take years to settle on my mix.

I suggest that, after a few strand tests, you start with a lighter mix and gradually go darker until you find the color you want. As to roots, if you can make henna take a short time, you won't have trouble fitting it into your schedule when you need to henna. I do it last thing before bed; it takes about an hour. Then I shower it out in the morning.

Highlights (which on me are gray hairs) turn into bright red sparklies.

To mix it the same way every time, I use a scale. I mix two parts henna and one each amla and cloves. The amount differs depending on whether I'm also hennaing my toenails (which need to be hennaed, but my feet aren't quite healed, so I'm putting it off). I use a root shooter (a big syringe) and the little bit that the root shooter won't get, I smear on my bun by hand.

I just hennaed last night :inlove: I had almost forgotten how beautiful my hair feels when it's freshly hennaed!

[Fiferstone]

Hi UltraBella:
There is one thing most everyone else has said but which absolutely bears repeating:

Henna.Is.Permanent.

I've been hennaing for years over a natural light mouse-brown. I think it suits my color but I may be biased. ;)A member here (HennaSooq) sells a variety of types of henna, some are more burgundy-toned with repeated applications than others, others are redder/more orange. It's different on every head, and depents on your own preferences, but test, test, test, and test again before you take the plunge on your own hard won waist and longer-length hair. I've always loved red, and never really loved my natural color.

If you do decide to henna, there will be a learning curve while you figure out what type of henna best suits you/your hair, what other things to add (if any) to use and in what proportion and (as important in my opinion) how long to leave the mixture in. That is another way in which henna is absolutely unlike permanent, semi-permanent or demi-permanent dyes. To achieve good color saturation and longevity you leave it on for hours, (not an hour, but hours, plural). I have had good luck with leaving it in overnight (sleeping in it) with my pillowcase and bedding protected and my plastic-wrapped head swaddled in old T-shirts I don't care about. My own personal routine is a henna gloss because I've achieved the color I want, and I gloss every 2 months. I'm maintaining my color rather than trying to get it darker or lighter, but I'm going to have to figure out an exit strategy when I get more silvers (right now I've only got a few). The henna on my silver is orange, a few orange highlights don't bother me, an entirely orange head would. So eventually I'll have to bid a fond farewell to my henna, but not just yet.

The below is a link to my favorite picture showing the color of the henna and my skin tone.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=4590&pictureid=62989

[GRU]

If you want it to stay on the orange side with henna, you just have to make sure you don't do repeated applications. You don't have to worry about overlap on the roots, a little bit of overlap won't be noticeable, it'll blend in.

This is what I've been doing for the past 7+ months. I did all-over henna, and now I just do roots-only every 4-8 weeks. I am very NOT precise when I do my roots, but like iris said, it blends and isn't noticeable.


This response-to-the-light thing that henna does, makes it not-so-suitable if you want a specific shade of red, - basically, with henna you get a whole range of reds depending on the light. It'll all be on the orange side as long as you don't do too many applications though.

This is precisely why I *like* henna -- its translucence prevents it from looking like a flat-color dye-job and highlights show through like they would in "normal" hair. Most people's natural hair color looks different in different light, and that's what my hennaed hair does.

You can see my examples of this here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1125034&postcount=1317

My mix is roughly 20% henna and 80% cassia, and I have no purple/burgundy tones anywhere.


Ooh, ooh, just thought of one more henna foible that might be a concern for you, Ultrabella - henna has been known for many people to pull the curl out of their hair. Some people have added amla to the mix to counteract this, but amla gives a darker result - which you (and I) are trying to stay away from. Just another factor to consider...

I was a bit concerned about this too, but since I do a deep conditioning treatment immediately following every henna application, I actually find that my curls look their *best* immediately following henna. And as you can see in the photos I linked to above, I don't have any problems with lack of curl! :D



some people like the grassy scent of henna or cassia.

I'm pretty sensitive to smells, and I hate heavy perfumes and chemical smells, but henna doesn't bother me, I think because it smells like hay or something natural.



I was also thinking with all your thick hair henna would take a while to really rinse out, and might not even rinse out completely the first go (you might find little pieces of henna mud here and there). Not to scare you off, just a heads up to be prepared if you go for it.

I would definitely go the mermaid soak routine with hair like yours. I also add fenugreek powder to my henna/cassia, which gives it a bit of a "slippery/gooey" texture that makes rinsing easier for me. (And fenugreek smells like maple syrup, so it offsets the henna smell a bit as well.)

Even with all my curls, I've never found bits of mud after the fact. I just keep rinsing and COing and rinsing and COing until I don't notice any more grainy bits with my fingers and the rinse water is fairly clear.

I also put some tips in the Henna Thread, here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1107549&postcount=1819)and here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1107872&postcount=1822), that you might find helpful.

Feel free to ask questions, I love being able to give back to this community after getting so much out of it!

[Pandora.]

Henna plus light blonde = orange.

This is why I can never use henna. :(

If you're worried about the consequences, it is better to be safe than sorry. You already mentioned that your highlights are a light blonde, so the henna might make your hair turn orange. I think you should do what someone else in this thread has just suggested and collect a lot of your hair strands and henna over them, before you decide to take the plunge and henna all over.

[UltraBella]

Okay, I am officially not trying it at this time. I just have too many worries. My hair is naturally blonde and my length has some bleached highlights and I am just worried about the color. I am going to harvest some hair and do some strand tests out of curiosity, and then re-evaluate. Thank you to all who gave advice, shared their experiences, etc...... I really appreciate it !

[maybe sparrow]

I've been watching this thread with interest, 'cause I was in the same "I dunno" boat. I am so going for it. But, I'm not a blonde to begin with.

[loralie]

I never will henna or indigo. As much as I am drawn to the health effects, I just know how hard it was to get chemical red out of my hair and won't go near it. It's too bad, because it's beautiful on other people, and it makes their hair fantastic, but it's not for me and I'm okay with it!

I'm now 6 months chemical dye free and never looking back. But I sure can admire the lovely henna and indigo on hair here on this board! :)

[PuppetCreature]

I've been watching this thread with interest, 'cause I was in the same "I dunno" boat. I am so going for it. But, I'm not a blonde to begin with.


i too was in the same boat and am going for it :D

i think what really helped me with the decision was looking at many many many pictures and really getting the fact that you get the color you get (well of course you can manipulate it a bit, but..) to my head.
and then one day i just realized that i had made up my mind and was going to do it.

so if you're not absolutely sure you're going to love what you get then i wouldn't do it, at least not right now 'cause if you do change your mind in the future, you can always do it then :)

[CrisDee]

Don't know if you've found it yet, but hennaforhair has $1 sample sizes of most of their products, so you can try different varieties and different mixes on your strand tests until you settle on what you want. I guess the good thing about having hair as long as yours is it doesn't take very many shed hairs to make a test-able size hairball :D

[maybe sparrow]

i too was in the same boat and am going for it :D

i think what really helped me with the decision was looking at many many many pictures and really getting the fact that you get the color you get (well of course you can manipulate it a bit, but..) to my head.
and then one day i just realized that i had made up my mind and was going to do it.

so if you're not absolutely sure you're going to love what you get then i wouldn't do it, at least not right now 'cause if you do change your mind in the future, you can always do it then :)

Yeah, it helps that I really love red on me. But, oooooh boy, am I glad I read that about heat turning it burgundy.

:bigeyes: