Photos of 'bad' henna?

[Aby23]

I'm thinking about doing Henna, but I keep reading stories from people who hate it--too orange, looks funny in sunlight, etc. However, all of the photos I find look lovely! Are those who are unhappy just not posting pics?

If there is a thread of Henna gone bad I'd love to see it--just to get an idea of the downside that is possible. If I do decide to Henna, I'll definitely do a test, but it always looks different on a whole head of hair!

[Aby23]

Oops, I accidentally posted in the wrong section! I meant to use the 'mane' forum. Is there a way to move it?


I'm thinking about doing Henna, but I keep reading stories from people who hate it--too orange, looks funny in sunlight, etc. However, all of the photos I find look lovely! Are those who are unhappy just not posting pics?

If there is a thread of Henna gone bad I'd love to see it--just to get an idea of the downside that is possible. If I do decide to Henna, I'll definitely do a test, but it always looks different on a whole head of hair!

[missjessiecakes]

My theory on this is that henna is hard to photograph take my bad henna story. I loved what it did to my hair but it would not take to my poor roots even if I had left it on for 8+ hours and I could never get a picture of it because henna constantly changes in the light. Thus no pictures of my "bad" henna.

As to moving your post you can ask a moderator to do it or report your post with the little R under your stats

[iris]

I moved the thread for you :magic: :wink:

I don't have a lot of pictures of myself from my henna period, partly because I'm not that much into pictures anyway, and partly because I was really self-conscious about the color and didn't feel very attractive or 'like me' with it.

A lot of people loved it and were disappointed when I finally gave up henna; I think that what they liked about it was the color itself (which is really gorgeous), and that they didn't think a lot about how it looked on me, if that makes sense.

Here's a picture collage I made to give an idea of how henna changes with the light (all the pictures were taken on the same day, just in different parts of the house; all the color differences in these pictures are due to the light):

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

I always felt that I could get away with the purplish tint it was indoors, like in the top left picture, although I also felt that it was a bit harsh on me. Other people might call that 'striking', I guess :shrug:. I felt it was too much contrast. Particularly first thing in the morning, fresh out of bed, with sleep lines in my face. I definitely don't have pictures of that :p. ETA: But I will say that now that I have my natural color again, looking in the mirror in the morning is a MUCH nicer experience than it was when I hennaed.

I absolutely hated it in its orange incarnation in the sun, like in the middle picture at the bottom. I have no pictures of that against my skin because I hated it so much that I'd automatically step away from the sun, and I would never allow a picture to be taken in the sun. Maybe you can mentally construct that orange tone next to my skin in the top left picture and see that they're not a good combination.

The whole 'can't allow myself to be seen in sunlight' thing was really awful - to me, summer is when I want to feel at my most beautiful and attractive, it always was like that when I had my natural color (I'm a dark blonde naturally and get interesting highlights naturally in summer that look really good on me IMO), but with henna, I felt at my absolute ugliest in summer.

So yeah, it wasn't for me. But taken in isolation, disregarding what it did to my face and skin tone, it was a beautiful color.

[Jeni]

I'm currently growing out my henna/cassia because like iris I disliked the color on me.

Everyone seemed to love the color, I always got (still do since from the chin down its still strawberry blond/orange) compliments from people who compared my hair to a flame, especially in the sun. However I noticed many more people who complement my hair (That color is sooo pretty) vs how it looked on me (That color looks really good on you).

I decided that while my natural color (dark blond/light brown) is on the warm side and does have some red/gold in it the henna mix was too red for my skin tone. I would hazard to guess more people dislike henna on themselves vs disliking the actual color.

I'm sure there are people who get a bad color from henna though. I can only remember one member, spidermom I believe, who said they didn't like the color at all. I think she compared the color to a dull brick...?

[missjessiecakes]

I'm currently growing out my henna/cassia because like iris I disliked the color on me.

Everyone seemed to love the color, I always got (still do since from the chin down its still strawberry blond/orange) compliments from people who compared my hair to a flame, especially in the sun. However I noticed many more people who complement my hair (That color is sooo pretty) vs how it looked on me (That color looks really good on you).

I decided that while my natural color (dark blond/light brown) is on the warm side and does have some red/gold in it the henna mix was too red for my skin tone. I would hazard to guess more people dislike henna on themselves vs disliking the actual color.

I'm sure there are people who get a bad color from henna though. I can only remember one member, spidermom I believe, who said they didn't like the color at all. I think she compared the color to a dull brick...?

:lol: I am absolutely positive she used the words dull brick.

But it does seem to be the case that people just dont like the color on themselves.

[LoveMyMutt]

I can't quite figure out how to attach a picture...but yeah, I liked the color INDOORS, but outside in the sun it was glowing orange. I did not like glowing. And I like being out in the sun.

My natural color is sort of a strawberry blond; and henna came out FLAMING GLOWING ORANGE on me. Imagine the brightest red Irish-girl hair you've ever seen. Now imagine it electrified so that it sort of glowed. People told me it looked good, but I just felt like it was way too bright. Plus, none of my clothes went with it. I found myself dressing in very drab colors, perhaps in an attempt to tone down my glowing orange hair.

So for me it was just that it was too garish looking. I suppose there are people who have red hair that bright naturally; but I didn't really want to be one of those people. I liked it for a little while, but it was so in-your-face that I got sick of it pretty quick.

MUCH happier to be back to my hair-colored hair.

[LoveMyMutt]

I decided that while my natural color (dark blond/light brown) is on the warm side and does have some red/gold in it the henna mix was too red for my skin tone. I would hazard to guess more people dislike henna on themselves vs disliking the actual color.


Exactly. There are red/gold tones, and then there is HENNA.

I like to look natural, and while henna IS natural, it sure didn't look it on me.

[Heidi_234]

:lol: I am absolutely positive she used the words dull brick.

But it does seem to be the case that people just dont like the color on themselves.
I've got to say, even as a devoted hennahead, the orange flare can get tiresome. :agree: Henna is a package deal, what can we do? Every time I start to get annoyed with the bright orange, I grow it out a bit just to remind myself how dull and blah my real hair color is. :p

[dropinthebucket]

I posted pics of my henna, here, and on H4H - I agree with the others, it was not a bad shade at all, though I described it as "mud 'n blood" to get the deep, muted red and brown idea across. It was a lovely auburn when I first did it, but oxidized to a very dark red-brown on me. It was a good two levels darker than my own colour on me, too. However, others would describe the colour as "cherry cola" or "chocolate cherry," I think, and that is apparently quite a coveted shade amongst henna users. So I think there really is no "bad" henna colour, unless you're talking about what henna does on white/grey hair. Otherwise, it's just colour we don't like on us :)

Love your photo montage, Iris!

[halo_tightens]

I've got to say, even as a devoted hennahead, the orange flare can get tiresome. :agree: Henna is a package deal, what can we do? Every time I start to get annoyed with the bright orange, I grow it out a bit just to remind myself how dull and blah my real hair color is. :p

Agh, I wish I could have MORE of the orange flare!! It's the thing I love most about henna. Alas, my hair seems to be a little too dark. I wish I had a lighter natural color so the henna would be more... electric. :D

[Kome]

I don't like the orange flare it gives on my bleached hair, but on my virgin hair it is a darker red. I hope to get a deep auburn over the next couple of months. I'll be hennaing every week. Woohoo!

[GRU]

I agree that hennaed hair can look a zillion different colors in a zillion different lighting situations, but then, my virgin hair is the same way! (Ask people who know me what color my [natural] hair is, and you'll hear red, blonde, brown, strawberry-blonde, etc.)

Here are some pictures I took last week, all on the same day, all within a span of about 15 minutes:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/outdoor-c-resized.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/duallighting-c-resized.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/waist-c-resized.jpg



Agh, I wish I could have MORE of the orange flare!! It's the thing I love most about henna. Alas, my hair seems to be a little too dark. I wish I had a lighter natural color so the henna would be more... electric. :D

Have you tried cutting the henna with cassia? I get more of an "orange" than "red" that way. (I didn't want to change my haircolor really, just camouflage my grays.)

[marikamt]

Agh, I wish I could have MORE of the orange flare!! It's the thing I love most about henna. Alas, my hair seems to be a little too dark. I wish I had a lighter natural color so the henna would be more... electric. :D

Exactly what I was thinking as I read this.......... I LOVE the orange flare.

[hybrise]

Agh, I wish I could have MORE of the orange flare!! It's the thing I love most about henna. Alas, my hair seems to be a little too dark. I wish I had a lighter natural color so the henna would be more... electric. :D

Agreed! Before I hennaed I was really nervous about getting that orange flare and was worried about my colour not being a dark enough auburn. Now that I've dyed it and it's oxidized to a deep auburn indoors and copper/ruby outdoors I absolutely love it but I miss when it looked ruby red indoors and outside it glowed all shades of red and orange. :shrug: I suppose sometimes you can't really predict how you'll feel about something that has as many different forms as henna.

[cobblersmaid]

Yeah I think it depends on how it looks on ther person. I personally love both the bright orange, and the more mellow auburn I get with henna. I was terrified the first time I hennaed, though!

[Kome]

I agree that hennaed hair can look a zillion different colors in a zillion different lighting situations, but then, my virgin hair is the same way! (Ask people who know me what color my [natural] hair is, and you'll hear red, blonde, brown, strawberry-blonde, etc.)

Here are some pictures I took last week, all on the same day, all within a span of about 15 minutes:

(pictures)

Have you tried cutting the henna with cassia? I get more of an "orange" than "red" that way. (I didn't want to change my haircolor really, just camouflage my grays.)

I agree with you. ALL HAIR looks different colors in different lighting. It's not just henna. I think it's because of how obsessive we long hairs are about our hair that we notice the color difference more with henna. Plus, keep in mind that your virgin hair is going to shine through, giving it two different color illusions.

I'm with everyone else. The orange flare is nice on some people, but not me. I hated it on me. Blech. I had to bleach my bangs out so I looked somewhat decent. Yes, I bleached out henna. It was a pain and I waited a couple of months before doing it a second time to get the rest of the orange out. :pumpkin:

[princessp]

GRU, wow that is awesome hair!

I love the henna in my hair especially since I'm starting to go grey (shhh don't tell anyone!). I've posted this one before, but this is pretty much right after my first time hennaing in March 2010 (I think) http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad240/princesspandora1/sideview.jpg
As you can see I'm pretty light skinned and freckled, so it looks fairly natural on me. My advice for first timers is to change the color in photoshop first just to see if it agrees with your skin tone. My original hair color is a light brown with blonde streaks and so variations of blonde looks great on me too, but as much as I love dark hair it looks horrible on me. It's all about your skin tone.

[GRU]

GRU, wow that is awesome hair!

Awww, thanks!


I love the henna in my hair especially since I'm starting to go grey (shhh don't tell anyone!).

Our little secret! ;)

Honestly, that's the only reason I did it... I have WHITE temples (think Paulie Walnuts on The Sopranos) and multiple whites scattered throughout the rest of my head. The henna+cassia turns them an orangey blonde color that makes them look like natural highlights. :D


As you can see I'm pretty light skinned and freckled, so it looks fairly natural on me.

Ditto -- Hubster calls me "Casper" on account of my WHITE skin. :rolleyes:

[cm006j]

I love the red/orange hair it produces. Looks gorgeous in everyone's photos.

I just started doing mine, but only the roots show up red so far because of my gray hair there. I think it looks awesome.

I'm going to do just henna for a while to see if I can be a redhead, if not then I'll cover it with indigo to go back to being the black I usually am.

(I'm not sure henna will show up on my length because my hair is naturally very dark)

[LaurelSpring]

My first henna was awesome and I absolutely loved it in the sunshine (otherwise you couldnt really tell). I use to put myself in sun as much as possible and then open the blinds in the bathroom so I could see my reflection in the mirror as the sun hit my hair. (Vanity Vanity) I should have done roots only after that because the color buildup turned me the cherry cola bordering on purplish and then I wasnt thrilled.

I think the mixes section of hennaforhair is a great place to look for getting ideas of results. I am mostly just Cassia now. I wish I could have got some of the amazing results that others did but it just didnt work out that way on my hair.

[spidermom]

Dull brick - yes, but only inside. Clown-orange outside. I'll see if I can find one of the few photos that I allowed to survive that awful period.

[Aby23]

Thank you all for your input, and to the mods who found the right spot for this thread!

The 'orange' in the sun is what I am really worried about, so I LOVE all the photos that are in the sun. I just tried a temporary red (by clairol, 6 shampoos to wash out) to test red in general, and I like it with my complexion.

I guess the next step is to get some henna to do a test, and I'll try to get someone to photoshop a pic for me! That's a great idea. After I get my 25 posts I'll post some pics for feedback.

If I want my red to be lighter than my natural color, could I highlight my hair first and then Henna? Or would the damage be too much?

[GRU]

I guess the next step is to get some henna to do a test, and I'll try to get someone to photoshop a pic for me! That's a great idea. After I get my 25 posts I'll post some pics for feedback.

Just so you know, if you have a Photobucket or Flickr or similar account, you can post pictures via that (use the IMG code that they give you) until you're able to make an album here.

[AmandaPanda]

Here's mine
http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/manda/

Didn't like the orange

[Heidi_234]

Agh, I wish I could have MORE of the orange flare!! It's the thing I love most about henna. Alas, my hair seems to be a little too dark. I wish I had a lighter natural color so the henna would be more... electric. :D
I suppose it's more about your desires - it's never exactly the color you wished for - if you prayed for deepest most true red it will look too orange-y to you, if you wanted the bright copper it seems too dark and cool-red...
Right now my hair doesn't have a hint of red in it. :doh:

[halo_tightens]

I suppose it's more about your desires - it's never exactly the color you wished for - if you prayed for deepest most true red it will look too orange-y to you, if you wanted the bright copper it seems too dark and cool-red...
Right now my hair doesn't have a hint of red in it. :doh:

Always in search of that perfect shade! What I really, REALLY want is a true bright ruby-red indoors, with tons of henna-orange flare in the sun.

I should have been a natural blonde, and then hennaed a whole bunch of times in succession. I think that'd do it! :p

[princessp]

Here's mine
http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/manda/

Didn't like the orange

I really like it, but your natural color is gorgeous too!


Our little secret!
Thank goodness, I'm glad you won't tell anyone! :D

[talecon]

I love my hair indoors but outdoors its really red, which I dont mind, but I would like my hair indoors to look almost black but when I go outdoors, I want it to be how my indoors hair looks now

[Speckla]

I love, love the color it's turning my hair. I'm starting to get the burgandy henna buildup and it's great. I love the fiercy halo I get when in direct sunlight. My hair is naturally a very mousy light/medium ash brown and henna just makes it a very rich color, shiny, and strong.

[rach]

i personaly found that the orange shades didn't suit my skin tone which was a little odd -
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4388120184_cddcb0b6e8_o.jpg

so a deepened the colour down to what suit me today and i've got to a nice burgundy colour now which was worth the awkward orange stage-
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4387883656_4ecdc9b159.jpg
but yes it can do some amazing stunning things in some lights which can to some probably be a little scary-
(looking through burgundy hennaed hair )
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4131475327_177b527326.jpg

[CrisDee]

I had chemically dyed my hair red for 20 years before trying henna, so I already knew how red would look with my skin tone. My hair was red when I was born, but faded into a reddish, blondish brown as I got older. When the "unauthorized" color started coming in, I began to dye. :D Switched over to henna in March 09 because it's natural (and a lot cheaper!). Took me quite a while to tweak my mix, and the initial efforts would definitely be described by me as "bad henna." (BAAAAD henna, go to your room!)

Didn't know I couldn't do whole-head every time, and it darkened to this. It doesn't look horrible on me in this shot, as I was very tan at the time, but with my normal pasty skin color, this looks atrocious:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/me.jpg

As it grew, I started doing roots only, then switched my mix to 50/50 henna/cassia. After a few months, it looked like this (still too dark):

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/Me-0210.jpg

It grew some more, and I was getting very frustrated with the uber dark color - THEN I tried Nightshade's Sun-In lightening method. I have been VERY happy with the result - :cheese:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/CIMG1759.jpg

That last one is taken outside - mine does "glow" a bit, but it doesn't get that crazy Bobo the Clown from Hell orange that some people have problems with.

I pulled these from my Photobucket account, as I know you can't look at albums just yet - so the sizes are quite irregular, but I hope you get the idea.

Things I learned about henna the hard way: (1) you can't do multiple whole-head applications, or it turns burgundy; (2) you can't heat-style, especially with a flat iron or large barrel curling iron, or you get the same burgundy, and (3) it tends to pull out curl (for everybody except GRU - WOW!). If you can live with all that, and if you really like red hair, then henna is for you - otherwise, you may want to rethink henna use :)

[klcqtee]

It's like Iris said. Honestly, I've never seen a bad henna colour. It ALWAYS looks beautiful. The problem is, it doesn't always look beautiful on everyone. If your hair is naturally ash toned, henna may not be for you. At least that's my experience. Everyone is different of course, and you could be the exception.

[serious]

Even with indigo added to henna, my hair sometimes glows orange in the sun!
You can see that awful orange on my roots in this picture: ( right after henndigo, before oxidation, hair slightly wet)

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/94_189/147_66/orange-vi.jpg (http://hotimg23.fotki.com/p/a/94_189/147_66/orange-vi.jpg)

[alwayssmiling]

Serious I get those roots with henndigo too. No matter how much indigo I apply to the roots it still has that orange glow. The only down side - and I guess its only me that knows its there because of the way I style my hair.

[serious]

Serious I get those roots with henndigo too. No matter how much indigo I apply to the roots it still has that orange glow. The only down side - and I guess its only me that knows its there because of the way I style my hair.

I'm glad I'm not the only one :)

[Heidi_234]

It's like Iris said. Honestly, I've never seen a bad henna colour. It ALWAYS looks beautiful. The problem is, it doesn't always look beautiful on everyone. If your hair is naturally ash toned, henna may not be for you. At least that's my experience. Everyone is different of course, and you could be the exception.
Yes, that's true - mileage can definitely vary here. My hair is quite ashy - to the point it looks rather gray in comparison to my hennaed length, yet the vivid color works so well for me that my friends tend to say I start resemble an office rats if my roots get too long. It pretty much washes me out.

Here's a pic:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3508&pictureid=70227

I agree with what was said above - the color always looks pretty (especially in photos!), but it might not suit everybody, just like any other hair color out there.

[GRU]

Things I learned about henna the hard way: (3) it tends to pull out curl (for everybody except GRU - WOW!).


I'm telling you, my hair breaks ALL the rules! :p

[*thecatsmeow*]

I don't have a photo of my hair after I hennaed but this is what happened to me. I used to dye my hair with semi permanent green hair dye and then I covered that with indigo, the hair I did was my under layers and it was bleached. So to make a long story a little shorter I was tired of dyeing unnatural colors and wanted to cover the blond to match my natural hair color. Well not all of the green and indigo were gone so I ended up having a green tinge to my under layer but it wasn't bad because the rest of my hair covered it. I do have to say I was in shock when I first did henna because it didn't suit my skin tone until it oxidized. Now I love it :D

[Beesweet]

These are my "dark" henna photos, from my first henna attempts in 2008. I didn't like it. Now, I do a henna/cassia gloss. I like it better.

Indoors:
http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx339/dawnsioux/old%20henna/henna2.jpg

Outdoor light in a car:

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx339/dawnsioux/old%20henna/SSPX0008-1.gif

I have one that shows the muddy cherryish color that I ended up cutting off. Look how long I got my hair, and then I cut it. Duh. In hindsight, the color wasn't that bad.

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx339/dawnsioux/old%20henna/SSPX0010-1.gif

[deko]

Sorry, I just love the henna flame :D (evil enabler...)

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu109/deko00/henna05.jpg

My natural hair color is warm medium blonde, and I just love the henna. I added some straight indigo to my lower hair and it turned up purple so I have red-purple hair and I'm loving it! I have dyed my hair red so many years and knew that I'll always go back to red - now there is no way to go anywhere else. Except black (and it doesn't suit me at all).

If you haven't got redhead past you should think about it before you henna. Maybe yopu could use some short term red dye or play with photoshop. Henna is permanent solution and you can't get it easely off. You can always go darker (still red) but never blonde.

[lastnite]

so a deepened the colour down to what suit me today and i've got to a nice burgundy colour now which was worth the awkward orange stage-
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4387883656_4ecdc9b159.jpg



Hey Rach, are you still doing full head applications or just roots now? I just love the color you get. I might just go that dark if it means I can keep applying henna all over for the thickening & shine benefits.

[freznow]

I love henna orange too!

Here's what it looked like when I first did it:
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k132/freznow/Henna%202010/th_Henna011.jpg?t=1277559293http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k132/freznow/Henna%202010/th_DSC01142.jpg?t=1277559293

Of course, within a week it mellowed and now I can barely tell it's there, except in light. It still looks good, though. I hope it gets darker with more applications.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k132/freznow/th_Haircut013.jpg?t=1277559537

Just because I never know when it's going to be orange or red doesn't mean I don't like it. :) I'm a big fan of henna now. My roots don't show much, either.

[tofuowl]

I'm a newbie, so I can't show you with a larger pic, but my avatar is a pretty good representation of what my henna looks like in good sunlight.

Indoors, it varies between a very vibrant, 'ruby' sort of true red, and more of an auburn. My natural color is somewhere between a light, light brown and a dishwater blonde. I love the red, even though it is somewhat of a pain to maintain. When my roots grow out, my natural color almost looks gray, because it's got so much less "pop" to it than the red . . . and I'm 20 :P so I suppose I consider that a drawback?

In photos like the one i used for my avatar, it looks like there's a definite difference between my roots (which look more coppery/lighter) and my lengths (which are more true red). I'm sure there is some difference, because the lengths have been dyed over for years and have accumulated quite a bit of color, while the roots have been dyed over once . . . in real life, I've been told by multiple people that it's all but impossible in all but the harshest light conditions to tell the difference--and yet, the camera consistently picks it up XD who knows.

[princessp]

I'm telling you, my hair breaks ALL the rules! :p

LOL! Henna has not pulled out my curls either.

[Heidi_234]

LOL! Henna has not pulled out my curls either.
Same here. I kind of wished it would, but nope - still curlier than ever.
:couch:

[JenniferNoel]

Worst. Color. I've. Ever. Had.
Henna over faded indigo. Bad idea for me, made me look pink and ill.
I'm glad to be black haired again!
Too bad the color didn't work out for me though. It's a pretty shade!
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/jenny_the_strange/DSC06766-Copy.jpg

[rach]

Hey Rach, are you still doing full head applications or just roots now? I just love the color you get. I might just go that dark if it means I can keep applying henna all over for the thickening & shine benefits.

still do full head still and only the roots change colour. I feel the ends benefit using the henna which is why i continue with it but the colour i adore with my complexion :)

[renia22]

I do't think I have a picture of it anymore, but the first time I did henna (over my medium brown hair), I used Jamila 2007 and left it on for 4 hours. When it started oxidizing, it became this dark eggplant color and I hated it. My skin is fairly light with pink undertones, and I am in my 30s so I can't pull off quite what I used to, and it looked very bad on me. I ended up sleeping with a mixture of plain yogurt, lemon & honey on hair 3 nights in a row to get some of it out. Now I use 1/2 cassia, 1/2 BAQ 2, in a gloss, roots only for an hour or so. It's much more natural looking (reddish copper over my brown).

[renia22]

I had chemically dyed my hair red for 20 years before trying henna, so I already knew how red would look with my skin tone. My hair was red when I was born, but faded into a reddish, blondish brown as I got older. When the "unauthorized" color started coming in, I began to dye. :D Switched over to henna in March 09 because it's natural (and a lot cheaper!). Took me quite a while to tweak my mix, and the initial efforts would definitely be described by me as "bad henna." (BAAAAD henna, go to your room!)

Didn't know I couldn't do whole-head every time, and it darkened to this. It doesn't look horrible on me in this shot, as I was very tan at the time, but with my normal pasty skin color, this looks atrocious:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/me.jpg

As it grew, I started doing roots only, then switched my mix to 50/50 henna/cassia. After a few months, it looked like this (still too dark):

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/Me-0210.jpg

It grew some more, and I was getting very frustrated with the uber dark color - THEN I tried Nightshade's Sun-In lightening method. I have been VERY happy with the result - :cheese:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/Short%20and%20growing%20out/CIMG1759.jpg

That last one is taken outside - mine does "glow" a bit, but it doesn't get that crazy Bobo the Clown from Hell orange that some people have problems with.

I pulled these from my Photobucket account, as I know you can't look at albums just yet - so the sizes are quite irregular, but I hope you get the idea.

Things I learned about henna the hard way: (1) you can't do multiple whole-head applications, or it turns burgundy; (2) you can't heat-style, especially with a flat iron or large barrel curling iron, or you get the same burgundy, and (3) it tends to pull out curl (for everybody except GRU - WOW!). If you can live with all that, and if you really like red hair, then henna is for you - otherwise, you may want to rethink henna use :)



CrisDee- your hair looks very pretty, the red looks lovely. I just got my hair to go from looking dark brown with some auburn to medium brown with copper highlights using Sun-In. I actually stumbled across this site after doing a google search and finding the thread on Sun-In and Henna. How long did you leave-it in for? Did you do your whole head with the Sun-In and did you use a blow dryer or go out in the sun?

[Maddy25]

I thought Henna was great at first...
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n296/addie2525/Photo1056.jpg

But then I got super sick of the very fake looking radioactiveness it turned into, it just looked so blegh on me, so I started growing it out.

It has faded out a lot but it still super bright in the sun. Like radioactiv yellow orange @_@

[CrisDee]

CrisDee- your hair looks very pretty, the red looks lovely. I just got my hair to go from looking dark brown with some auburn to medium brown with copper highlights using Sun-In. I actually stumbled across this site after doing a google search and finding the thread on Sun-In and Henna. How long did you leave-it in for? Did you do your whole head with the Sun-In and did you use a blow dryer or go out in the sun?

Just squirted it on and blew it dry. Worked quite well! :)

[renia22]

Just squirted it on and blew it dry. Worked quite well! :)

It doesn't look like you got any damage from it, either!

[Stine]

I really like the way Henna looked on my hair. Different in every other light and so intense shining in the sun.
The reason I am growing it out, is because it made pimples or other red marks(?) in my face more visible. They were less visible with my natural hair color light-brown.

[Stine]

EDIT:
My Avatar shows the Henna inside with light switched on and no little flash light on the camera.

[Peisinoe]

When I put this very permanent henna in my hair, I thought I would get a colour similar to Maddy25... But it turned my hair to the colour in my avatar (which is definately too dark for me). So now I am desperately trying to find ways to lighten it, and consequently annoying everyone in my life by asking them in 100 different types of lighting what colour they think my hair is.
"Is it lighter than this red?"
"Is it wine red?"
"What about now, is it orange?"
"Does it look unnatural?"

Haha I can't help it...

[florenonite]

I only did a couple henna glosses, so my hair never went very red, but the ginger colour really didn't go with my complexion which was (a) too dark and (b) possibly cool (I haven't a farking clue what I am, sometimes I'm convinced I'm warm-toned, other times cool-toned :shrug: I'm Florenonite-toned :p). Fortunately, it faded quite quickly and grew out, so now I can only find one face shot from my henna period that actually shows it up against my face.

Looking back at my pics now, though, the shine was amazing. If I had darker hair or thought I could pull off full-blown red (the reason I only did a gloss was because I wanted to ease myself into red, only to find that the ginger didn't suit me), I'd go back to it in a second.

[ilovelonghair]

I agree that hennaed hair can look a zillion different colors in a zillion different lighting situations, but then, my virgin hair is the same way! (Ask people who know me what color my [natural] hair is, and you'll hear red, blonde, brown, strawberry-blonde, etc.)

Here are some pictures I took last week, all on the same day, all within a span of about 15 minutes:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/outdoor-c-resized.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/duallighting-c-resized.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/hair/2010-June/waist-c-resized.jpg




Have you tried cutting the henna with cassia? I get more of an "orange" than "red" that way. (I didn't want to change my haircolor really, just camouflage my grays.)

Can we swap? I love that color!!!! Instead I have a very vague coppery color (see albums)

My henna fail is in my album 'old pictures' I think it's called.

[ilovelonghair]

Oh it's just easier to post them here:

bad:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=1890&pictureid=22702

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=1890&pictureid=22700

It shows in artificial light but in reality it leaned towards the purple.

Henna now:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=44&pictureid=69989

It's a nice color, but I'd like to have it like GRU

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=44&pictureid=69990

I don't think it's possible to get the color I want, because my hair might be too dark.

Here it somehow shows a better color:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=5695&pictureid=74422

[lastnite]

bad:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=1890&pictureid=22702



I like that color. Your current color is nice too. I guess the only 'bad henna is when the color doesn't suit your skintone. BTW, not to run off topic, but your cats are adorable. That's pretty neat they look so calm on a leash and on the beach...my cats would probably get scared. ^_^

[ilovelonghair]

I like that color. Your current color is nice too. I guess the only 'bad henna is when the color doesn't suit your skintone. BTW, not to run off topic, but your cats are adorable. That's pretty neat they look so calm on a leash and on the beach...my cats would probably get scared. ^_^

Awww thanks :flowers:

You're right, it has to suit your skin tone

[PrincessBob]

Was supposed to henna a girlfriend's hair tonight, but after an amazing adventure, we finally made our way back to her place and started gathering things together, we realized it would be too freaking late before we could start putting it on, cause she had to go to work early in the morning and we know the henna she buys needs to develop for an hour or two before it can be applied.

We've been hennaing her hair for four months now an she looks great with it... just the roots show majorly as it grows out 9her hair grows mega fast, like 2.5"-3.5" in a month. Sigh.

I can't henna my hair, it would cost me too damn munch :wink:.