My henna is too orange, please help!!

[ignis]

I'm what you can say a very experienced henna user. And I loved it. Last 2 years I decided to grow out my hair to my natural color (dark blond). Last weeks I thought it was boring and wanted to henna again. Yesterday I did some test strands, and they went a beautiful red. I decided to henna my whole hair and now it is super orange!!! And it looks so bad on me!!!

Today the shops are closed, so there is nothing I can do about it. Tomorrow I'm going on holiday, so I can't do anything about it either.

Is there something I can do to make it just a little bit less orange today?? I heard that yoghurt would help? Is that true?

[mariika]

please someone help the girl!! (I'm sorry I'm not a pro, no idea what might help but I'm sure someone already wrote smth about neutralizing henna, just search through the threads here)

[brunette]

I was going to suggest waiting out for full oxidation, I believe it takes a few days. meanwhile avoid shampoo. I also read on the burgundy hair thread that heated appliances can encourage darkening but please take care not to cause heat damage!

[Barniie]

pics?

please?


maybe a semi-perm brown die will fix it for now.

[ignis]

Oh how I wish that the shops were open!! I want to dye it brown (with indigo) so desperately, but the shops are closed and tomorrow I'm on holiday :( (and I can't do henna on holiday because of the mess).

I'm so desperate!

[brunette]

do you have a hairdryer or some kind of heated hair tool? No harm in trying to deepen the orange with heat if you have no other options. It might speed up oxidation at the very least.

[ignis]

Yes I have, thanks for the suggestion. I will try it!

[ignis]

Nothing happened. It is still superorange. It is really really ugly.

[Heidi_234]

ignis, if the hair stand tuned the red you wanted, you might want to do another henna to deepen the color. I also second the remark on oxidation - your henna will likely to calm down in few days. Better wait rather than ruin it all with indigo (can't even bleach that one out!).

[brunette]

Yes the oxidation won't be instant even with heat. But it can only have helped.
If you have any left, Heidi's suggestion of redoing the henna is a great idea.

[Kome]

I had this same problem when I first henna'd. You can see the pictures in my albums. I did an application a week until I got a color I liked and now it's really pretty. Wait a few days for it to oxidize and plan to do an application each week for the next 4 weeks. It will turn a very pretty shade of red and much darker.

As for today, no, there's not really anything you can do. You just have to be patient to let it darken up and do multiple applications. :)

[lapushka]

Maybe try to lighten it with Nightshade's sun-in process (what the heck is that product called again in The Netherlands & Belgium)? Nightshade lightened her henna considerably by using just sun-in. I don't know what it's going to do in your case, but it might help remove the henna since it's only your first henna application. Now where's that thread again?

If you do other applications on top of this, you'll be stuck to henna for a long time. I'd not go the indigo route!

ETA/
Sun-in thread:
http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19317&highlight=sun-in+nightshade

[little_cherry]

ignis, if the hair stand tuned the red you wanted, you might want to do another henna to deepen the color. I also second the remark on oxidation - your henna will likely to calm down in few days. Better wait rather than ruin it all with indigo (can't even bleach that one out!).

I totally agree with this.

[Isilme]

Henna is always going to be orange at some degree, but it will darken with each application. I suggest you just wait it out and let it oxidize.

[lastnite]

it took mine about a week and a half for the orange to calm down, I was a little nervous about the orange glow at first too though, but I liked the color once the orange oxidized.

I think you should wait before doing anything, you might like the color after the orange calms down.

[dropinthebucket]

Yep, good old fresh henna blaze - fiery orange for a few days, then the lovely reds. Some solutions from h4h: coffee rinse (may tone it down for a day or two, until you wash again); wear a scarf; add a little amla (indian gooseberry) to the mix next time to reduce pre-oxidation bozo. Heat will not just darken it, but brown it - you may not want that if you're going for the red.

[sarahramen]

USE HEAT! flat iron, blow dry on high!This definitely makes it darken quicker. When i do my roots they are bright bozo orange but if i blowdry just the roots they become the same as my darker ends within a few hours. I hope you read this for your trip...

[tja]

My suggestion is to wait few days for the henna to eventually deepen up. If after few days it's still very orange just do another application if you want a darker red or use Sun-In to slowly remove henna.

[Nightshade]

Maybe try to lighten it with Nightshade's sun-in process (what the heck is that product called again in The Netherlands & Belgium)? Nightshade lightened her henna considerably by using just sun-in. I don't know what it's going to do in your case, but it might help remove the henna since it's only your first henna application. Now where's that thread again?

If you do other applications on top of this, you'll be stuck to henna for a long time. I'd not go the indigo route!

ETA/
Sun-in thread:
http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19317&highlight=sun-in+nightshade


This may work, but it may end up MORE orange. I think she needs more henna, not less :(

I second the vote for another application, and if you used lemon juice or any sort of acid last time, leave it out this go round.

[sibylla]

If you still need help here are some products that might help:Red wine (let sit in hair 15 min before rinsing out)Beetroot juice (let sit 5 min-avoid scalp if possible).Coffe (leave cold coffee in hair for 20min).Cassia-or Hennaschampoo makes the orange less bright.Lemon-or sun in for highlights (breaks off the over all orangy look).
Good luck!
PS I did my henna today myself.I had left the hennamix over night and that made the color appear redder than it normally does.

[Meli1980]

Another application sounds like good advice from the experienced pros.

[Fiferstone]

Yep, a single application is going to be orange on blond hair, henna deepens to true red with repeated applications. Also matters what sort of henna it is. For many people Yemeni henna is more red, and Jamila or Rajasthani tend to be more orange. Also, how long did you leave it on? I find that you don't get good saturation/results with less than 4 hours, but that's my hair on my head. Did you strand-test with a ball of harvested hair from your hairbrush to see what result you'd get if you left it on for X amount of time, and also, did you heat the mixture and let it sit on a heat source for 1 hour, more than 1 hour? Heat helps dye release, but cook the mixture too long and it starts to demise (and won't deposit as strongly on your hair as a result). Was it a different type of henna than you've used in the past? There are all sorts of variables.

I agree with many people that you may need more henna to deepen the color, trying to lighten it will make it more orange/brassy. I've been henna-ing for several years now, on tailbone-length hair, over a natural color that's very light brown.

Be very careful about using heat to accelerate the oxidation/darkening process. Some folks have reported having their henna turn more burgundy/purplish from heat application (but if that's what you want, then go for it.

Pictures of my henna and my natural color are in my album if you want to take a peek.

Good luck to you, I hope you're able to get your hair the way you want it soon.

[LoveMyMutt]

Flaming orange ... I have SO been there.

Clairol Loving Care in an ash-brown shade will tone down the henna a little. I found it only lasted until the next wash, though; hennaed hair has such a smooth cuticle that I don't think there was anything for it to grip on to. It's no peroxide semi-permanent color, won't damage your hair.

I ended up doing a 2nd henna because it was still too orange after a week (my natural color is medium golden blond). It then was flaming red for far longer than I personally thought necessary.

I wouldn't try lightening it, that will just make it more orange.

[Anje]

So has it calmed down, or did you do another henna application to help darken it, or what?

Luckily for you, it's easier to get henna to go darker and less orange than the other way around. Unfortunate for me, though -- as a natural redhead who wanted a little more oomph, I loved the initial orange and wish it could have lasted forever.

[ignis]

I used caca brun from Lush, and now it looks a lot better (dark red). Thanks for your help!!!