Why henna?

[McFearless]

Why is it recommended to do a henna treatment before indigo? Does this help the dye penetrate?

What would happen if you just did indigo?

Oh and why do people add salt to their indigo?

Thanks:):)

[little_cherry]

McFearless;1253039]Why is it recommended to do a henna treatment before indigo? Does this help the dye penetrate?
Indigo is blueish..it's the reaction between the orangy red of the henna and the blue of the indigo that makes mahoganies, browns (one step henndigo- make henna paste, wait for dye release and then adding indigo), and blacks (two step henndigo-henna, wash out then indigo) possible, depending on the ratio of henna:indigo.


What would happen if you just did indigo?
Depending on your hair colour..if you've never hennaed before, it would be either greenish or blueish (lighter hair yielding greenish; darker, bluish). With henna, it may turn out dark brown to black. People that henna first and then indigo are looking to achieve a dark brown or black.


Oh and why do people add salt to their indigo?
Salt is a type of mordant which helps the indigo to stick.

[McFearless]

Wow a lot of info. Thanks little_cherry. :)

[Heidi_234]

Actually, regarding the salt I'll quote this guy (http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/jonathan/):

while experimenting, I found that vinegar alone seems to bring out less dye (making it greener) while Sea salt (in particular) seems to give it a more purplish tint (as you can see in my last pictures, where I used Only salt). However, I think a mixture of both is the most effective for getting a real "blue".

No personal experience with this though.

[serious]

You need henna not only to get a nice color, henna helps indigo to stick to your hair.
I've never tried indigo only, but my DD did.
Her dark blond hair turned out ashy green and the color washed out completely after the first wash.

[whichypoohs]

Henna and Indigo give successful results, however, I wouldn't touch Indigo because if you ever want to have highlights etc....the Indigo will turn blue/green.

[Heidi_234]

serious, I believe it's not true. Indigo in general is much less forgiving than henna, and it has the tendency to fade. There's nothing in henna that helps indigo bind better, and it can definitely fade from hennaed hair. It's the color that is the main reason for people to do henndigos or two-step application depending on desired color.

[dropinthebucket]

I had similar questions a few months ago. Here is an excellent article, though it is long:

http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ge-Hy/Hair-Dyes-and-Hair-Treatments.html

I believe somewhere in there it notes that hair does not take most mordants that work well on fabrics. Indigo will "grip" the hair more strongly if it has a base of henna (something about the molecules binding better, or the Ph being more amenable, I forget which). Indigo will dye pure white or light hair, however, on its own, but much more weakly, and of course with the blue-ish colour.

[serious]

I had similar questions a few months ago. Here is an excellent article, though it is long:

http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ge-Hy/Hair-Dyes-and-Hair-Treatments.html

I believe somewhere in there it notes that the brown or black colour is a result of the interaction of the orange/red of henna and the blue of indigo, but that hair does not take most mordants that work well on fabrics, so the indigo "grips" more strongly if it has a base of henna (something about the molecules binding better, or the Ph being more amenable, I forget which). Indigo will dye pure white or light hair, however, on its own, just more weakly, and of course with the blue-ish colour.

That's how I understood the need of henna when doing indigo on hair, too. Of course, Heidi might have something there, indigo does fade from hennaed hair too, at least from mine it does :(

[jaine]

I thought the purpose of doing henna with indigo is just so that you dont end up with a greenish blue tinge to your hair .... Red/orange + blue/green = brown (or black if there's enough layers of each).

[little_cherry]

Id love to see a straight indigo on natural black hair.... :crush:

[dropinthebucket]

Yes, indigo does fade - but, and this is the big BUT - not for everyone. On many people it is terribly permanent, gripping to that henna with all its might! On porous, or dye resistant (especially grey) hair, it can wash right off.

I was after a nice, deep brown with henna+indigo myself, but indigo just didn't want to stay put well on my poor, damaged, porous hair. The virgin hair took it very nicely, though - and yet some people have the opposite problem, their damaged hair soaks up the hendigo, and their virgin roots turn out much more red (henna) and don't take the indigo.

I think the major issue here is indigo's reputation for being "finicky" - so many variables - oil on the hair, Ph, method of application, time left on, shipping and age (is the indigo partially demised?), and etc. Hard to know what you'll get until you've tried it, theory and practice not always being the same thing! :)

Little_cherry, I did try straight indigo on virgin, dark brown hair - got a slight, bluish sheen, but it washed off right away with water only. I did not try sea salt with that application, but I'm not sure even salt would help it much. The exact same mixture (I tested it first) gave me a lovely baby blue on some pure white silk/merino wool blend fibre I had sitting around waiting to spin. I have been all through my spinning books on dyes for something that would be a good mordant for the indigo, but nothing I've found is safe for hair. :( One of the threads here on hendigo has links to a member's test pictures - she has done extensive testing, with different "helpers," and percentages - she has pics of henna, henna plus lemon, henna plus indigo, indigo alone, and so on - maybe a search will bring it up? I'll have a look, too, and see if I can find it.

[McFearless]

Id love to see a straight indigo on natural black hair.... :crush:


What would it do?

If I grow my henna out, I could experiment, just for you little cherry:p