Conventional dye and henna

[akuamoonmaui]

I've dyed my hair with conventional dye (I know...) and it is a bit darker and more brown than I'm used to, but those who are near and dear say it looks fine, so I'll believe them.

I'd like to make it more auburn if I can and I'm wondering if a henna gloss will achieve that. I did a couple henna glosses prior to coloring and loved everything. Some of that red has come through, but I'd like it to be more auburn.

So my questions are: Has anyone done this, and how did it look? Also, when the conventional dye fades, what happens to the henna? (I know it's still there) How does that look?

Thanks!

[akuamoonmaui]

So I ended up checking out another website :eye: but didn't find anything there either......

However, I did find out that henna-ing your hair first can make conventional dye come out darker (which is what happened to me and another person on that forum (henna for hair?) - can't remember for sure....). This was the first time conventional color didn't look exactly like the box - this surprised me because my henna glosses were not intense and very close to my natural color. It must be the way the henna reacts/responds to the hair's structure.

So! Hopefully that bit of knowledge may come in handy for someone.

I'm not going to try a henna gloss too soon, I'm afraid my hair may turn purple due to the browns in the dye. All and all, I'm happy with the "new" color and I was shocked and amazed at the condition of my hair afterward. No dryness, no apparent damage. I used Hydrience, which I hadn't before so not sure if it was the brand or the henna, but I'm glad there is no dryness to combat.

Next time, I'm trying caca marron because it sounds like the color I ended up with and I'd really prefer to keep the coloring process more natural.

[Totte]

I'm not too experienced with the logic of this, but I can tell you what I did :)

I had conventionally dyed hair that started to fade miserably, (brown to dark brown with some sun bleached strands) and used (non BAQ) henna on top of that, which faded fast but left my hair darker. Then I read somewhere that adding a little bit of indigo can get the mix darker, so I added some of that too into my next mix, which was BAQ, and I added up with a dark brown that gave me some dark brown with red shade, that glowed red-orange when the light hit it.

I don't know much about the chemistry of what happens when the box dye fades, but since the henna bonds on top of your hair I'm guessing "not too much" (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I need to learn this :p)

I hope this helped a tiny bit, though! :)

[Nymph]

I switch back and forth between henna and chemical dyes, but I aim for a gingery-red color. I always do the chemical color first, then after two or three washes the henna (that one or two weeks), then I wait until I have roots again.
My dye does get darker when I leave the hair close to my scalp during the coloring process, warmth from your skull can make a dye turn out darker. I just pull it up from the scalp with my fingers and I don't stay in the hot bathroom, I go somewhere cooler. It's not very agreeable to sit there with your hair wet on your back but otherwise I notice a real difference in color.

[xoxophelia]

When did you dye your hair?

If it was within the last month I would suggest waiting for it to fade honestly. Mine faded from black to medium brown without me doing anything. You can also shampoo with head and shoulders or clarify a touch more to pull the color out :)

[Nymph]

Or maybe try honey treatments? those can lighten up a color really nicely.