Growing out Henna....Help?!?!

[smilinjenn71]

Hi LHC!

It's been awhile since I've been on here because I cut my hair in Dec and then back to full blown pixie in January '11.:)
(feel free to look through albums)

I've decided to stop using Henna to color my hair. Now, I'm just turning 40 this year, so I'm not ready to let my grey show just yet and quite frankly can't handle grey AND turning 40 all at the same time....lol! Fortunately, since my hair is short these days, growing out the Henna will not be all that difficult.

The question is, can I color over it without it turning funky? Or should I focus on roots and deal with the demarcation? I've been using Henna for several years now but only did root application - approximately 3 years. Oh and do you have any recommendations for color?? I use drug store products b/c I'm cheap that way.;)

I have decided that if I ever grow my hair out again, I want color that I can play with, instead of being "married" to one color. PLUS, I couldn't even put a body wave or perm (gasp) in my hair if I wanted to b/c of the Henna.

Don't feel sorry for me in anyway! I knew EXACTLY what I was doing when I started using Henna. I took my time, read a lot and didn't jump in for several weeks. It's just come time for a change and since my hair is short now, I might as well. But I knew that with this change, I couldn't go it alone.....I need my LHC peeps to help!!:crush:

[jaine]

Hi Jenn!

What kind of henna did you use?

My understanding is that it's safe to color over henna **if** there were no metallic salts in it.

Going darker would probably give better results than going lighter ...I've read that lightening henna'd hair will lighten everything except the henna and it ends up looking orange. (or green if there was indigo in there too)

[smilinjenn71]

Hi Jaine!! Your hair is getting so long! It's very pretty and shiny too!!

I have always used either Punjabi Prime or Yemen. (I think I spelled those right) Anyway, neither are supposed to have salts. I don't think I want to lighten any. I don't really want super dark either but maybe there would be a reddish brown that would blend things OK. (??)

Any help is appreciated! :)

[jaine]

You should be fine coloring over that! It's safe! :) I'm not sure how to pick a color but maybe someone else can help with that.

I love your pixie by the way! :)

[jojo]

Yes its ok to colour over henna but henna is a strong colourant and the red will always show through whatever colour you use. Please do strand test before (ive never strand tested in my life, but thought id better add that in case your hair turns sky blue pink and you come a banging my door down :D)

[smilinjenn71]

LOL jojo!!!:bigtongue:

I don't mind the red showing through. I'm just hoping to find a fairly decent color that will blend.

Thank you Jaine! I'm really a shortie at heart but sometimes I miss it being long too. If my job would allow me to wear it down more, I think I would have kept it long. Alas, I have to wear it up everyday and that really isn't a flattering look for my face. (in my opinion - AND almost everyone that knows me....haha)

[jojo]

so what colour you going for?

[smilinjenn71]

so what colour you going for?

I haven't gone to look at color's yet but I think I will stay in the reddish/brown family. Maybe I can get it to blend better that way until all the color grows out. Then who knows!! hehe

[jojo]

A rich chocolate colour would look nice on you and with the red henna coming through would be lovely.

[smilinjenn71]

A rich chocolate colour would look nice on you and with the red henna coming through would be lovely.

Ooooo, excellent suggestion!

[KrissyKitty]

When you do this can you tell us how it turns out? I'm thinking of dying over my henna but am afraid that the dye won't take evenly or won't penetrate, so it will rinse out in only a few washes. I'm interested in seeing if this works well for you!

[smilinjenn71]

When you do this can you tell us how it turns out? I'm thinking of dying over my henna but am afraid that the dye won't take evenly or won't penetrate, so it will rinse out in only a few washes. I'm interested in seeing if this works well for you!

Yes, I will definitely report back. Although I should say that I'm only doing roots for now. I'm not coloring over the henna. (per sae) I'm sure some of it will overlap though considering how short my hair is now. (for example - the shortest layers in the back)

[georgia_peach]

Hi Jenn! I used pure Yemen henna and had no trouble using Natural Instincts in an ashe brown over top of the whole thing. It worked really well, but I decided I didn't want to use any products for a while. Good luck and your hair looks great!

[smilinjenn71]

Hi Jenn! I used pure Yemen henna and had no trouble using Natural Instincts in an ashe brown over top of the whole thing. It worked really well, but I decided I didn't want to use any products for a while. Good luck and your hair looks great!
Thank you for the compliment :) Good to know georgia, thanks for chiming in!!

[smilinjenn71]

I've decided that I'm indecisive! LOL I just cut all of my hair off and now I'm thinking about letting it grow back out to an angled bob. Maybe my hair is my mid-life crisis.....SO WEIRD!

[Beesweet]

I had a hard time getting rid of my henna a few years ago. I went to salon, he dyed it twice with a brown and the red still showed through. I ended up going super short and it looked okay, but not stunning. It was damaged from the double color, but my hair gets damaged very easily.

What about doing a buxus/indigo to get rid of the red, then taking it from there. Do you think that would work?

[smilinjenn71]

I had a hard time getting rid of my henna a few years ago. I went to salon, he dyed it twice with a brown and the red still showed through. I ended up going super short and it looked okay, but not stunning. It was damaged from the double color, but my hair gets damaged very easily.

What about doing a buxus/indigo to get rid of the red, then taking it from there. Do you think that would work?

Oh, I don't mind the red at all! I'm just growing weary of the tedious application process and then having to sit for 2 hrs after. I've picked out a color by Garnier - Cinnamon Stick. I took hubby with me so he could look at the box top next to my hair at the same time and that was the closest one.

I won't be coloring for another couple of weeks though....I'll report back at that time.:)