About henna...

[KiwiLiz]

I'm think about becoming a henna head. At the moment I have natural hair colour to my shoulders that tends to change colour in what ever light I'm in, some times it looks blonde, sometimes auburn and sometimes brown. To be precise I'd say it's a light golden brown with red tones in it :P The dyed portion (to a few inches below my bra strap) is this sort of dish water blonde with reddish tones also.

I'm very very very very... VERY pale skinned, so I don't want to go a strong dark RED (yet), but more to add red *tint* to it that won't wash me out. Is henna for me?

Also if I decided to go the henna way, where would I find it in Australia (specifically melbourne)? I know LUSH has henna, I'm looking at this one - http://lush.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=6710&PHPSESSID=2salo7ct5lqa8o30pdk4g5oii0 ... but I really have no idea what I'm doing.

Any thoughts? Recommendations? Has any one tried henna from LUSH? Any helpful links about henna? Will it fade to orange? Maybe there's some other non-chemical dye related way of attaining a red tint?

Thanks in advance!

[sibylla]

I recommend that you take a look at www.hennaforhair.com (http://www.hennaforhair.com) and their mixes (Meredith´s mix is dishwater blond).

The colour of hair you discribe is called multicoloured or strawberry blonde. (in scandinavia the strawberry blonde is blonder than that of the rest of the world).

It´s in my opinion the best color to have when you whant to henna your hair. Sometimes the color get very near what a naturally red head has.

If you feel a bit chicken then I recomend doing red wine rinses and adding a bit paprica powder to your condish. In this way you´ll get just a little hint of red to your hair.

Hope this helps!

Btw we have a henna thread here.

[prosperina]

I have dishwater blond (sort of--I've got lots of colors in my natural color) and I hennaed. As sibylla said this is a good color to henna with, and I'm super happy with the color; it's very close to a natural red. That said it took a while to get there, and a lot of patience. I like LUSH henna, but with your hair I would start off cautiously (which is not what I did) and maybe even use some cassia obovata (an herb with a weak yellow dye), do lots of reading and consider a henna gloss first.

When this thread gets moved to the henna natural hair care forum, you'll probably get more comments from other people.

ETA: or just a hibiscus tea rinse, since it's hard to get just a little color with henna; it's very unpredictable.

[Liluri]

Also if I decided to go the henna way, where would I find it in Australia (specifically melbourne)? I know LUSH has henna, I'm looking at this one - http://lush.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=6710&PHPSESSID=2salo7ct5lqa8o30pdk4g5oii0 ... but I really have no idea what I'm doing.

Any thoughts? Recommendations? Has any one tried henna from LUSH? Any helpful links about henna? Will it fade to orange? Maybe there's some other non-chemical dye related way of attaining a red tint?

Thanks in advance!

There are a few henna heads in Australia, asking on one of the Aussie threads or on the social group might help and I think there's been other recommendations for henna suppliers here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=46) already. I've been shopping on this site (http://www.favorfinesse.com/) as I think it was the cheapest as there's no shipping charges. HTH

[Lexie]

Definitely recommend a henna gloss, but go light on the henna. Like try a teaspoon or 2 in enough conditioner for your hair and keep it on for a few hours. It should give a hint of color.

[Shermie Girl]

I am not trying to discourage you from using henna. It is lovely, lovely stuff. But... Make sure it is what you really want. That the beautiful red you will get will be what your heart desires. Because henna is permanent. I am talking, nothing short of nuking and cutting your hair will get it all out permanent. (As I can attest.)

If henna is what you want, you can't find anything better to give you glorious, no-fade red. And hair that is soft, silky, beautifully conditioned and mad, mad shiny. :cheese:

[Nightshade]

I'll second all the votes here for a henna gloss. With your hair so light you're going to want to build your color up slowly and then maybe switch to a henna/cassia blend. Actually, I"d recommend this:

Blonde Boost & Condition- Adds deep conditioning and warm hues to blonde hair.
1 TB body art quality henna
2 TB cassia obovata
2 TB chamomile powder (open up 1 chamomile tea bag)
Mix powdered ingredients into a paste using chamomile tea as a liquid. Cover and place somewhere warm until you see dye release. The color of the paste may look darker. Mix the paste with 1C yogurt or conditioner, wrap hair in saran wrap and allow it to sit for 2 hours. Rinse and condition.

And as always, strand test and remember that henna is permanent!

Edited to take out the lemon juice in the mix, it wasn't needed :)

[tiny_teesha]

I know where to get dirt cheap jamila henna in melb, PM me! :)