Question about henna dyeing!

[Albiryo]

Hey everyone!

So, I heard that dyeing ones hair with henna is the most natural way to achieve another colour.

I would like to try that on my medium to dark, mouse brown hair.

But some questions came up:

Does Henna make my hair all red (in an orange red way)?
I read that the outcome depends on the natural haircolour...

I would be just fine with dark, brownish red but I don´t want it to be orange.... :confused:

What experiences have you made with henna?

And I read that if you use shampoo and conditioner with cones, the henna won´t stick to the hair because the cones kind of coat each hair and make it impossible for the henna to reach it or sth...

Dunno if that´s true.

Rigth now I´m still using cones because my hair is damaged and the cones hide that very nicely for me.. :D

I bought cone free shampoo but is it enough to wash my hair just once with it before using the henna or do I have to do a hair peeling (recipes pleaaaaase!) to get rid of the cones?

Oh, and if you want to be reaaaaaaaaaally nice:

A few pictures as a reference would be just so great! :p


:cheese: Thank you!

[Albiryo]

Honestly... no one?

[Altocumulus]

You might get more responses if you posted this in the Henna section, but I'll take a stab at it.

If you are starting with darker hair, you won't get orange. You have to have light hair to get orange. That said, henna always flares orange in sunlight, unless you started with very dark hair.

I have dark ash blonde hair, and I got coppery auburn from a 50/50 mix of henna and cassia in indoor lighting, and reddish orange in sunlight. You can see the color about halfway down my hair in my siggy pic (dim indoor lighting).

I don't use cones, but IME nothing stops henna from sticking to hair. I have very dye resistant hair, and nothing has ever been able to give me permanent color except for henna. The first time I hennaed, it would fade very slightly, and then was absolutely permanent after the second henna treatment. I used only BAQ henna.

Be sure you want to have red hair before you henna, unless you don't mind a lengthy grow out process, or want to cut it off. It is permanent. Most people are unable to get it out, and those who try sometimes end up melting their hair before getting rid of the color. I grew mine out (siggy pic is a few years old), and I had two-toned hair for several years.

Henna made my hair thicker, straighter and shinier. Most people find it greatly improves the condition of their hair, although some find it drying.

If you decide to henna, do a strand test first. That way you can test whether you like the color. Once you do it, you're stuck with it for a long time!

ETA you really, really need to check out the Henna section on this forum. There is everything you could ever need or want to know about henna there. Do it. Really.

[jojo]

You need to collect some stray hairs from your combs/hairbrush and test to see what colour you get. Henna is excellent for adding shine, condition and shine but also colour. It is so unpredictable what you will get because everybodies hair is slighly different in the starting colour, condition and texture. Henna dyes red not brown so please be aware of that, you can achieve brown by adding indigo but again please do strand test prior as it can go black!

[LaurelSpring]

I love my henna! I also have medium brown hair. My first suggestion if you want a good red without orange is to get a henna with good dye content. On http://hennaforhair.com/ you will find a great forum, lots of information and products. For instance, if you get the cheaper henna it will have less dye content and be more orange but if you go for the more potent ones with the higher dye content it will be a more intensive red. I fell in love with Punjabi Prime but they dont have that anymore. I wouldnt mix it with Cassia, that will make it more orange also. Repeated applications will darken it. You could also experiment with adding amla.

When it comes to henna it will look different in different lights. Sunlight will really bring it out but it may not be so noticeable inside. You will however notice the shine and condition of your hair which is really awesome.

I dont know about the cones issue but I imagine that as long as you follow the directions and let the dye release for long enough and then leave it on for long enough it should be ok. You might want to ask about this on the forum. You may want to put it on dry hair (I do) or just washed hair without conditioner. I think that would probably work fine.

Its always a good idea to do a strand test first!

[fairystar32]

I get orange in the sun and my hair is dark brown ... I use a strong henna fro mehandi.
However, it builds up and the more applications, the darker it goes and deeper red for me.
For many years I used indigo and henna for a dark brown/ reddish tint but it slowly ended up black.
I now only henna and its a reddish brown now.
I can post pcitures if you like but it all depends on your henna, starting colour and hair type :)

[fairystar32]

here are some pictures
will remove them later

starting colour
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/P4230080.jpg
after streaks after first just henna on virgin hair
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/IMG_1743.jpg
now in sun after several henna's
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/IMG_8219.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/april2011outside2.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/IMG_8217.jpg
and shade

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/fairystar267/aprilhenna2011outisde2.jpg

[sycamoreboutiqu]

I love my henna - been coloring with it for two years now but not as often as I used to.

If you look at my photo album you can see the extreme range of color you can get from henna. My earlier applications made my hair go really dark for some reason - and henna always looks different in various lighting situations. Indirect sunlight and normal home lighting usually shows it off best, florescent bulbs dull it to nearly brown, and direct bright sunlight can make it FLAME orange-gold (kind of cool actually).

I have a medium brown natural color (now with a grey streak) but when I first started using it I felt it was getting too dark too quick ( I did a couple of whole head applications in a row).

I also found that my hair type hates extra protein - and Henna adds protein to the strand thus making my hair feel stiff and strawlike for a few washes. Once the excess protein was worn off it was great. So - if your hair "needs" protein you will love it if it doesn't you might hate it in the beginning.

I have since figured out that I like Henna a lot better when I don't use it as often - and now I only use it for root applications about every 4-5 weeks. But, because I still want that lovely red color I have to touch up my roots in-between times. I have some pics in my album of my solution to that dilemma - I call it a Henna Hybrid.
Basically I just mixed some frozen henna (I mix the entire box then freeze the excess - only way to go) into my light auburn root touch up color and it works like a charm. I get the ease and speed of box color but some of the condition and tone of henna. I also do a Henna "gloss" on the length about every other time.

I would suggest trying henna by doing a gloss application to start out. It would give you an idea of what your color can be without being totally permanent.

A henna gloss is simply 1 or 2 TBS of prepared henna mixed with your favorite conditioner. Apply to the entire head and leave on anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours or more then rinse out.

[sycamoreboutiqu]

PS - My Avatar photo is taken under an incandescent bulb. You can see the orange glow but I wouldn't really call it orange hair.

[sycamoreboutiqu]

Fairystar32

That closeup of your head really shows what henna can do on medium-dark hair. The henna glow is such a cool thing.

It can look truly Day-glo orange on blonde hair, super coppery on Lt Brown hair, True Auburn on medium brown and cherry red on dark brown.

Best thing ever !