Henna or Henndigo?

[LadieRyrie]

I've been thinking about henna for a very long time, and I have decided to do it this spring. I have dark hair that looks black at night, turns reddish in the sunlight, and is just plain dark brown anywhere else. I'll try to put up some pictures, but I can't find my camera at the moment.

Anyway, I would love to dye my hair a burgundy color, or maybe just a little redder than my brown. Since this will be my first time every trying henna, what type of henna, or combination of henndigo, should I use that will give me those colors?

~Thanks!

[Amber_Maiden]

Have to tell you that the henna will not make your hair lighter- but darker, so though you may want red, all it will do is add a bit of red on top of your colour. From what you said above, you would probably get a VERY dark maroon or burgundy.

[LadieRyrie]

Yep...I'm quite aware that henna doesn't lighten hair. I just figured that it will still be lighter than burgundy, which I think I'll need indigo for. I don't think my hair is that dark. :]

[midsummernight]

I have really dark hair, it looks black with dark brown towards the end. I remember doing henna twice few years ago and it did not change color at all. If you hair is dark then henna might not change the color so indigo is not necessary. I found this chart on henna for hair website. This might help.
http://www.mehandi.com/shop/hairinstructions2.pdf

[McFearless]

Don't use henndigo just yet. If your hair is dark you need all the pure henna you can get. Build up the colour with repeated applications as you'll have complete control of the colour result that way. Henndigo is more risky and you can't be certain of how dark it will go. I also think with henndigo the colour goes more to brown because of the indigo, where henna will just deepen the red until it hits burgundy.

[Babs1039]

I also have very dark hair...in the past 3 years I have been blonde, henna red, and most recently dark brown/black. I had a really bad bleach job done 1 1/2 years ago and turned to henna to help strengthen my hair as it was a Ramen noodle consistency after my hair dresser left me under a dryer too long. I really thought all of my hair was going to fall out during that time as it was soooooo stretchy and fragile. The henna helped tremendously and kept me from having to give myself the Julie Andrews, Sound of Music, haircut.

I went dark brown/black around Halloween because of the root up keep and now I am getting ready to henna again. Every other time before I hennaed I put on a dark blonde hair color to lighten my hair enough to get that lovely henna red/orange color that all my friends LOVE. However, this time I am going to apply the henna to my natural darker color just to see what I end up with this time. I usually use Yemen henna infused with green tea or chamomile (sometimes I add a little conditioner to help it spread on the hair, but it gets runny and begins to dribble down my face/neck after it warms on my head for a while). I'm going to put it on tomorrow night and sleep with it on ~10 hours or so. I did have some Celebration henna, but I dunno if I can put my hands on that one, but I get a much darker red result with the Celebration.

I can post another profile pic and show you the results I get if you like just to give you some kind of visual of the first treatment. I too am curious as to how red my hair will be with henna added to the dark brown/black (red highlights in the sun) color. Truthfully I really miss my bright henna red; it's just that I don't want to bleach or lighten again until the ends of my hair are healthier. :)

[LadieRyrie]

I can post another profile pic and show you the results I get if you like just to give you some kind of visual of the first treatment. I too am curious as to how red my hair will be with henna added to the dark brown/black (red highlights in the sun) color. Truthfully I really miss my bright henna red; it's just that I don't want to bleach or lighten again until the ends of my hair are healthier. :)

Sure, I'd love to see the picture! Also, thank you everyone for your input. I'll try pure henna. Henna becomes darker after repeated applications, right? Does that mean I should buy extra henna in case my color turns out too red?

[Babs1039]

One of the factors of your henna color result depends on your starting color, the lighter the color the longer time you must leave it on and more treatments you will need to obtain a "dark" red result. Another factor is the type of henna that you use. A lot of people use Jamilla to obtain a coppery red result. I used henna for a traditional red head result. Everyone thought it was my natural color when I was using Yemen Light.

Yet another factor as I mentioned is how long you leave the henna in your hair and how many applications you do at each treatment with henna. What I did before the first time I hennaed my hair was collect loose hair from my hair brush and the shed hair after I showered. I took those samples and "dye" tested each batch of hair with two types of henna left on for varying amounts of time. I think I had 5-8 henna tests going on. I put the hair with the henna smothered all over it in baggies with all the air squeezed out. I would rinse and view the color at varying intervals.

Then I left the samples to "air" for a few days marked on a piece of paper with the type of henna and the length of time left on the hair. When you first henna on blonde hair I found that the hair will have an orange tinge for a few days until it settles into the "real" color. I felt like a clown the first time I hennaed until I got to final result. Because my hair was so damaged when I was hennaing the color would wash out due to my hair being so porous and I would either do a strong gloss (henna and conditioner) or another full henna treatment to maintain the color.

Also heating the hennaed hair will darken the result and according to some people's research will brown the color a little. With my mom's orange hair I flat ironed it on a low setting to help tone down the orange, but it still had to set for a few days. I have yet to try it on my darker hair. I'm hoping for a pretty auburn/burgandy color I used to get with box color; however I don't want the damage from the chemical color. I believe I will need a stronger henna like Celebration.

Hennaing reminds me of a chemistry experiment and works differently depending on the conditions. Oooh, another factor seems to be the weather. Hotter conditions and colder conditions also affect the dye release. So if I were you I would just experiment a little, it will help put your mind at ease about the color you will be walking around sporting.

I'm planning on ordering some more this weekend as after this treatment I will be out of henna. :( I cant wait for this batch of henna to dye release so I can put it on my head, I loooooove the smell of my hair afterwards and it lasts for days.

[Babs1039]

LadieRyrie I took these a few minutes ago to give you an idea of what I am starting with...

Without flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinerhowell/6928833193/in/photostream/

With flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinerhowell/6782714080/in/photostream/

I couldn't believe the henna red I still have with flash!!!

[LadieRyrie]

LadieRyrie I took these a few minutes ago to give you an idea of what I am starting with...

Without flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinerhowell/6928833193/in/photostream/

With flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinerhowell/6782714080/in/photostream/

I couldn't believe the henna red I still have with flash!!!

Okay, thanks for the info and the pictures! I guess I'll make sure to do some strand tests. :]