REALLY want to go red..

[sweetestpoison]

Anybody on here use henna on really dark hair? How bright does it show up? It would be friggin sweet if i could do a red ombre. Anybody on here have omber hair either? How hard is it to do? How often does henna need to be touched up to keep it vibrant? All help is appreciated :)

[maborosi]

How dark is your hair?

Henna can't make your hair brighter or lighter. It is a translucent red color- it'll make brown hair darker but with a reddish glow.

If you want to get noticeable red, you might have to (carefully) lift some color with bleach, then henna.

ETA: I saw your hair color in your album (d'oh silly me) you might get a very slight red color on top of your brown. But if you want very red hair, you'll have to bleach first.

~maborosi~

[sweetestpoison]

How dark is your hair?

Henna can't make your hair brighter or lighter. It is a translucent red color- it'll make brown hair darker but with a reddish glow.

If you want to get noticeable red, you might have to (carefully) lift some color with bleach, then henna.

ETA: I saw your hair color in your album (d'oh silly me) you might get a very slight red color on top of your brown. But if you want very red hair, you'll have to bleach first.

~maborosi~

That's what i was afraid of! Oh well, i'll wait until i go to beauty school and do it properly then. Thank you!

[jojo]

Henna on very dark hair will not show up apart from in the sun, then you will get a bright red. Remember henna is very hard to get out of hair, i was lucky and managed to get rid of most of it but others have had to cut it out. Why not try some honey treatments, these would lighten your hair overtime and would give you a reddish brown. They do take time to get an effect but make hair wonderfully moisturised and shiny.

[Littlewing13]

To get it done at a salon they will likely have to pre-bleach your hair anyway, depending on how light/bright you want to go. Maybe you could get it pre-bleached then henna over that for the red. It does last longer & makes the hair healthier & shinier.

[cheetahfast]

I found that henna did not need to be touched up at all. It was actually a pain to get out.
Your hair looks too dark to get an obvious red. I could be wrong though since mine was very vibrant, though my hair was a light brown with a bit of blonde.

[sweetestpoison]

I found that henna did not need to be touched up at all. It was actually a pain to get out.
Your hair looks too dark to get an obvious red. I could be wrong though since mine was very vibrant, though my hair was a light brown with a bit of blonde.

Yeah i was afraid it wouldn't be an obvious red, It being subtle on my hair would be a good thing towards the top but i want the ends to be a little more vibrant :(


To get it done at a salon they will likely have to pre-bleach your hair anyway, depending on how light/bright you want to go. Maybe you could get it pre-bleached then henna over that for the red. It does last longer & makes the hair healthier & shinier.

Yeah, but i don't trust myself with bleaching my hair. I've done it a few times but still feel i will damage it to all get out. I want it to remain healthy and want to take the least destructive way possible through this but probably the only way to do that is to not dye it at all :shrug:


Henna on very dark hair will not show up apart from in the sun, then you will get a bright red. Remember henna is very hard to get out of hair, i was lucky and managed to get rid of most of it but others have had to cut it out. Why not try some honey treatments, these would lighten your hair overtime and would give you a reddish brown. They do take time to get an effect but make hair wonderfully moisturised and shiny.

That's a pretty good idea, didn't know honey did that. I will look into that, thank you :)

[Vanille_]

I'm not sure exactly what color you are looking for, but I use Manic Panic Vampire Red on my dark brown unbleached hair. You can see pics in my album. It's a vegan dye and doesnt damage. My hair actually feels better after using it. It's a semi permanant but it's been a couple of months and it's still not comming out. In the sun, it's a bright noticeable red. In normal lights or shade, it's a more neutral color. And in lower lights, it looks brown.

I always wanted red, but no dye would work - it would never keep. This barely fades.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

[sweetestpoison]

I'm not sure exactly what color you are looking for, but I use Manic Panic Vampire Red on my dark brown unbleached hair. You can see pics in my album. It's a vegan dye and doesnt damage. My hair actually feels better after using it. It's a semi permanant but it's been a couple of months and it's still not comming out. In the sun, it's a bright noticeable red. In normal lights or shade, it's a more neutral color. And in lower lights, it looks brown.

I always wanted red, but no dye would work - it would never keep. This barely fades.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Oh my, it's so pretty!! I love that color!!! it is pretty perfect but on my idea i require it to be slightly lighter in parts. I think i might try the honey lightening as somebody here mentioned and then do the manic panic. Thank you very much for that advice!

[Littlewing13]

Yeah, but i don't trust myself with bleaching my hair. I've done it a few times but still feel i will damage it to all get out. I want it to remain healthy and want to take the least destructive way possible through this but probably the only way to do that is to not dye it at all :shrug:


To lighten it without bleaching, you could either just use lemon juice on the ends.

Or you could use a lightening tint. It will still dry out your ends but no where near as much as bleach. You can get it done at a salon. It will go orangey/yellow, but if you intend to cover it with henna it wont matter anyway (though it may take a few hennas to get colour perfect). The colour will not fade, so you wont have to keep redoing (unless of course it grows & you cut it out). Then just apply lots of SMT's to hydrate it again.

In my old salons we used Wella & the 12/0 colour with 12% peroxide would lighten enough. I suggest only the very ends if unsure.