Henna Thread, take two

**GRU** · July 26th, 2013, 02:44 PM

I do my roots when I feel like it, every 2-4 months usually.

I put the goop in a squeeze bottle and apply only to the root area, and I've never had a line of demarcation from the old length to the new roots. I just use the same mix every time, and it blends really well for me.

**Neecola** · July 29th, 2013, 11:51 AM

I do my roots monthly and as GRU says, there is no line of demarcation, even with slight overlaps as is bound to happen.

**Kohinoor** · July 31st, 2013, 06:09 AM

I also have a question about roots only application! About a month ago I hennaed my hair for the first time. My hair was the same colour all over, a medium golden blonde, but about 3 cm of the roots were virgin and the rest has been dyed a lot, and eventually dyed back to my natural colour. I used jamila henna and left it on for 8 hours and the lenghts turned into a natural looking copper, but the virgin roots became more of a red/burgundy colour. I dont want my roots to become burgundy this time, but rather the coppery colour of my lengths but I am not sure how to achieve this, and I cant do any strand testing as my roots are only about 2 cm now. I was thinking to leave the henna on for a shorter time or to dilute it with cassia. Or maybe both! I hope someone can give me some advice

**Natural_Locks24** · July 31st, 2013, 09:18 AM

Well, I've got mud on my head!!! I did a gloss last night and there was not enough change in color for me. So today I used yogart instead of conditioner.

**Neecola** · July 31st, 2013, 11:24 AM

Kohinoor, do you mean your roots are darker than the rest of your dyed length? It depends on what color your natural hair is, but you could get a less saturated color by diluting the henna paste with cassia or conditioner.

ETA: I dilute my henna paste by about 50% and I only leave it on for an hour. My natural color is a light brownish red.

**Kohinoor** · July 31st, 2013, 12:17 PM

Neecola, I mean my virgin roots came out darker than the chemically dyed lengths. Right now I have about 3 cm of medium goldem blonde roots, which I want to henna in the color of my lengths. If I apply my henna the same way I did before, they will come out too dark again and I don't want that. Diluting it with cassia seems like a good idea, I'm just a bit afraid it will come out as bozo orange (thats why I left my henna on so long the first time)

**GRU** · July 31st, 2013, 12:51 PM

My henna is extremely diluted -- about five parts cassia, one part fenugreek, and one part henna. My natural color is strawberry blonde, and I only use the henna to cover my grays (my temples are PURE WHITE, while the rest of my grays are more evenly sprinkled throughout my scalp). This diluted henna mix gives me the more orangey color I'm looking for on my grays.

**Neecola** · July 31st, 2013, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kohinoor

Neecola, I mean my virgin roots came out darker than the chemically dyed lengths. Right now I have about 3 cm of medium goldem blonde roots, which I want to henna in the color of my lengths. If I apply my henna the same way I did before, they will come out too dark again and I don't want that. Diluting it with cassia seems like a good idea, I'm just a bit afraid it will come out as bozo orange (thats why I left my henna on so long the first time)

Hmmmm, as you say it is hard to strand test now... I think your best bet will be to start with a very diluted henna mix because you can always add more applications if it is not red enough but it is very difficult to remove once it has adhered. I have also read that the addition of buxus helps tone down the vibrant red tones, so that may be something to look into.

**shutterpillar** · August 1st, 2013, 12:20 PM

Quick question -- I am plotting my next henna application in a couple weeks and will be doing my roots only. I was also wanting to do a gloss on the length, and was wondering if I could apply the henna to my roots and then use whatever was left to mix up a quick gloss and apply that to my length at the same time. Or would it be better to do them separately?

Sorry if this seems like a silly question, or one that has been answered in this forum before, but I'm new to this and don't want to screw anything up.

**Kohinoor** · August 1st, 2013, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by GRU

My henna is extremely diluted -- about five parts cassia, one part fenugreek, and one part henna. My natural color is strawberry blonde, and I only use the henna to cover my grays (my temples are PURE WHITE, while the rest of my grays are more evenly sprinkled throughout my scalp). This diluted henna mix gives me the more orangey color I'm looking for on my grays.

Wow it is very diluted! I wouldn't expect such a bright colour from that mix, but your hair looks very lovely and bright! This makes me want to try a more diluted mix for sure!

Originally Posted by Neecola

Hmmmm, as you say it is hard to strand test now... I think your best bet will be to start with a very diluted henna mix because you can always add more applications if it is not red enough but it is very difficult to remove once it has adhered. I have also read that the addition of buxus helps tone down the vibrant red tones, so that may be something to look into.

That's what I was thinking, to start lighter and I can always build it up. When I still had my blonde hair I did a strand test with 1/5 henna and the rest cassia, and it came out as a very golden blonde so I think I need to go for 50/50, and maybe for about 4-6 hours instead of 8.. So difficult though!