The henna/cassia thread

[juliaxena]

But then if you keep putting on cassia with henna, more and more henna will stay on right?

[chloeishere]

If you want a lighter, coppery henna color, I think the consensus is to mix cassia and henna to a desired ratio (strand tests help with this); and then after the initial application, do roots-only applications as much as possible.

[juliaxena]

I see. I actually don't want even a touch of red, was just wondering what could happen if I used cassia and henna just for conditioning purposes that would last longer than cassia itself. If I understand you correctly, if I kept doing that I could in fact turn reddish over time?

[felista]

Cassia's color is so mild in comparison to henna's that it isn't missed. I would use cassia (rather than conditioner) in this kind of mix for its other benefits, though, even though its color is somewhat mild and transient.

I'm curious about a few things regarding your mix and pictures, Caribou:

When you were using your cassia/henna/buxus mix, did you start with that, or did you already have a full head of henna'ed hair?

When you reapplied for roots with your light cassia/henna/buxus mix, did you just do the roots? Or did you continue to do full head applications?

I have seen so many different levels of red using just a small amount of henna. Choeishere just used 2 cups of cassia with 4 tsps dye released henna, and you can hardly tell. It looks great, but definitely subtle. I know a lot depends on starting hair color, but I'm also wondering about henna build up when using just teeny amounts of henna. In the pic where you are wearing a pink shirt shooting the back of your head, was your hair darker because of your starting color, or from a build up of the henna in your mix?

I'm waiting for my order to arrive so I can start my own strand tests, but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out where to start.

When I compared my hair to swatches in Sally's, it looked like I'm about a level 7 ash/neutral dark blond. I've used cassia once, and I was happy with the results on my whites. I am just wondering if adding a little henna will help with staying power, without adding too much color to upkeep. I guess I will just have to try it, since I see no conceivable way of testing this. I don't find whites in my brush yet, I don't want to pluck them, and the only way to see how the henna lasts on them through the month is to test them on my head.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking since myhair is darker blond, using a mix of mostly cassia with a tiny bit of henna won't really be noticeable on my length, and will look strawberry blonde on my whites?

[caribou55313]

I'm curious about a few things regarding your mix and pictures, Caribou:

When you were using your cassia/henna/buxus mix, did you start with that, or did you already have a full head of henna'ed hair?

I had already hennaed my hair, then transitioned to the lighter color by using increasing amounts of cassia on my roots each time. Growing it out to shoulder length took over a year.

When you reapplied for roots with your light cassia/henna/buxus mix, did you just do the roots? Or did you continue to do full head applications?

Usually just roots, sometimes cassia alone on the length, rarely using a weak cassia/henna/buxus all over. For a year or two I didn't want it to get darker so I kept just doing roots, for the most part, with cassia on the length.

In the pic where you are wearing a pink shirt shooting the back of your head, was your hair darker because of your starting color, or from a build up of the henna in your mix?

That pic looks darker partly because the back of my hair is darker, but mostly because the lighting in the bathroom is very warm/red incandescent light in a peach-colored room, and makes my hair look redder than pics taken anywhere else (it was taken as a length pic, more than a color pic). It's not from a buildup of color, which isn't to say that I wouldn't have had buildup of color if I'd done more whole-head treatments with that mix! Even small amounts of henna like that will build up. By the way, that picture was taken at the same time as this one, which is in cooler light and makes my hair look much lighter and less red:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3933575...7623088472780/

Any suggestions? I'm thinking since myhair is darker blond, using a mix of mostly cassia with a tiny bit of henna won't really be noticeable on my length, and will look strawberry blonde on my whites?

I think a mostly cassia/pinch of henna mix will just warm your color in a subtle way, and add light blonde/strawberry tint to your whites. Here is a before-and-after from Megumi (a H4H member/haircolorist) of a brown-haired client who had 90% cassia/10% henna applied:

http://www.hennaforhair.com/forum/in...HPWS_MAN_ITEMS[]=11182

[felista]

Thanks, Caribou,

I'm beginning to sort this all out. It is so helpful to see mixes and before/after pictures of others.

Is that last link on Megumi's facebook also? I think the link is broken, and I couldn't find it on H4H.

[caribou55313]

Trying that link again (90% cassia, 10% henna):

http://www.hennaforhair.com/forum/index.php?module=phpwsbb&PHPWSBB_MAN_OP=view&PHPWS _MAN_ITEMS[]=11182


I'm pretty sure it's on Megumic Organic Salon's facebook page, too.

[chloeishere]

Just for an idea of how it's wearing:

Hair before doing the henna/cassia treatment; Hair 2 days after treatment; Hair 3 weeks after treatment (today).
All are freshly washed, but the last one is also freshly combed, so there are fewer waves than normal. The lighter and darker areas tend to break into segments too, I've noticed, so the color is more uniform in the last/ freshly combed picture.
Here's a one day old, uncombed picture for comparison (next to the freshly treated hair picture, which is first). It's a bit blurry, though.

[venividibxtchy]

How many grams will I need for tailbone-length/iii hair? 50:50 Henna/Cassia mix.

[felista]

I would think at least 500 g total, maybe a little more.