Goodbye Henindigo - Hallo PPD hairdyes ! 'Grey' reflections...

[Celebrian]

Oh dear. Regarding the idea of using commercial dyes for our roots and then doing overall henna - I used Clairols Nice'n Easy in Dark Brown (no Ammonia) last night on roots, and had a tender scalp for hours afterwards. No redness or swelling, just rather tender in places. I don't want to go through that every three weeks or so, so I'll keep looking for kinder and lower PPD dyes. I think I probably will try Naturtint just to see how it goes.

Anyway, I'll be doing henna over the lot in a couple of days to pull roots and lengths together and continue to combat the green.

Know what, I'm getting sick of monopolising this thread! How are the rest of you doing - and what's the latest on your grey coverage plans?

[Riot Crrl]

Know what, I'm getting sick of monopolising this thread! How are the rest of you doing - and what's the latest on your grey coverage plans?

Oh man well, how much time do you have. LOL.

I was taking pictures of my head yesterday and realizing that the demarcation is worse than I thought. I have 2" of henna over natural hair now. (Fairly light ash brown with grey.) The rest is lots o' henna over YELLOW PEROXIDED HAIR. It is like fire engine Ronald McDonald red in the sun. It looks more natural over the roots. Only the greys are fire engine color, so they match the length of my hair, lol.

I don't know what I am going to do, but I need to do something soon to even this. I have always had a hard time getting darker dyes to stay in my hair, is the problem, and the reason for henna which is the only thing that does stay in.

[SpiralingWaves]

Oh, a tender scalp, that's not good. Maybe you should try Naturtint. I checked out Whole Foods for Naturtint, but saw Naturcolor and decided to go with that one instead. I liked the ingredients and it seemed very mild for a permanent color. I used a dark brown color, 6N Sagebush Brown. The kit came with the color gel, peroxide solution, and an applicator bottle. I liked this because, in the future for touch ups, I can mix up the amount I need and save the rest for another time. The directions actually encourages this and even states that the left over unmixed color and peroxide will last for 3 years. It has a fairly thick gel consistency, so it was very easy to apply. I was able to comb the gel through to spread the color to the ends. And I only needed one box for my waist length hair. Naturcolor colors the hair a little like henna in that it gives a permanent transparent type of coloring. So, it will color gray, but it will end up a lighter or different shade than the rest of the hair, giving the hair an overall richness and dimension. So for me I'd say, since I already have dark brown hair, it made my natural henna'd color a bit browner and richer. My henna'd grays (red) are now a brown red, a shade that I've actually wanted. I wish I hadn't indigo'd before this, I think my coloring would've been even richer. Right now, I still have some dark spots. I tried lightening with honey concoction a couple times, and while it did lighten, it wasn't able to do much for some of the areas that really absorbed the indigo. Such is life. Anyway, I left it on for the max time, about 45 minutes, and I was quite comfortable, no burning or itching at all. The smell was a little like hair dye, but no where near what the traditional boxed stuff is like. And my hair doesn't feel like I even colored it. So overall, I am happy with this brand and will stick with it for the next few colorings/touch ups. Hopefully I can report back in a few that I am still pleased with the results I am getting.

ETA - to cover gray, you have to use the 'N' colors, as those have the strongest pigments. But you can mix your color to customize it, i.e. to make more golden, ash, red, etc.

[SpiralingWaves]

I don't know what I am going to do, but I need to do something soon to even this. I have always had a hard time getting darker dyes to stay in my hair, is the problem, and the reason for henna which is the only thing that does stay in.

Could you maybe do an amla henna mix on the lower length to darken it up a bit and perhaps match it to the newer growth? I have no idea if that would work, but I thought I'd throw it out anyway.

[Riot Crrl]

Could you maybe do an amla henna mix on the lower length to darken it up a bit and perhaps match it to the newer growth? I have no idea if that would work, but I thought I'd throw it out anyway.

Thanks, I had considered that. I don't really "get" amla, it's weird to me. I tried a small indigo ratio once but it didn't stick around long, and I got the dreaded ear bumps.

[wintersun99]

Oh dear. Regarding the idea of using commercial dyes for our roots and then doing overall henna - I used Clairols Nice'n Easy in Dark Brown (no Ammonia) last night on roots, and had a tender scalp for hours afterwards. No redness or swelling, just rather tender in places. I don't want to go through that every three weeks or so, so I'll keep looking for kinder and lower PPD dyes. I think I probably will try Naturtint just to see how it goes.

at the bottom of this article there are a few brands recommended that may be more gentle than typical commercial dyes, naturtint is on there, as well as herbatint (which I have used and it seemed quite gently) anyway, more reading fun, if you're bored...

http://www.theecologist.org/archive_...content_id=870

[SpiralingWaves]

Thanks, I had considered that. I don't really "get" amla, it's weird to me. I tried a small indigo ratio once but it didn't stick around long, and I got the dreaded ear bumps.

Lol, yes amla baffles me too.

[wintersun99]

amla did nothing but dry out my hair... not a fan of it either

[wintersun99]

Know what, I'm getting sick of monopolising this thread! How are the rest of you doing - and what's the latest on your grey coverage plans?

LOL - I'm back to henna - at least, for now (no Indigo this time!) I just couldn't handle putting the chemicals on my head, no real physical reactions, but the mental aversion was too much for me.

[Celebrian]

Riot Crrl, what demarcation? Am I blind? I thought all the pics I've seen looked consistently gorgeously colored!

SpirallingWaves, Naturcolor isn't available here in UK, but Naturtint is - so I'll get some and see (my sister likes it, if that's anything for me to go by). Let us know how it goes for you. I'm after the rich red-brown color as well, hence blending commercial browns with henna.

Actually, it occurred to me after last nights 'browning', that as I'm going to be using henna over it anyway - I'd probably be best using a dark ash brown. This one has turned out quite rich, owing to having been put over last weeks henna - and bearing in mind that I'll be henna'ing again shortly, it will become richer still! In fact, prior to last weeks henna's I'd put a medium warm brown in at the roots, and the henna just dominated it with bright reddish lights! I'm hoping that won't happen so strongly this time because I've used the darker, more neutral brown...

WinterSun, thanks for that link. So, your back to henna, eh? Yes, it's all the fault of that naughty indigo (as with me!). What color are you naturally? I am so sorry, I'm sure you've told us before - but there is so much info. to retain on the boards!

Amla? Well, Nightshades experiments mixing amla and henna indicated that a lighter red effect was obtained - almost as if the Lawsone molecule was compromised by the presence of amla. Strange, when you consider that it's used (apparently) to cause indigo to stick well following henna, in order to achieve dark browns etc. (See H4H).