Henna over purple/pink direct dye strand test

[_fred_]

I couldn't find much online about covering purple and pink direct dye stains with henna, so I thought I'd post this in case it's useful to anyone in the future.

Last night I did a test on a ball of sheds harvested from my hairbrush. I used this henna from Renassiance Henna. I mixed a small amount with cold water from the tap and let it dye release in my living room while I was at work. I left it for around 10 hours, and it was 22C in the spot near the heater where I put it (I pinched one of my tortoise's thermometers to work out where the best place would be to leave it, using the charts in the Ancient Sunrise ebook, and also had Nightshade's ebook open for reference as I went along).

Usually I don't test any dyes before having a go, but henna's different. Plus, because of the blue in the purple, I was really worried I'd end up with brown - I wanted to make absolutely sure that won't happen before committing.

I tested the sample as soon as I got home, double bagged in plastic food bags, and tucked into my cardigan to keep it warm. And here's the results (apologies for my poor photo cropping, it's early):

Left: test post after dye release - looks like a lot of dye there! And not as smooth as I should have made it...
Middle: hair before, with flash
Right: hair before, indoor light, no flash
Here's a pic of my hair in general so you can see the colours better.



Last night after rinsing and air drying - held under a lamp because we have dim indoor lights, but no flash:



And this morning, also held under a lamp - the sun has not yet risen!



I'm going to see how it oxidises, and work out whether I want to get more of the direct dye out of my hair before committing or not, but right now this looks really promising. I like dramatic colours, but I'm ready for something that doesn't fade - hopefully this will be dramatic enough for me with all the nice benefits henna has.

UPDATE

It's now day 3, and it doesn't seem to have got a whole lot darker. The sun finally came out, so I got a photo with the sun on it, and wow, that's around what I was hoping for, so yay!

[Alibran]

I'm concerned your might find it a bit brown once it oxidises. The initial brightness calms down very quickly.

Let us know what it looks like in sunlight.

[_fred_]

I'm concerned your might find it a bit brown once it oxidises. The initial brightness calms down very quickly.

Let us know what it looks like in sunlight.

I'm a bit worried about that as well. I'll see if I can get a photo in the sun tomorrow, if it comes out. I've got some bleach in case I need to get the purple out.

[lapushka]

That's about the shade I had indoors, brownish with a reddish hue, it shone bright orange in sunlight, but it was sort of a deer-brown inside.

[Obsidian]

Henna and purple always made a dark brown for me. Have you tried a vitamin C treatment to remove the purple? It works quite well and isn't damaging like bleach.

[_fred_]

That's about the shade I had indoors, brownish with a reddish hue, it shone bright orange in sunlight, but it was sort of a deer-brown inside.

That sounds really nice The sample looks more really deep auburn in life - it's redder/oranger than it appears on my screen at least. But yeah, I don't want it to look brown in indoor light, beautiful as that is, it's not for me.

Henna and purple always made a dark brown for me. Have you tried a vitamin rid of C treatment to remove the purple? It works quite well and isn't damaging like bleach.

I tried it a few months ago when I was trying to get back to pastel, and although it worked quite well to remove some colour, it didn't take it back to an even base. I might have another go today, and if that fails I'll do something with the bleach.

[_fred_]

Let us know what it looks like in sunlight.

The sun finally came out today, and I've updated the post with a photo. I'm really impressed with the colour.

Obsidian, I had another go at vit C plus anti-dandruff shampoo, and it's only had about the same effect as just shampooing with anti-dandruff shampoo. It got out a little of the colour, but no more than I'd expect from clarifying at this stage. Ah well! I still have a lot of anti-dandruff shampoo, and I'm not on a schedule, so I might see if I can get back to pastel by increments.

[blackgothicdoll]

Wow! The day three results look great! If that's what you were going for, it looks like a winner.

[Obsidian]

fred, how long are you leaving the vit c on? While it won't remove all color it should take you to a pastel with a couple applications.

[_fred_]

fred, how long are you leaving the vit c on? While it won't remove all color it should take you to a pastel with a couple applications.

I left it on for 40 mins under a shower cap. There are a few sections that are pastel near the front, but it's done virtually nothing for the bulk of the dyed hair, and hasn't done much for the clinging hint of purple on the natural colour. I might give it another go seeing as I still have some vitamin C tablets left, and the mixture doesn't need to touch my scalp.

How long would you leave it on for? I've seen warnings not to leave it on for more than 10 mins, and at least one video on Youtube where a lass left it on her hair for hours. I opted for 40 mins just cause that was how long it took me to prep a week's worth of chilli for work lunches.

Wow! The day three results look great! If that's what you were going for, it looks like a winner.

Thanks! I really like it, and it does look redder in indoor light than shows up in the initial photos, which is nice. I might do a bit more experimentation before committing, though, and try to get some more of the direct dye out. I do love the purples and pinks, but I'm so ready for this kind of red now.