Your hair colour - natural, dyed, or henna

[divinedobbie]

I dyed my hair a few times in my early teens over the span of 6 months. I got highlights, then went blonde, dyed back to my natural colour but then someone suggested I'd look great in a darker brown (which went wrong and turned black). Decided to grow out my natural colour again but I couldn't stand looking halloween themed with my faded orange and black hair so 1.5 years later I had the bottom grown out half bleached. I've continued growing out my natural colour for 2.5 years now. Now I'm strongly considering henna but I feel really attached to my natural hair and I don't want to mess that up and can't decide.

So tell me about your experiences with hair colouring. Have you always been natural? Have you, like me, dyed for a short time to then grow out your natural colour or are you an old friend with dye or henna?

[divinedobbie]

Forget to add that these options can mean past or present tense, in the sense that you have used or are currently using:
I have used/currently using henna/indigo/herbs for a SHORT time
I have used/currently using henna/indigo/herbs for a LONG time
I have used/currently using chemical dyes/bleach for a SHORT time
I have used/currently using chemical dyes/bleach for a LONG time

I don't know how to edit polls!

[Larki]

Currently have all virgin hair. I highlighted/bleached mine once like five years ago to slightly darker than platinum, and grew it out immediately - I didn't particularly like being so light, and I was far too lazy to bother with monthly upkeep, anyway. I don't think platinum really suits my skin tone, even though that's what color my hair was until puberty. I like warmer tones better on me.

[Nightshade]

Hennahead for closing in on 13 years

[Islandgrrl]

Hennahead for closing in on 13 years

Hennahead for 7 years.

[martyna_22]

17 days of henna. But it's been long enough for me to fall in love with it. Before that, my hair was all virgin, always.

[DKSABS]

Have been dying my hair bleached blonde for approximately 14 years, but have some spots on the top of my head that are thinning severely now. I have made the decision to switch to henna but couldn't safely go straight from bleached blonde to henna. I have to dye my hair back to dark brown first, in a 2 step process (first, using a semipermanent color to "fill in" the missing pigment in my bleached hair, then seeing how well the semi permanent color holds and then moving on to step 2 - using a permanent color to dye my hair dark brown. I've finished step 1 almost 2 weeks ago (and shocked my coworkers when I showed up at work a brunette instead of a blonde). Step 2 is scheduled for day after tomorrow, when my hairdresser will use the permanent dye in one shade darker than the semipermanent color that's on my news now. So I will be showing up to work next Monday an even darker brunette than I was this week. I'll do my very first henna on the following Thursday night, 19 June, because that is a 3 day weekend for me and I'll have that 3 days to hopefully finish getting through all the possibly wild color changes during the oxidation process. So I'll show up for work the following Monday as a partial redhead. My coworkers are going to be so confused with me wearing a different hair color every week.

[pixldust]

I used chemical dyes for years and years and, oh, years. But I've been growing out my natural colour for nearly a year now and I'll definitely never go back to chemical dyes, they trashed my hair. I'm tempted by henna but the thought of growing another colour out if I don't like it puts me off a bit. I do want to try cassia, but as a gloss.

[two_wheels]

Chopped out henndigo... trying to resist the idea of a henna gloss (I miss the conditioning!) as I feel sure it would be a gateway to full henna.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have had dye in my hair for the last 29 years. I don't enjoy dyeing it and worry about the potential dangers of using hair dyes, but love the colour it gives. Am contemplating gradually weaning myself off the dye - my natural hair colour at this point is shades of light and dark grey......