questions about cassia/senna on grey hair

**Eruwaedhiel** · January 13th, 2015, 11:59 PM

My mother has grey hair and she has been thinking about dyeing it because she's looking for a job. She is wanting either a light brown or light blonde color, (She can't use henna, as she has a cool skin tone and red of any kind looks bad on her) so after some reading, we decided to try cassia and see if it worked on her hair. I ordered the "senna powder" from herbco.com (monterey bay spice company) as suggested in another thread, and we mixed it up with some tea last night, let it dye release, and tried it today. She left it on her hair for around 4 hours, and it did leave color, (although it didn't really cover the grey well) however, the color is YELLOW. Bright, highlighter yellow. I was wondering, does the color tone down a bit after a few days like henna does? If not, and we try it again, is there any way to make the color warmer and more natural? Or could it be this specific powder?

I also ordered some "blonde henna" to try if the senna didn't work, has anyone else tried it from that company? Is it a more natural color? Is it red at all? (I do know that isn't what it actually is, but thought it might still be ok since we are not necessarily looking for something all natural, if none of this works she's just going to go ahead and use a box dye. we just need to avoid red like the plague.)

Here are some pictures of her hair:

before: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...4&d=1421214399
after: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...chmentid=15225

**Anje** · January 14th, 2015, 02:55 PM

Hm, that's very yellow. Senna is known to wash out at least partially over time, but I don't think it's quite in the course of a week... Still, a couple good clarifies will hopefully at least fade that down considerably.

I really wish you had strand-tested it before putting it on her head for 4 hours. A shorter application might have tinted it more subtly, but senna definitely goes yellow when you put it on strong.

There might be herbal things you can try. Amla perhaps -- IIRC it makes sort of a subtle, cool brown that would show on very light hair. However, STRAND TEST before you do anything else! Heads are not good places to experiment on if you're not prepared love surprising outcomes!

ETA: For what it's worth, I have tried and liked Adore dyes. They're cheap and non-damaging in the same way Manic Panic is. Unlike Manic Panic, they come in "normal human" colors as well as some funky shades.

**Nightshade** · January 14th, 2015, 03:15 PM

The good news is that the yellow will probably tone down a bit in a hurry

Amla alone might not give you much, but I've had some promising results with walnut hull powder + amla (Sadly I don't have the pictures handy, but I'll dig them up at home).

I'm wracking my brain but can't think of the username, but we had a member here who had great success blending in her grays with raspberry leaf tea. She'd simmer it down and then paint it on her grays with a brush (I think) and let it dry. It took a little bit to build up, but it was very impressive.

If anyone can help me, I think it was on the old boards.

**Nightshade** · January 14th, 2015, 03:21 PM

ETA: Here's a few links to poke through, but raspberry and sage seem to be contenders:

Naturally Darkening hair?

Tea Rinse

Pictures of Gray hair covered with sage?

Non-Henna Alternatives for Coloring Gray (Pics)

**Eruwaedhiel** · January 14th, 2015, 04:39 PM

Thanks for the tips, We have some catnip we could possibly try, it came from the pet store though, is that ok? I've also got some amla, although I'm a little confused as to how that works. I know it darkens your hair slightly when used alone since I've tried it before, and I know it gives browner tones to henna, but do you think it might do anything to cassia?

I did suggest a strand test, but mom didn't want to take to time to do it, she just said if she didn't like the color she'd dye over it. She has a very all or nothing attitude!

**MonkeyWench** · January 16th, 2015, 08:15 AM

Eruwaedhiel, I used amla to tone down the yellow from a cassia treatment. It worked beautifully. My hair is now a neutral to sh Taylor Swift sort of color. I love it! I just made a snowy moon treatment with about a tablespoon of amla and also about a tablespoon of cassia, Suave Morroccan oil conditioner, aloe gel and honey. No dye rel ease of course. Left on for a couple of hours.hte shine and curls were a great bonus! HTH.

**Eruwaedhiel** · January 23rd, 2015, 06:18 PM

Just updating with some results. The yellow had faded quite a bit by the end of the week, still visible, but not nearly as bright. We ended up using herbco's "blonde henna" (4 tbs) amla powder (1 tbs) 1 tbs lemon juice and enough strong catnip/chamomile tea to make a smooth mix. I let the mix sit out for 12 hours, and then applied to the hair and let it sit 3 hours before washing out. Interestingly enough, although there were no signs at all of dye release when doing a palm test, it does seem to have done something to Mom's hair. It still doesn't cover the grey as much would like, but the color is much better: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...6&d=1422058610

We're going to try it one more time, then if it still doesn't look covered enough to her she'll probably get a box dye, but it was fun experimenting with it!

**Auburngirl** · March 19th, 2015, 04:11 AM

Eruwaedhiel , Wow! Your mom's hair looks beautiful! The color would match my light brown beautifully! Thank you so much! You gave me hope.

**Auni** · March 19th, 2015, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Eruwaedhiel

Just updating with some results. The yellow had faded quite a bit by the end of the week, still visible, but not nearly as bright. We ended up using herbco's "blonde henna" (4 tbs) amla powder (1 tbs) 1 tbs lemon juice and enough strong catnip/chamomile tea to make a smooth mix. I let the mix sit out for 12 hours, and then applied to the hair and let it sit 3 hours before washing out. Interestingly enough, although there were no signs at all of dye release when doing a palm test, it does seem to have done something to Mom's hair. It still doesn't cover the grey as much would like, but the color is much better: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...6&d=1422058610

We're going to try it one more time, then if it still doesn't look covered enough to her she'll probably get a box dye, but it was fun experimenting with it!

I love the color! I henna but have considered switching to amla/cassia, don't know if I want to be a red head at 80! This does give me hope! Thank you and tell your mom her hair looks great! You did a great job helping her!