Removing henna?

[jane_marie]

I am having a major case of henna remorse. Has anyone tried something akin to this method to remove henna from hair?

Thanks.

Update - Despite my initial tenacity I was unable to remove the henna from my hair entirely. I did lighten due to coconut oil conditioning treatments and another treatment I did. Ultimately I gave up befor trying anything that could truly damage my hair. Since I dislike the color I will be dying over it with more hendigo to create a brown because i don't want to risk green coloration or a chemical cut from not removing all of the indigo.

[Joules]

This website is misleading. They provide misinformation about henna (they make it seem like almost all kinds of henna contain metallic salts, and, well, no it's not like that), and they show pictures after henna removal treatment and color. And their explanation of how exactly vodka removes henna is also wrong on many levels.

If there was a real way to remove henna, ladies on this forum would definitely know about it. There is no such way, so if you really resent your hennaed hair, welcome to the growing-out club.

[jane_marie]

This website is misleading. They provide misinformation about henna (they make it seem like almost all kinds of henna contain metallic salts, and, well, no it's not like that), and they show pictures after henna removal treatment and color. And their explanation of how exactly vodka removes henna is also wrong on many levels.

If there was a real way to remove henna, ladies on this forum would definitely know about it. There is no such way, so if you really resent your hennaed hair, welcome to the growing-out club.

Oh man that's terrible. My stylist said he would be able to remove it since it had no metallic salts. Should I not believe him then?

Edit: Also, I found this post from LHC in 2012. Has this been debunked?

[BerrySara]

I am having a major case of henna remorse. Has anyone tried something akin to this method to remove henna from hair?

Thanks.

May I ask why you are having henna remorse? is it due to color or how it feels in your hair/dryness etc?

On Hair Dye Forum this post may be of interest: https://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=9326.0.

There are other threads on removing Henna as well on Hair Dye Forum if you do a search there. Some successful, most not.

[jane_marie]

May I ask why you are having henna remorse? is it due to color or how it feels in your hair/dryness etc?

On Hair Dye Forum this post may be of interest: https://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=9326.0.

There are other threads on removing Henna as well on Hair Dye Forum if you do a search there. Some successful, most not.

Thank you for the link!

To answer your question, I have an unusual case of henna remorse. I have naturally espresso toned hair and wanted an auburn. I had tried henna before but due to my natural depth of color the henna barely showed up (only on my natural sun bleached areas and then washed out entirely in less than a month. I then decided to bleach prior to henna to make the color more vibrant. I ended up bleaching too light but still (stupidly) dyed over it with henna. My hair (shockingly) feels great and looks shiny. However, it was a stupid idea. Due to the bleach I have a huge line of demarcation of about 1/4 inch showing and I want it gone. I know that in order to fix it I will have to dye over it in the end. As I said, I have spoke to my sylist about it and he has assured me he can fix it. However, I would rather do it myself because... money... and I'm an ex hair stylist so admittedly there's a bit of pride involved as well.

[BerrySara]

Thank you for the link!

To answer your question, I have an unusual case of henna remorse. I have naturally espresso toned hair and wanted an auburn. I had tried henna before but due to my natural depth of color the henna barely showed up (only on my natural sun bleached areas and then washed out entirely in less than a month. I then decided to bleach prior to henna to make the color more vibrant. I ended up bleaching too light but still (stupidly) dyed over it with henna. My hair (shockingly) feels great and looks shiny. However, due to the bleach I have a huge line of demarcation of about 1/4 inch showing and I want it gone. I know that in order to fix it I will have to dye over it in the end. As I said, I have spoke to my sylist about it and he has assured me he can fix it. However, I would rather do it myself because... money.

Okay, I understand. I don't think you can get it out without some serious damage whether you use multiple applications of ColorB4 (or some other variation) or bleach. Also, everything I read says it will take multiple applications over time with lots of conditioning in between. So in the end it may be cheaper to have the stylist fix it, though I am not entirely sure what he plans to do other than dye over it with a much darker ashy color (which I would imagine you could just do yourself). This girl dyed dark hair dye over her orange Henna, though she didn't like her end results - too dark for her liking but it still worked. https://youtu.be/FjgWpXtoTEk

Also, I think you mentioned in a different thread (I could be mistaken) that you used Indigo to darken the Henna? Well that would take the bleach option out as it would likely result in turning part of your hair green - at least some members here have experienced that. If you do go to the stylist, do mention Indigo. If you haven't used it, totally disregard this portion.

[jane_marie]

Okay, I understand. I don't think you can get it out without some serious damage whether you use multiple applications of ColorB4 (or some other variation) or bleach. Also, everything I read says it will take multiple applications over time with lots of conditioning in between. So in the end it may be cheaper to have the stylist fix it, though I am not entirely sure what he plans to do other than dye over it with a much darker ashy color (which I would imagine you could just do yourself).

Also, I think you mentioned in a different thread (I could be mistaken) that you used Indigo to darken the Henna? Well that would take the bleach option out as it would likely result in turning part of your hair green - at least some members here have experienced that. If you do go to the stylist, make sure to mention Indigo. If you haven't used it, totally disregard this portion.

I did use an indigo mix. However, as I just mentioned in another post I'm pretty sure that oiling has released it. I oiled a week after hendigo and had a good degree of auburn come out in in the tub (and my towel).

I'm honestly strongly considering dying over it. Luckily, my hair has always been unusually resilient. So, I guess I'm not concerned about damaging it. Ideally, I'd like to work to remove as much of the henna as possible prior to coloring it. Of course, I'll be doing strand tests along theway to minimize damage and avoid green tones. I'm just hoping there is a chance because I can't be going out with people I went to hair school with and be seen with a demarcation line this severe. haha

[BerrySara]

I did use an indigo mix. However, as I just mentioned in another post I'm pretty sure that oiling has released it. I oiled a week after hendigo and had a good degree of auburn come out in in the tub (and my towel).

I'm honestly strongly considering dying over it. Luckily, my hair has always been unusually resilient. So, I guess I'm not concerned about damaging it. Ideally, I'd like to work to remove as much of the henna as possible prior to coloring it. Of course, I'll be doing strand tests along theway to minimize damage and avoid green tones. I'm just hoping there is a chance because I can't be going out with people I went to hair school with and be seen with a demarcation line this severe. haha

If the oiling worked for you and since its harmless, maybe keep doing those until it no longer continues to fade or make a difference. At least you will have taken out as much as you could before moving on to dying it or other method.

Edit: Also, there are many who are far more experienced with all of this than I am so hopefully they can chip in with some of that wisdom.

[jane_marie]

If the oiling worked for you and since its harmless, maybe keep doing those until it no longer continues to fade or make a difference. At least you will have taken out as much as you could before moving on to dying it or other method.

Edit: Also, there are many who are far more experienced with all of this than I am so hopefully they can chip in with some of that wisdom.

I think alternating between oiling and a clarifying shampoo might be the best method of getting me to a clean slate.

I know people seem to think henna removal is impossible but right now I'm going to school for bio-remediation. I'm learning how to use bacteria to clean up toxic waste, mold to breakdown plastic, and mushrooms to clean up oil spills. With all that in mind it's hard for me to believe that there is no way at all to get the henna coating my hair off safely.

No task is impossible but many are an enigma. haha

Edit: The way I see it I just have to find a safe way to break the lawsone molecule apart. Though that's likely easier said than done.

[Melkharesa]

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried or heard of the method used here? https://www.hennahut.com/lighten_hair_naturally/

It involves saturating the hair with a baking soda / water mix and then the next day putting lemon juice in for 30 mins, then washing.

It's not removal as such, but lightening. It seems to me like this method would be really damaging - can anyone offer insight (many of you ladies seem so knowledgeable about hair science).

I want to start using semi permanent dyes over my henna but would like to try "removing" some first. Doesn't have to be all. Last night I did an overnight oiling and I think that has removed my most recent application (about 3 weeks ago).

I'm kinda worried though that if I end up lightening it, my roots will be darker and I'm not confident lightening my roots, I'll probably end up with a band or something.