Which henna should I choose?

[Serama]

Hello! I hope this post is OK, I was hoping for some advice on choosing a henna.




I have virgin shoulder-length light brown high porosity hair which I want to dye with henna. I used to bleach it blonde and have since grown it out and had it cut off, I've also used no heat on it. I'm happy that I've grown it out but it still damages easily as it's very fine, I'm also not a fan of the colour. I've read about the benefits of henna and I want to go for it. I want long hair but I'll never get it as my hair is too delicate, I'm hoping henna would improve it's strength and help me reach a longer length.

My only worry is, when I used to make my hair blonde and there were warm orangey tones still left after toning, it would look awful with my skin tone. Very warm tones don't suit me. I love the 'cherry-cola' look, I think the unatural purpley tones and cooler red colour would work. I've seen the 'cherry-cola' thread but most of the photos aren't there any more, (not sure if dead links or it's just because I'm new?)

I love the colour here: http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59515a09.jpg (Found in google images, sorry I think this photo is from the big cherry-cola thread but I couldn't find the actual post)...




These are two hennas I think might work but I can't decide between, Nightblooming's 'Enyo Goddess' and Hennasooq's 'Red Raj'.

The Nightblooming has these ingredients:
Henna- Rajastani (Lawsonia Inermis), Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), Elder Berry (Sambucus canadensis), Beet Root (Beta vulgaris), Triphala powder (amalaki, bibhitaki and haritaki)


Whilst the Hennasooq just has:
100% Organic Red Rajasthani Henna




I feel as though the 'Enyo' is my best bet because it has indigo and that will create the purpley-tones... But I've found photos of people after using the Red Raj and getting lovely results, I took a screenshot here... ( https://imgur.com/FZQJiHH I love how this looks!) ...and I wonder if it's better for the hair to have just henna and not any other ingredients.





Thank you in advance, I'd really appreciate any help. I know it's permanent and I will do strand tests first, I just want to get as much advice as possible. (((:

[lapushka]

If very warm tones do not suit you, I would think long & hard about henna, because it is very warm!

And always strand test. Start collecting your shed hair for about a couple weeks to a month, make them into balls, and test various recipes (henna with some cassia for instance) on those sheds.

Do not put it straight on your head. Henna outcome is very unpredictable, hence why you need to strand test beforehand.

Good luck!

Be careful also when using some indigo because you can never bleach and probably never use a chemical dye on that hair, as any bleach (developer) will turn it green/blue. There is no getting indigo out of your hair once it is in!

[akurah]

The henna you should choose is none. You can get the cherry cola shade with your starting color, but your roots will forever haunt you because they will typically be a warmer color. If you have any ashy tones to your hair, it looks 100% worse.

I used to keep my hair cherry cola henna red. My hair, I'm reasonably sure, is darker than yours, so your problems will be worse than they were for me.

[shelomit]

"My only worry is, when I used to make my hair blonde and there were warm orangey tones still left after toning, it would look awful with my skin tone. Very warm tones don't suit me" --> henna, even in combination with indigo, will give you reddish highlights. It tones down a little in brightness within a couple weeks of application, but the highlights are permanent.

If you use pure henna on light brown hair, you are probably going to wind up with something pretty coppery as an end result. I'd say the Hennasooq option is right out for you, then. You could try using the Nightblooming one with indigo, but 1) those reddish highlights are still going to be there, and 2) applying henna with indigo is much more difficult to manage than just applying henna, because the indigo dye is not active for very long.

I use henna primarily for the conditioning/strengthening effect; for me, it works extremely well. I honestly don't much care what color my hair is. I'd give henna a try if you care more about the strengthening, but if you care more about color and don't want warm highlights (or, on light brown hair, probably an entire head of "warm"-toned hair), it's not for you.

[MusicalSpoons]

The Nightblooming is 100% healthy for your hair.

The Red Raj is henna, pure henna, and you'll certainly only get the darker colours with multiple applications. It is possible to do multiple applications in quick succession (I think someone did 15 applications within a couple of months) but your hair probably won't be able to handle the excessive manipulation of something like that as you say it is very delicate.

I don't have experience of henna but I will say if I've learned anything about it in my time here, it's that it is permanent and you absolutely must strand test before committing to anything! However, akurah makes an excellent point about the warm tones, and even strand testing probably won't show you really how it will look with your skin colouring unless you test A LOT of hair to be able to pin it up both sides of your face ... I don't even know how well that would work.

The other option is seeing how it goes with using henna in just your ends, if it looks okay with your current colour without the problem of clashing with your skin tone, though perhaps only once you're beyond shoulder length.

The other thing is, what will help most with growing out hair is how you wear it - if you wear it in styles that protect it (especially the ends) then you'll retain more length than if you wear it loose

[There are other herbal conditioning options, but they don't have the benefit of added structural strength like henna does because the lawsone molecule - which is what gives the colour - bonds to the keratin already in your hair. The other herbal conditioning options don't have that.]

[Obsidian]

I have to agree, if you don't like orange then stay away from henna.
Not only will it take multiple applications to reach the deeper burgundy color but the orange will still shine through in the sun.

It is absolutely possible to grown fine, delicate hair long. My mon has waist length fine, floaty, cob webby hair. Its so delicate it breaks if you look at it wrong.
She wears it on a braid or bun mostly but sometimes down. If she can grow long, so can you.

[Serama]

Hey, thank you for all the replies! I appreciate the advice.

I had my heart set on henna for sorting out the problem I'm having. My natural hair is a warm brown, not ashy at all. I think it looks coppery in the sun and cooler inside. I really don't like it. It looked much nicer blonde which is upsetting because I've spent the last few of years growing it out. I stopped dying it blonde because it was getting harder and harder to keep it from going brassy. Since growing my hair out, I've realised that it kept going brassy quickly because my natural colour has become so warm, (I've been dying it blonde since I was 12). Up until I was about 5 I had platinum blonde hair and then it started getting darker and less ashy. When I was dying my hair, the only blonde that looked nice was light and ashy, not warm.. which was a lot of upkeep, and very damaging.

My hair is light at the roots so I get that the orangey roots would be a problem for me, I've read that it does fade and that some people just don't apply henna to the roots after the initial dye and that can help.

I really want hair with a cooler tone. In some photos I've looked at, the highlights in people's hair look red.. but a cooler, more unnatural red...



I'm not sure if the fact that my natural hair is warm-toned will make any difference to whats been said or not but I thought it was worth mentioning. Thank you in advance for any more feedback, I will hold off buying any henna for now at least. :P

The other thing is, what will help most with growing out hair is how you wear it - if you wear it in styles that protect it (especially the ends) then you'll retain more length than if you wear it loose

I love the up-do in your avatar! I've always thought that kind of thing would be impossible for my hair because it's so fine, and there's not much of it...

[poli]

You have very pretty hair. It's quite auburn and pure henna will sure amplify it. If you going for more ruby red effect I suggest trying deposit only dyes like Manic Panic or Directions. They seam to be popular but some people never heard of this option so you might want to look into that. On natural hair color the effect should be more like toner and it washes out if you don't like it.

[lapushka]

Your hair is really pretty. I know sometimes we don't see it, it took me ages to get "used" to my ashy tone as well, I dyed it all the colors I could to get some color I could live with.

I am going to be a major Debbie Downer and say, if you don't like that shade on you, you are definitely not going to like henna, because it brings out even more red.

[Aeris]

I agree with others about avoiding henna, but have you considered cassia as an alternative, if you are mostly wanting the strength benefits? I also second the suggestion about looking into deposit-only dyes like manic panic. I think your color is lovely, but I understand wanting a change, and I agree that the cooler purple shades would be pretty on you.