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Thread: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

  1. #1
    Member Agnieszka108's Avatar
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    Red face Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    I would like to try henna for the first time and am based in Victoria, Canada! I've been browsing the Henna sooq Canada website and am curious about the difference between Rajasthani, Moroccan and Yemeni henna. I've read that pure henna should have a fine, sugar-like consistency.

    I am also curious if all of you knowledgeable folks would recommend adding cassia/Ayurvedic herbs to the mixture and why.

    I have very dark brown hair (with slight red highlights in the light) but the colour I LOVE the most is fiery orange/copper/auburn/poppy red, NOT cherry cola and not just a tint that shows up only in sunlight. I also have a few (20ish) partially grey hairs. The ends of my hair are a slightly lighter brown d/t lots of sun time in the summer. Wondering if this is at all possible without harsh chemicals/bleach as I would like to keep it natural. Also my hair tends to be quite thick and coarse d/t Chinese ancestry on my Dad's side.

    I am also curious wondering, how many of you that used henna to dye your hair red are now growing it out/prefer your natural colour? Seems like root touch-ups also might be a bit of an ordeal and I can tend to be a low-maintenance type of person, although on the plus side this quarantine business might make it easier to engage in DIY home projects!

    Thanks so much in advance for any tips for this henna newbie!

  2. #2

    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    To get a really bright red, you'd need to start off with lighter-colored hair, unfortunately. I'm the same way... would love flame-red, but would have to bleach (and I'm both too worried about damage, and don't want a two-step process for doing my roots).

    However, you might check out the thread about lightening your hair with Sun-In, as I think some consider this less-harsh than one-time bleaching.

    Root touch-ups just aren't that bad, though I admit I tend to procrastinate on them until I have several inches to do.
    Putting it in my signature because I have to say it so often:
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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    Unfortunately, unless you have light hair henna won't give you very fiery results. On the other hand if you decide to grow it out maybe the roots won't be as different? I am guessing here. I agree with Kat that some lightening spray would be less harsh and less maintenance than full head bleach.

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    LHC FairyGodMum lapushka's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    Henna is very unpredictable, it might turn out a cola red, you never know, so do make a couple different percentage mixes (with your herbs and cassia), and try it on shed hair. For this, collect a week to a couple weeks' worth of sheds first. Then do some test strands to see which recipe will give you the color you want.

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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    My favorite henna seller offers two kind of henna: both are from Pakistan but have different lawsone content.
    One is a golden red, a copper penny/Orange marmalade kind of shade (the one that contains less lawsone), while the other Is a deeper wine red, more burgundy/cherry cola (higher lawsone content).
    I really loved the golden red, if not layered over and over kept pretty vibrant and light on my medium brown hair.
    But It was an auburn, not a light copper, definitively.
    I don't like cassia on myself, it's too sensitive to mineral residues in tap water and in general I don't think it's convenient for a dark haired person to dilute the pigment too much.
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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    If you want to amp up the orange/golden/yellows turmeric dyes hair too. not sure how permanent it is, or if I can be mixed with Henna. But if you need hair experiments, I can find you hair experiments.

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  7. #7

    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    I'm trying henna for the first time too and also want fiery red hair.

    I actually have fiery red hair from years of dying it, but hate the way it damages, fades, and have never been totally happy with the colour, so I'm going to give henna a try.

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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    Quote Originally Posted by Bellalla View Post
    I'm trying henna for the first time too and also want fiery red hair.

    I actually have fiery red hair from years of dying it, but hate the way it damages, fades, and have never been totally happy with the colour, so I'm going to give henna a try.
    You'll love it, then. I always got closer to the colour I wanted with henna and it made it feel better, not worse, with almost no fading at all. Super awesome.

  9. #9
    Member ynne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    Quote Originally Posted by Agnieszka108 View Post
    I have very dark brown hair (with slight red highlights in the light) but the colour I LOVE the most is fiery orange/copper/auburn/poppy red, NOT cherry cola and not just a tint that shows up only in sunlight. I also have a few (20ish) partially grey hairs. The ends of my hair are a slightly lighter brown d/t lots of sun time in the summer. Wondering if this is at all possible without harsh chemicals/bleach as I would like to keep it natural. Also my hair tends to be quite thick and coarse d/t Chinese ancestry on my Dad's side.
    Hi! We seem to be in a similar situation. Unfortunately, I love vibrant hair colors, and my hair is also naturally dark brown so I feel you. It still looks nice without bleach, and it's clearly a warm color even in shadows, but it's not vibrant. (You can see my album for photos of the results, with the ends bleached before henna.) I'm still unsure what I'll do with my hair, but bleaching after henna is also an option (but only with pure henna, and of course with strand testing! my strand test turned out great, though too pure-orange to my liking). You can search the forum for natural ways to lighten hair, but it doesn't really seem to do much, the change (if any) would be probably very subtle.
    I also don't think henna can achieve anything resembling poppy red, but copper should be doable if you figure out how to lighten your hair, as it turns coppery by default.

    Sorry if this is not what you want to hear, I think henna's benefits and the colors it offers can still be worth it, it's just good to know what to expect.
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    Member Khristopher's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trying Henna for the first time during self-isolation

    Hi there! As a henna user with very dark brown hair, if you want to see actual color, you need to bleach it, there's no other way. I henna my hair since 2013 and it only shows on my whites, the rest is just a little warmer (slight orange tint). You can check my pics on my profile to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. I'm in for the lovely conditioning effects more than the color at this point. If your ends are lighter as you say, it might show more there, but it's not going to be anything dramatic as you might expect.
    As lapushka already said, do a strand test, see if you like the results before messing with your whole head. If you decide you want henna and a bright color, Nightshade has a wonderfull thread here on her experience lightening with sun-in.
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