Can I/should I make my dark brown hair copper?!

[DropStitches]

For what it's worth, I think your flecks of silver are really gorgeous.

I highly suggest not bleaching your hair and then putting henna on. I did that. It was a bad idea. I feel like doing henna on top of bleached hair simultaneously locked in dryness and has blocked out conditioners. I have no proof of that though so your miles may vary.

I hope you find a solution that works for you.

That's really useful to know, jane_marie. You're reminding me how dry and sad my hair once felt after a hairdresser left the bleach on for too long - and, by comparison, how thick and soft my virgin hair feels now. How much did you bleach? I hope your hair is recovering now - it looks lovely in your siggy.

Thank you for the compliment on my silvers, too... I go back and forth on how I feel about them. When I had my hair buzzed, I actually loved the flashes of silver, but now it's starting to grow, sometimes the wiry greys really get me down. I think because it's at a very frumpy length right now, the overall effect is just bad! I have been lurking admiringly around the Salt & Pepper thread, but I don't know if I'm 'there' yet in accepting my own silver streaks. Still, that's very nice to know that to the outside world, they can be attractive, so thank you!

The auburn looked nice, I think the henna will good. I suggest coloring your eyebrows too. I henna mine when I do roots.

Ah, good idea, Obsidian! I've seen photos of your henna about the forum - it looks gorgeous! I think there is a whole section in Nightshade's excellent book about eyebrow dyeing - I must go back to it.

[Obsidian]

Thank you, I did another application yesterday with a better quality henna and the color is amazing, not near as orange as it was.
Eyebrows are as easy to color as hair. The hardest part is getting the cling wrap to stay in place so the henna doesn't dry out.

[DropStitches]

Oh, cool! Can I ask how long you leave the henna on your eyebrows for?

[jane_marie]

That's really useful to know, jane_marie. You're reminding me how dry and sad my hair once felt after a hairdresser left the bleach on for too long - and, by comparison, how thick and soft my virgin hair feels now. How much did you bleach? I hope your hair is recovering now - it looks lovely in your siggy.

No problem. I just thought I would give a warning.

Thanks for the compliment. I ended up just going black with a semi because henna made me look ill. The black has faded though and now it's subtly dark greenish brown in heavy sunlight.

I've pretty much decided not to worry about it. It's damaged, as my hair gets cut it will all get cut off and then I'll have my virgin color.

I guess I should probably update my pic.

[jane_marie]

Oh! and I did a 20 volume developer for 20 minutes with no added heat on my virgin hair which took my hair from dark chocolate to the color of butter.

[Obsidian]

Oh, cool! Can I ask how long you leave the henna on your eyebrows for?

My hair is super light so I only do a hour at most, I've even done 15 minutes and it was enough to color my eyebrows.

Sometimes I even cheat and use a box dye. I can mix up a teaspoon at a time, it doesn't stain my skin and its not so glaring orange.

I'd expect with your dark coloring, you would need longer.

[DropStitches]

Thanks all so much for your super useful feedback and advice! I've currently got a load of henna slathered over my head, so we'll see how it comes out! I decided not to bleach - I don't think I could handle a two-step roots process, and I'm keen not to damage my hair as it grows.

By the way, I used 50g of henna, which I thought would be plenty for my grown-out pixie, nowhere-near-shoulder length hair, but it really wasn't! I guess my hair is pretty thick (a hairdresser cutting my hair once complained to a colleague, 'There's a lot of hair on this one'!) - or perhaps I should have used more liquid in making the mud... I used every last scrap of it, and am still a little bit worried I may have missed some spots. Time will tell! I did enjoy the process, though, it felt very witchy, stirring up this gruesome green-brown slop!

[curly girl fla]

late to the game, but i think the henna is going to look gorgeous on you. i hope you post after pictures. i do eyebrows, too, usually take it off in an hour. i leave it on my head now 2 to 3 hours, depending on how long i can stand it or if i have the time have mine on now, too!

[Obsidian]

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I always mix up the whole 100 gram box, any leftovers can be froze.
I make mine the consistency of yellow mustard but I put it in a squeeze bottle so I can easily do roots. I know some people like it thicker. I also prefer to apply it to damp hair, helps spread it around a bit better.

If your henna seems too dry on your head or you find a spot that isn't as covered as you'd like, add a little water and massage in.

[DropStitches]

late to the game, but i think the henna is going to look gorgeous on you. i hope you post after pictures. i do eyebrows, too, usually take it off in an hour. i leave it on my head now 2 to 3 hours, depending on how long i can stand it or if i have the time have mine on now, too!

Thank you very much, curly girl fla - and a pleasure to be hennaing alongside you! I might mix up a separate little mini batch for my eyebrows, as I used every scrap of my mud on my hair. Do you find henna relaxes your curls at all? They look majestic in your avatar pic!

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I always mix up the whole 100 gram box, any leftovers can be froze.
I make mine the consistency of yellow mustard but I put it in a squeeze bottle so I can easily do roots. I know some people like it thicker. I also prefer to apply it to damp hair, helps spread it around a bit better.

If your henna seems too dry on your head or you find a spot that isn't as covered as you'd like, add a little water and massage in.

These are all excellent tips, Obsidian! The instructions I was following said to mix it to the consistency of pancake batter, but it's been a long time since I made pancakes, and I wasn't confident I got it right. Yellow mustard, on the other hand, I do know! I guess these are the sort of things you only figure out in doing it.