The henna/cassia thread

[poli]

poli, I can't tell you anything about sedr or cassia, but there should be no need to worry about henna "pulling out" a deposit-only dye. You may lose a little color just from the process of rinsing the henna out, but no more so than you would doing that thorough of a wash/soak ordinarily.

Thank you, so I think I will wait till rest of the deposit dyes fade a bit more, the "rose red" is still there making parts of the hair almost cherry color. Then I'll have better idea what I'm working with. From experience it shouldn't be too hard to blend new henna with older more saturated parts of hair.

[shelomit]

Thank you, so I think I will wait till rest of the deposit dyes fade a bit more, the "rose red" is still there making parts of the hair almost cherry color. Then I'll have better idea what I'm working with. From experience it shouldn't be too hard to blend new henna with older more saturated parts of hair.

Sounds good. Best of luck!

[stardust lady]

LemonadeCandy- just wanted to say I'm in the same boat as you and backing off 100% henna and down to 30-40%. I don't have ash blonde hair, but mine is like dark reddish blond, or maybe light reddish brown. So a little darker than yours. I have done mild henna glosses, a 35% henna/cassia mix, a 50/50, a 75%, and 100% henna, so I can tell you how they compare for me.

I shaved my head a year and a half ago and stopped going in the sun for the most part without a hat, so my hair is all at it's darkest level, which is maybe like a 7. The 35% mix didn't darken it much, but it made it golden and coppery, but not super obviously red. I had a hair dresser at the time say that she loved my copper hair but I should really "go red", so it's not remotely close to the actual color red. The 100% was very close to the color red, but very dark. The cassia did indeed act as like a reflective, brightening agent I think. My hair looks a bit duller and doesn't glow orange in the sun like it used to. It looks redder in artificial light, but it looks more fake and obviously dyed, whereas most people thought the 35% was natural.

So, to answer your question, diluting with cassia (preferably senna if you can get some) will definitely make the roots appear brighter than the 100% henna could make them appear. I'm backing my mix back down slowly, to avoid obvious transition lines, so that it's a more subtle ombre effect. Something good that you might experience is fading after your first application. Perhaps I read wrong, but you only applied henna the one time? Mine always faded a lot at first, and I had to do many full head applications. So if you only dye roots from now on with lighter mixes, the transition to the ends which were dyed with 100% henna may very well match soon enough. Not a guarantee but it happens to a lot of people.

[poli]

I love my 50% henna 50% sedr/other herbs hair after it oxidized Trying not to think about root application for now, it's going to be a pain not to overlap too much. I ordered cassia and for roots I'm thinking about 60%cassia 40% henna. We will see.

[Liz_H]

Will the mud dye release about the same time in a closed container? I'd like to mix it, then pour into applicator bottles. This will get the kitchen mess done all at once.

[Liz_H]

I'm debating adding some sedr to my henna/cassia blend. Perhaps this would condition more since my mix is only 9% henna. By the way, if I do a pure sedr application, how long should I leave it on my hair

[Liz_H]

Duplicate post

[shelomit]

Will the mud dye release about the same time in a closed container? I'd like to mix it, then pour into applicator bottles. This will get the kitchen mess done all at once.

I don't believe this would affect the amount of time it takes the dye to release--in my experience, that has pretty much exclusively to do with the individual batch of henna and introduction of acid. I would caution, though, that you will lose the use of some of the henna if there is a lot of open space at the tops of the bottles. It's always preferable to cover the surface of the henna after it's mixed with waxed paper, plastic wrap, etc. to keep the air off of it. The more surface area touching the air, the larger proportion of the mixture will have oxidized by the time of dye release, and the less potent the batch of mixed henna as a whole will be.

[Liz_H]

I've always mixed my mud fairly thick to avoid drips. Today's was much thinner, in order to use a squeeze bottle. The thinner mud was so much easier to apply, and rinsed out much easier. I did get drips after the first hour, but that's a worthwhile tradeoff. I'll stick to this pancake batter thickness in future.

I've always been so careful to avoid staining anything when I color my hair. Today it occurred to me that with only 10% henna, I really don't need to be quite so worried! I've never had a problem cleaning up a tiny spill in the past.

... It's always preferable to cover the surface of the henna after it's mixed with waxed paper, plastic wrap, etc. to keep the air off of it. The more surface area touching the air, the larger proportion of the mixture will have oxidized by the time of dye release, and the less potent the batch of mixed henna as a whole will be.

For some reason I never thought about this. I quess when I used freshly mixed henna right before bed it wasn't a concern.

[shelomit]

For some reason I never thought about this. I quess when I used freshly mixed henna right before bed it wasn't a concern.

I notice this most when using multiple containers to mix henna. When we spend holidays with my grandmother, usually all the aunties and cousins and everybody are applying henna at once. We have to mix up a whole lot, and the containers that aren't full up to the top/cannot be covered airtight at the surface of the mixture have a deeper layer of reddish, fully oxidized henna at the surface by the time it is ready to use. The same is also true of wider-mouthed containers versus smaller ones, FWIW.