Henna Thread, take two

**WednesdayAddams** · September 23rd, 2023, 12:58 AM

Help, I'm having redorexia.

During the day I can clearly see bright copper red over my level 6 hair, but at night in the mirror and also over Zoom meetings (don't ask) it's like the red just...disappears.

Does anyone else's henna do this?

**Nightshade** · September 23rd, 2023, 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by WednesdayAddams

Help, I'm having redorexia.

During the day I can clearly see bright copper red over my level 6 hair, but at night in the mirror and also over Zoom meetings (don't ask) it's like the red just...disappears.

Does anyone else's henna do this?

That's super normal! Henna is a color changing monster and my hair can go very brown indoors to the point where when one of my cowokers finally saw me in full sun she couldn't believe how bright my hair was!

**WednesdayAddams** · September 24th, 2023, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by Nightshade

That's super normal! Henna is a color changing monster and my hair can go very brown indoors to the point where when one of my cowokers finally saw me in full sun she couldn't believe how bright my hair was!

Thank you. I absolutely love your color in your siggie!

**Nightshade** · September 24th, 2023, 12:54 AM

Originally Posted by WednesdayAddams

Thank you. I absolutely love your color in your siggie!

Aww thank you! That's actually it kind of middling? In direct sunlight it turns see-from-space-copper

**Nefcerka** · September 25th, 2023, 03:33 AM

Originally Posted by Nightshade

Aww thank you! That's actually it kind of middling? In direct sunlight it turns see-from-space-copper

Beautiful color and very lovely hair, Nightshade!

**Nightshade** · September 25th, 2023, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Nefcerka

Beautiful color and very lovely hair, Nightshade!

Thank you so much! That was a really deep V cut I did a few years ago to cut out the worst of a shed, but I do love how it looked!

**WednesdayAddams** · October 3rd, 2023, 03:57 PM

I just henna'd again today (over old bleach -- straight-up henna but only for an hour) and I am always struck by how much thicker it makes my hair feel. Each strand just feels "bigger" and more solid somehow. I love this because I need thickness any way I can get it.

**WednesdayAddams** · October 4th, 2023, 07:17 PM

Fresh henna.

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**Celtia** · October 8th, 2023, 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by WednesdayAddams

Help, I'm having redorexia.

During the day I can clearly see bright copper red over my level 6 hair, but at night in the mirror and also over Zoom meetings (don't ask) it's like the red just...disappears.

Does anyone else's henna do this?

It's normal for natural red hair too. My red was never vibrant, just soft and unobtrusive, but certainly red - in natural daylight. Indoors, it had a reddish cast, but not super red. With age and some fading, I had actually started to think of it as brown - and when I needed to meet someone in the evening/indoors for the first time, I said "brown hair" to describe myself.

I've just started using henna and I'm THRILLED to have my "normal" red back - at least outside.

But I have no expectation of red inside, even with all this pretty color covering my whites.

For Zoom meetings - make sure to have something BLUE in the backround (or wear only blue shirts) and nothing RED or ORANGE. Your camera is looking for contrast and doesn't prioritize your hair in any way. It may not fully fix the issue, but should help. There are also some apps that can equalize the color but that's getting a bit technical, especially if controlling background colors works.

(Funny story - I have very pale redhead skin, and my webcam consistently sees it as pure white for Zoom calls. I use a background photo when on Zoom, and rig up a white paper on a swing arm about 4" away from my face. The software hides the white paper when I'm using my background, but it also helps calibrate my face color to NOT be ghost white. It took me a while to figure out how to make that happen, and my first few tries at Zoom calls I looked ghastly - literally.)

**WednesdayAddams** · October 8th, 2023, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Celtia

It's normal for natural red hair too. My red was never vibrant, just soft and unobtrusive, but certainly red - in natural daylight. Indoors, it had a reddish cast, but not super red. With age and some fading, I had actually started to think of it as brown - and when I needed to meet someone in the evening/indoors for the first time, I said "brown hair" to describe myself.

I've just started using henna and I'm THRILLED to have my "normal" red back - at least outside.

But I have no expectation of red inside, even with all this pretty color covering my whites.

For Zoom meetings - make sure to have something BLUE in the backround (or wear only blue shirts) and nothing RED or ORANGE. Your camera is looking for contrast and doesn't prioritize your hair in any way. It may not fully fix the issue, but should help. There are also some apps that can equalize the color but that's getting a bit technical, especially if controlling background colors works.

(Funny story - I have very pale redhead skin, and my webcam consistently sees it as pure white for Zoom calls. I use a background photo when on Zoom, and rig up a white paper on a swing arm about 4" away from my face. The software hides the white paper when I'm using my background, but it also helps calibrate my face color to NOT be ghost white. It took me a while to figure out how to make that happen, and my first few tries at Zoom calls I looked ghastly - literally.)

This is all such amazing advice! Thank you!