QuoteReplyTopic: Henna-ing hair to black Posted: January 08 2008 at 8:17pm
For the new year, I'm set on dyeing my naturally darkish brown hair to black using henna. Found a reliable and well-known retailer called Lush here in the UK which sells dark henna so I'll go with that. Firstly though I need some advice, eg what I should avoid, how often I would need to henna my hair for a consistent colour with no roots, etc. Fire away, please. :)
valkyrie_grrl
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You want to ideally use a mixture of indigo and henna to color hair black. You won't get black from henna alone (reddish type highlights). There is an awesome henna/indigo coloring page. The only thing I can say is to avoid any "henna" sold in a beauty supply shop, as it is usually not henna, but what is normally referred to as compound henna. It's not a natural, but a chemical product. There may be retailers in the UK that sell body art quality henna & indigo and this is what you want. Indian grocery stores sometimes sell henna, but indigo's not a part of their culture as far as I know, so finding it might be more difficult.
They have a listing of places that sell henna & other herbs for hair coloring online. I have read that dying via indigo/henna is a messy process, but it's always intrigued me!
The 'black' henna that Lush here sell in the UK has Indigo in it, according to the product details. Would that help.
How permanent is it, just in case? I'm quite set on going black, but we never know in this world. Not that it would be a dramatic change going my natural shade to black, admittedly.
carla-b
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I would really check the henna for hair site I posted. They are the experts on henna and indigo. Good luck.
As far as I know, henna and indigo are fairly permanent. I'm not sure about the Lush henna, as I understand it's a bar that you chip/shred and create your haircolor mixture, but I have heard that henna and indigo are horribly messy. It's one of the things that's kept me from trying it. Also henna and indigo have different dye release times. Usually you mix up henna, let it stand overnight and then mix in indigo right before you use the mixture to do a black color.
Why Henna? It's so hard to get henna out of the hair. Most contain metallic salts that react with other hair colors. You can't bleach it. Most color removers don't work on it. Just be aware of what you are getting into, which is a very long term commitment.
Why not go black with a normal hair dye like L'oreal Preference or even better a demipermanent like Clairol Natural Instincts or L'oreal Colorspa? These will allow you to stay black for as long as you want and then use a color remover to get it out when you are tired of it.
Why not go black with a normal hair dye like L'oreal Preference or even better a demipermanent like Clairol Natural Instincts or L'oreal Colorspa? These will allow you to stay black for as long as you want and then use a color remover to get it out when you are tired of it.�
Ah, a demi-permanent ones sounds best bet. Didn't know that a colour remover could get the colour out when the time comes.
Demi-permanent means 24 or so shampoos, right? The only thing that stopped me 'taking the plunge' with such hair colours is because they contained hydrogen peroxide when looking at the contents, so I was concerned that my natural colour underneath would be lightened, and look odd if I decided to let the dyed colour fade/wash out. If that's not an issue I'll go for it!
However, must say that we don't get Natural Instincts (according to Clairol's UK website) or Loreal Colorspa so I'll look for a good alternative.
PerfectBrunette
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Well, demipermanents do have some hydrogen peroxide but very little. Unlike permanents they are free of ammonia though so they are better for your hair. Also they won't lighten so much as permanents so they are really best for going darker. Hope you can find a good alternative in the UK. Best of luck to you!
valkyrie_grrl
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Body Art Quality henna is different from the "henna" that is sold at beauty supply stores, which can contain metallic salts. This is one reason henna has gotten a bad rap. There is a lot of misinformation due to manufacturers calling products henna that are not natural.
Lush is body art quality henna. I will agree that henna and indigo are a major commitment. You will most likely have to grow it out if and when you decide to try a different color other than black or dark brown.
Hope this helps!
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