Hey, I already asked this question on the color board, but they seem to not like henna much. So, is it bad? Cause everything I've heard is usually good, saying it 'strengthens' the hair, makes it look better ect. The only difficult part would be coming up with a perfect mixture to make the henna(which is red-orange) more of a cooler tone(more true red rather than burgundy, I'm a cool tone, but leaning toward neutral) and I hear you can add a little indigo to make that happen. So really, is henna bad? I know it's messy but thats ok. Thank you guys! Sorry if this question isn't really related to long hair =/. Although it kinda is cause I hate my nat. color, and only bright reds or blondes look good, and i will not bleach cause I want longer hair. Thank you for any help!

Tracy

I loooove henna. It was Prabda henna from Everyday Mehndi, used on only a portion of my hair, but it looked great and it's lasted (for the most part) for the past month. I've retained about 75% of the color since the application. I would recommend doing indigo and henna in different steps if you were to do both,

but in your case, you'd only be making it "cooler". Indigo would probably be too drastic.

How about adding herbs such as cloves, or using warm black tea in your mix?

Amla might also make the red-orange more muted.

Hope this helps

Anais

ETA: Henna has not changed the texture or feel of my hair, as far as I can tell, but then again, it hasn't changed the texture or feel of my hair.  It does not damage hair at all. The most important thing is to test it on a hair blob from your brush or your carpet, to make sure the henna doesn't react strangely with any past dyes or chemicals you may have worked with.

Yeah henna rocks! It makes my hair lovely and shiney and healthy. Just make sure it is henna your using and the supplier hasn't put any dyes in it. I've never heard anything about it being bad for your hair, appart from people ending up with a colour they dont want. The proper name for henna is Lawsonia Inermis btw. Adding strong tea/coffee makes the colour richer, but I wouldn't use indigo if your wanting it red. Getting the right colour you want is a challenge and totally unpredictable. Many-a-time I've ended up making the henna the same colour as my hair already is! Try http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/ - http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/  for more things to add to the henna etc. Good luck

Buckie