Color over Henna’d Hair
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Talk
Forum Name: Hair Color
Forum Description: The tricks and tribulations of changing your hair color
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=35872
Printed Date: November 23 2025 at 2:05pm
Topic: Color over Henna’d Hair
Posted By: blueyedlady
Subject: Color over Henna’d Hair
Date Posted: September 30 2005 at 7:42am
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Has anyone ever had any luck using color over henna'd hair?
Six months ago I let my hairdresser convince me to add Chestnut low- lights to my 50% white hair. I really liked the color. However, my white hair wasn't taking the semi-permanent product well and only lasted a couple weeks. I couldn't afford to go back every two weeks and nervous about permanent chemical dyes, I decided to go "natural" and use henna. Turns out this is NOT something you do casually. After only one boxed henna application and two Body Art Quality henna applications in just as many weeks, I have realized this is not for me. It has turned out to be far to time consuming and I haven't even achieved a color I like yet. When I went to order more henna/indigo and saw how much it was going to cost me I realized I can't keep this up, I can't afford to. I can't keep trying to make it work for me. I'm not enjoying the experience. I don't have the $400 -$500 to go to a professional colorist and have a fruit-based stripper used to color correct my hair (which I have read can be done). I have however also read online that you can use mineral oil and heat applications to reduce the red/orange enough to color over the henna. I would be much happier with Chestnut colored hair while the henna grows out than with all this Red/Orange. Has ANYONE had any luck with this???? I understand the benefits of using Henna and that many women/men are very happy with their results (and their red hair!), It's just not for me. ANY feedback and/or support will be welcomed. ~blueyedlady 
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Replies:
Posted By: Kuroneko
Date Posted: October 04 2005 at 5:56am
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You can get brown henna dyes, if it's the orangey-red you don't like. Maybe if you have a natural market nearby, you can try looking there. I've seen them in a lot of different price ranges, but haven't tried them, so I can't recommend any brands. ------------- More awesome than a manatee! |
Posted By: blueyedlady
Date Posted: October 04 2005 at 12:43pm
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Thanks for taking enough interest to offer a suggestion. Unfortunately,
using one of those prepackaged henna dyes is where my troubles all began. I researched and found that using body art quality henna was safest and healthiest for the hair and tried that instead. Unfortunately, pure BAQ is going to color your hair some shade of red unless you add indigo, walnut or other plant additives to darken it. It certainly is a long term comittment, a lot of experimenting and time consuming. That's why I was wondering if anyone on this forum had gone from having hennaed hair back to using chemical dyes successfully. In particualar, I was curious about Robert Craig Products. His site is where I found information about successful coloring over henna. I am planning on doing strand tests, using mineral oil, and his Chestnut #8 color and see what results I get. I do appreciate your interest, but there are many things I have learned from my recent experiences with Henna, and one would be not to trust any of the 'boxed henna" mixes. You never know for sure what's in the box. ~blueyedlady 
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Posted By: Bryan
Date Posted: October 04 2005 at 11:12pm
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i used to use henna to get my hair red. when i no longer liked the
color, i bleached it up to a pale blonde. there was no breakage, and
the color turned out amaxing. i even decided to go back to red, and
loved the new brihter red shade, and continued bleaching up my roots
and henna~ing them red. i used hennalucent dyes from sally beauty. they
are BAQ dyes, and only need to be mixed with water. there are
directions on the packages for mixing the brown with the red for a more
auburn look. just a suggestion.
------------- learn to love what you were born with you can do anything if you set your mindto it (just dont try this with hair,that could turn out bad) |
Posted By: blueyedlady
Date Posted: October 05 2005 at 10:04am
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If I could achieve a darker auburn color I'd probably be content with that.
I have never ever bleached my hair and wouldn't even know where to begin. I cut my hair to just above my shoulders to make it easier to work with  I know it will grow back. But the RED color is just way to much
for me. I think we have a Sally's Beauty Supply Shop nearby. I'll likely pick up some supplies to strand test with. Is there a particular type bleach to be used (or avoided)? Or are they all the same? Just the thought of bleaching my hair .... makes me a bit nervous. ~blueyedlady |
Posted By: sansconformist
Date Posted: October 05 2005 at 7:00pm
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To get my hair a variety of shades with henna is not too hard - but you do need to experiment wirth strand tests to get the results you want or else you will waste henna and yes, it can be costly. On my natural dark golden blonde hair, the henna is vibrant orange red. to tone, i can do a mix of 2 parts henna to 1 part indigo and get a dark reddish blonde similar to my natural. if I do 1 part henna to 1 part indigo, i get a warm medium brown. If I do a plain henna over that, I get a pretty dark auburn. Discovered all of this with strand tests! Henna is not for everyone, but it is a lot more flexible than most people realize. Doesn't have to be carrot orange or nothing. (I wish that carrot orange lasted longer, actually. It flatters my skin tone. after a few days when it oxidizes it tones down on it's own a lot.) Good luck! |
Posted By: Bryan
Date Posted: October 06 2005 at 11:10am
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im definately not recomending you bleach your hair. i was just giving
an example that henna can be colored over. bleach is very harsh stuff,
and i dont reccommend it for the un-edperienced. i would say that it is
fairly safe for you to try and remove the color, or pick up some of the
hennalucent dyes at sally's and strand test from there. just dont
bleach. you dont need it. your hair is light enough ------------- learn to love what you were born with you can do anything if you set your mindto it (just dont try this with hair,that could turn out bad) |
Posted By: blueyedlady
Date Posted: October 06 2005 at 3:26pm
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Don't worry Bryan ~ I wasn't going to run right out and bleach my hair!!
Actually, when I recently had it cut, I grabbed a couple handfuls of hair to keep and do strand tests with. If there's one thing I've learned it's the importance of strand/hairball tests!!! As for using indigo in my henna mix? I did!! I used equal amounts of henna and indigo. However, I'm beginning with 50% white hair not golden blonde. I believe THAT makes a big difference right there. I guess since nobody seems to have had any experience using the mineral oil and coloring over hennaed hair, I'm on my own. I was just hoping to find some folks that have "been there" and could offer some words of wisdom based on their personal experience. My "Thanks" to those few who shared their views. ~blueyedlady |