Orange Red Henna

I have light brown with discrete blond highlights.​ ​Recently determined that the quality of my hair needs to be significantly improved. I never colored my hair for fun- only to cover my grey hair. Started using L'Oreal and Wella in my 40's i.e. the top quality products on the market and only in beauty salons. Thousands of dollars later my hair is now looking brittle and dry and the prognosis as I look at my mother's dull, brittle hair who has done the same is that it's only going to get worse.It's been almost a month since my hairdresser last colored my hair with Majirel by L'Oreal using a formula of half 7.0 and half 7.35. About 6 months ago he added blond highlights using Alfapar but that has grown out significantly. My hairdresser keeps asking me when are we going to add highlights again but overall I'm finding myself already too blond ​ ​and ends ​look ​brittle, overall​ my​ hair looks dull​​.​ First thought - why not just use chemical coloring that I can buy at any supermarket? It's less expensive, far more convenient than having to sit at the hair salon for hours and the ladies on the boxes look like they've got lovely shiny locks. My neighbor is in her early 40's and looks great after using Revlon ColorSilk 50. Upon further reflection, the reason the simple supermarket bought color works for my neighbor is that she's 40 and the chemicals in the hair color haven't had time to ruin her hair - yet. There's no way the supermarket box of color is going to damage her hair less than the carefully applied top quality stuff they put on my hair at the salon - right? How about Henna? Indian and Persian women have been using henna for centuries with shiny healthy results.​​Don't want my hair to turn red​.​ Henna is a true commitment as you can really damage your hair if you go back to chemical coloring soon after you've used henna. So I'd better be sure this is going to turn out well - in my mind the stakes are high. I read​ that you can keep adding henna and other plant colors over each other without causing any damage whatsoever. It's actually good for your hair.​Ordered the following items on Amazon to cover all color eventualities:INDIGO POWDER Hair & Beard Dye / Color 100 grams - The Henna Guys®Sold by: Cavin-Schon®The Henna Guys 100% Pure and Natural Henna Powder for Hair Dye/Color, 200gSold by: Cavin-Schon®Botanical Pure Amla (Gooseberry) Powder for Hair I 3.53 oz I All Natural, very Potent Nourishing Powdered Herb for Healthy & Shiny Hair I Enhances, Conditions & for Cooler Hair Color TonesSold by: Quest Owl CorporationCASSIA OBOVATA - 100% Pure & Natural Hair Conditioner - The Henna Guys® (200)Sold by: Cavin-Schon®Henna Maiden LIVELY LIGHT BROWN Hair Color: 100% Natural & Chemical FreeSold by: Discovery NaturalsNovember 18, 2016​Day 1 (Friday) 2​:00 ​pmMixed 1/3 cup Amla powder with 2/3​ cup Henna ​ ​made into a paste with warm water​Day 2 (Saturday) 9:30 amMixed 1/3 cup indigo with warm water and made paste and added/mixed into previous day's​ paste​ to create Light Brown​ (i.e. 1/3 indigo plus 2/3 henna with Amla to cut the red and provide acid base). Added water so that it became same consistency as cake batter.10:00 am Put vaseline around face, neck & ears. Applied paste to hair, covered with saran wrap and warm hat. left on 4 hours rinsed out with conditioner. Put some vinegar in cold water for the last rinse.Result: Amazing condition and shine, split ends disappeared, very soft but a bit too red in temple and crown. Let all of this oxidize on my hair​ for a couple of days. ​I was still able to go out Sunday for brunch and didn't look too bad. Quality of my hair is nicer than it's been in 20 years.Day 4 (Monday) 3:00 pmObjective: To tone down the red I mixed up a paste with warm boiled water of Henna Maiden LIVELY LIGHT BROWN Hair Color: 100% Natural & Chemical Free​; Put vaseline around face, neck & ears. Applied paste to hair, covered with cellophane wrap and warm hat. ​L​eft ​it ​on ​3​ hours​,​ rinsed out with conditioner​. Put some vinegar in cold water for the last rinse.Result: Color turned out VERY dark brown :( I should have perhaps kept it on for only 1 hour as I was applying it to already henna's hair. Quality of hair is lovely. Am able to let hair dry on its own without blower and it stays with a nice curl looking thick.Procedure 3 weeks later Dec 9thObjective: To retouch growth of 1/2" white rootsShould have shampooed before - but forgotApplied vaseline around face ears and neck.Used 1/2 packet Henna Maiden LIVELY LIGHT BROWN Hair Color with 1 tsp amla powder for curls and condition adding a few drops of orange essence for more pleasant odor.Reapplied mixture on roots spreading to rest of hairPut cellophane around head topped with shower cap and left on for 1 hour.Rinsed with warm water and lots of conditioner. Final cold water rinse with a bit of vinegar.Result: Roots slightly lighter and reddish when wet.Blew hair dry.Result: Darker brown, less reddish roots and less shine. Blow dry seemed to darken roots immediately.Quality of the hair is much improved in the last month with henna and the natural powders. A bit darker than intended but I'm never going back to a chemical process.

I am a performer, I am 44 years old, and have salt and pepper hair. A few years back, I noticed that most hair dies, even though they state that they cover gray hair, would not cover gray hair completely.I started to do a lot of research on the health benefits of switching to Henna. Most, Henna products have salt in them, which, if you have processed your hair prior, can cause your hair to break off. The Henna guys does not have the salt in their henna! I have a very dear friend that turned me onto this particular company. They have a lot of integrity, and the colors are so beautiful.I had been bleaching my own hair and dying at different colors. Mainly Pravana, and also semi permanent vegan dyes. I am a Tour Guide in New Orleans, and it gets quite hot here and tend to sweat a lot during the summer time, especially. One day I noticed, as I took witch hazel and wipe my chest, the cotton pad was black. I started to do research on the effects of chemical dyes, and how it is absorbed into your body, what I found is there are some cancer causing affects. Your skin is one of the biggest organs, I wanted to improve my mental health as well, as I am perimenopausal and figure that the absorption of these chemicals is probably affecting things that I don’t realize.Henna dye, darkens overtime, so I was quite worried to commit to this. I have long straight hair that almost touches my lower back for the first application, I used hibiscus tea that I brewed, put the deep red powder in a glass bowl. You do not want to use any kind of metal bowl slowly mixed the hibiscus tea in and stirred the Henna, so that there were no clumps and a cookie dough kind of texture. I also used Bravani powder. Adding in a quarter of the packet, this is something that you can add to the Henna that helps with strengthening the hair, etc. You can go on the henna guys.com and see the options that they have. I also used a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, then I let the Henna sit for eight hours, and set an alarm on my phone. I used three packets which was way too much, but wanted to make sure I had enough.After eight hours I mixed it again. Then I took a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and mixed it in, as the reviews stated it would help with gray coverage. I also made sure that I had a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner. I used a regular hair, dyeing, brush, gloves, and had a plastic cap nearby, the easiest way to do this with long hair, you section your hair off and four different sections and clipped the ones back that you were not using. You can use your hands, but I found it much easier to use a dye brush.I don’t know what people are so fussy about, I was reading reviews, and they said that it was super messy, however, I didn’t have any issues. Keep in mind I’ve been dying my hair for many many years. I did put a cape on over my clothes and made sure I wasn’t wearing anything that I would care about getting Henna on.If you get henna on your hands or body, it’s actually not as bad to get it off like people say. Use lemon juice and baking soda. Mix it into a paste and let it sit on your skin where you accidentally died, and after a couple minutes, just scrub it off with a washcloth, off and no problemDepending on the length of your hair, will determine how long you need to wait until you apply it. Once you apply the henna, you have to let it sit on your head for three hours and cover it. It is a clay, so your hair will feel heavy. Honestly, I just twisted my hair up into four buns and put a cap on basically just did some house work after three hours, I went into the shower to rinse it off. It is extremely important that when you rinse it off it is cold water. Also, it’s a good idea to rinse off the top of the cap before you pull it off. If you have long hair, you’re definitely one gonna wanna lean your head back and keep it back, the first time I did this I didn’t do this, and the water that dripped down my face had had a die coming down, so I did actually need to scrub my face after this happened. I would highly suggest a mirror on the side of your shower you can also start with warm water at first to acclimate your body, and then rinse it out if your hair. I would definitely suggest putting a leave in conditioner that is super hydrating that sulfate free, a.k.a. maybe a coconut or jojoba hair mask. Put it in your hair and leave it on as long as you can after the first application, then go in and rinse it off with cold water.A lot of people don’t realize that if you have been processing your hair for sometime, it takes your hair a while to adjust. Literally, the henna will coat your hair, follicle and help heal your hair, but it takes time. My hair felt dry and brittle the first time, the second time was better, and the third time, I finally feel like my hair has adjusted and it’s soft and silky.Honestly, after I first did my hair, it was very soft due to the oils I put in my hair. Just know if you do decide to take a warm shower, to actually seal the henna dye into your hair, you do need to use cold water the more you wash your hair with warm water, the quicker it will rinse out.The gray coverage is amazing and the health benefits are also equally as awesome. I should’ve been doing this years ago. There are many tutorials on YouTube specifically for this brand, the Henna guys. Are used a lot of those tutorials to approach this. Now, when I am outside and sweating, I know, at least if the henna goes into my skin, it will not cause my body harm. Also, the more I use this, the healthier and stronger my hair feels. to prevent darkening at my ends, I actually applied two times all over my hair, then the third time I only applied it to my roots, this way, I can keep the rest of my hair a little bit lighterThere are several lightning techniques. If you have been dying your hair with Henna for a very long time, you can find a lot of those resources on YouTube. This may sound like a very long process, but I’m telling you, it is well well worth it.Wanted to share my experience, hope this was helpful, honestly this color is so beautiful and I get so many compliments, I would suggest it to anyone!