Henna For Gray Hair

Pink Pearls- I also recommend that you take som e hair from a comb or brush and do a test patch. You can freeze henna. So, mix a batch and while you wait on the results of the patch - freeze it.

To use the henna- unthaw- allow to get to room temperature and apply like a relaxer.

I used to put all kinds of stuff in my henna. I dont anymore. I like the yogurt because it isnt as runny as a tea or acv batch of henna.

Nyla, Thanks for the info. I had planned to henna this Friday, but I will wait and do a patch test first. Have you used indigo? I bought a few packages and I'm still trying to decide if I want to use it. Maybe I should wait and see how my henna patch turns out.

I have tried indigo! Just because, I like the reddish color that henna gives me! It totally covers my grey! You see all these highlights and I love it!

Thanks Nyla! I saw the highlights on your pic...beautiful! Well, I'll just wait and see how my patch test comes out.

I have white-white gray and I color it with regular dye every 2- 3 months - yes, I let my white grow out because, while I don't like the white, I don't want to dry my hair out tooo much (if at all).

My roots start showing in 2 weeks!! What I want to know is can I use Henna like every 2 weeks (or every week even) just on the new growth and maybe do all my hair say every month?

Yes, you can touch up as often as you like with henna and indigo. Until now, I had been doing the full treatments but last time, I experimented with a touch up and it went very well. Like you, I see white hairs in 2 weeks. I might start now only doing full treatments every 2 months since I have now saturated my hair with the henna/indigo.

For you though, I think having a full treatment every month and touch up whenever you need it would be a good way to start. After about 3 or 4 treatments it will be much easier to keep the colour of the new growth and the rest of the hair even and perhaps you can space out the full treatments.

Thank you. This sounds like a perfect way to keep my roots covered and not have to worry about drying out my hair.

Thanks everyone for the great henna info. Thanks Nyla! I did the test patch and it turned out good, so I decided to henna last weekend. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
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I just henna'd again today. 3rd treatment. Love the way my hair feels but disappointed that I still see gray strands. Thinking about permanent color. The salon I used to go to specializes in working with natural hair and they do fabulous color. I am just worried about damaging my hair although I know they'll take care of it. The henna is nice but I do not want to have to cover my gray every 2-3 weeks and still see gray hair.

Right now I'm doing a ratio of approx 70% indigo, 30% henna. I don't want reddish har.

How do you all make sure all the gray is covered? And what have you done to make the gray color coverage last longer?

DVaAuNaturel,

That's odd that your greys are so resistent. What is the consistency of your henna/indigo mix? If it's too runny then you might find that the greys are not covered sufficiently - I remember the only time that my greys weren't well covered I suspected I had made my mix too runny. So the following application I made it a fair bit thicker so that it was like mashed potatoes and noticed the difference in colour uptake. If the mix is thicker, you can push it and squeeze it through the strands. I also have a thick toothbrush to comb it through the layers of grey hair at the root. My hair is very thick.

Also are you applying to clean hair? Keep oils and conditioners out of your mix as some people have noticed that this interferes with dye uptake on the strands.

If you don't like red then perhaps the two step method is the way to go? This involves applying the henna first, wash out and then applying the indigo. Doing the two step might help you isolate what is going wrong too. You can see if the henna is depositing sufficiently and whether it's indigo that's the problem. If so, you could try another supplier of henna or indigo.

I do the two step method and find that my greys are very well covered.

@Pinkpearls,

Your hair looks lovely! I am very impressed with the natural looking shine

Thanks R2D2!

Hi - I'm new to CN (been stalking for weeks [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]) and finally joined because I needed help with single-strand knots.

I sport a 4b TWA with pen-spring coils.

I henna - have been for a few months of trial and error, and although I experience dryness, I appreciate that I'm using a wholesome natural product instead of the PD dyes that caused my relaxed edges to break off.

When I bc'd January 2009, I transitioned from "glazes" to LUSH caca-noir, which left my hair soft but didn't color my gray.

I just posted the following text as "anonymous" on Nikki's 'Do you henna' tab...

In response to the May 3rd post, I too have gray hair (a little gray headband). I used 'Light Mountain - Cover the Gray' from my co-op store, but they stopped carrying it. I bought a few boxes to carry me over.

I get GREAT results from my henna-indigo process. The key is to let your henna "marinate" long, but apply your indigo AS SOON AS THE SURFACE TURNS BLUE!

Indigo releases its dye WITH A QUICKNESS, so apply it within minutes! Use HOT - NOT BOILING WATER on indigo - boiling water RUINS the dye.

I also use distilled water and glass/plastic utensils and bowls during my mixing.

Apply indigo AFTER RINSING YOUR HENNA OUT WITH PLAIN WATER - save your deep conditioning for LAST. I think shampooing and conditioing in-between the henna-indigo will change your results.

Like R2D2 suggested, I don't use oils in my mix. I use the TWO-STEP method, and I make my indigo paste a little thinner since it tends to crumble out more when it's pasty.

No two heads are the same - trial and error worked for me.

Hope this helps!

Stay blessed!

Ok cn family, I did my first henna. Can we say OMG in a good way! My hair feels wonderful. Now my roots are 100% white. After the henna they are 100% copper red. Which I LOVE. While the rest of my hair is medium brown. I don't mind the red roots. I think it will darken as it gets older. I'm right in the middle of editing the videos but I had to testify. My hair feels so different and I LOVE it. I will post photos later today. I just want to say thank you all for sharing your experiences it has really blessed me. I'm not scared to henna any longer!

Woohoo!

I so want to henna but afraid my gray will look flaming red or orangey. Any suggests to tone down the natural red base in the henna?
Thanks

A one or two-step henna and indigo mix will tone down the red. Check out hennaforhair.com for more info on mixing them for colour ranging from light brown to black.

Thanks Nefratitiuk, I will check out the website.

Like all hair color, even the most permanent, your roots will start
to show between 2 ½ to 4 weeks after coloring. If you've been using a
gentle, color-safe shampoo and conditioner, the roots show because your
hair has grown. Not because the color has been stripped.The myth
has been that gray hair can't hold on to henna. But the truth is, you
can successfully color your gray with henna, get a fabulous color, and
have it last as long as any other color.______________________________________________________________
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Hi Everyone; I need some suggestions and I have a few questions. Is dye release when the henna turns brown? How soon can you apply the henna after dye release? I can not use organge juice and I can not use indigo, because of headaches and itchy scalp. I used Apple juice with Celebration(Jamila 2009). I let it sit for about six hours before I put it on my hair. I left it on my hair for seven hours. most of my hair is chocolate brown, however my grays roots are orange/cooper color. I want my gray roots darker. What can I do if indigo is not an option.

PinkPearls I'm confused too about some things. Check out CurllyNickki's tutorial though it is informational. I posted a thread "to Henna or not to Henna" with my questions but no one replied I plan to do it this week, my BIGGEST concern is whether it will straighten my curl in the front.

@Lotus18 - test henna for dye release by putting a little of the paste on the palm of your hand for a minute. Wipe it off and see if its got color. When you are waiting for dye release make sure to press the plastic wrap against the henna paste so air doesn't get to it while it marinates. I got the celebration too and my test dye started releasing after sitting 2 hours. You can reapply henna to just your roots for a longer time.

@CurlyMee - It has been a long time since I did henna, this is the first time in about 12 years so its on virgin hair. What I read on the internet is that henna coats the hair and the extra weight can loosen curl, but its different for everyone. But it seems some people have had good success using Amla to revive the curl. Do a search on this forum for amla. And check out Henna for Hair's forum. They have a special section for relaxed and natural hair.

Thanks Madea J for the info. Will check into the Amla...

amla and brahmi mixed with henna will tone down the red deposited on gray hair. Southeast India ladies say that frequent use of amla and brahmi will prevent premature graying.

Re: Henna for gray roots
Madeaj

Thanks for the information. What did you use to mix with your celebration and how much of each item did you use. After you notice dye release, how soon did you apply it to your hair and how long did you leave it on your hair.

I used red zinger herbal tea, white tea, distilled water, pectin. I am using a gelled henna recipe I saw on Smooth Gelled Henna henna for hair.
Scroll down to the recipes, I'm using the Smooth gelled Henna, it says untried, but I emailed Fia and she said that is only method she uses now. It easier to wash out and she gets the same results.

I haven't applied it to my head yet. lol. I just did the test on thursday. I wanted to see what the results for oxidizing was before I use it. I put the test hair in the henna mixture about an hour after dye release. So about three hours after mixing. I left the hair in for 3 hours, I was impatient. My henna'd grays have a deep coppery tone to them.

I plan to leave the henna in my hair for at least 3 hours maybe longer if I can stand it. I only have a few gray strands so copper highlights will be fine. I'll probably wash it out before bed and put some oil and deep conditioner on to sleep in.

I am mixing up my henna today and putting in on tonight. I am off tomorrow so I figure I have time to walk around and clean house with conditioner on my head.