Brown or light brown hair

[la flaca]

Ok it’s 1:00 am. I've read more than 20 pages and I have no answer to my questions yet so ladies, help me out again

I want to make a henna recipe to get a brown color, I don't like red and I'm tired of black (all this DC is killing my color/rinse).
So I need something I can apply whenever I need/want to.

I am concerned because I am relaxed and I have used semi permanent color before and also I want to know whether the use of henna, as it is permanent and my hair is kind of "long" (it will take a while before I could cut all the henna out of my hair), my questions are:

1. Do you have a simple recipe to get a brownish color with henna?
2. Will it harm my hair, being relaxed, if I want to color with a permanent or semi permanent dye after henna?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PacificPurinsesu]

I am not sure . I do not henna but, I love your black, shiny , healthy and long hair! It is gorgeous!

 

[ThursdayGirl]

Ok it’s 1:00 am. I've read more than 20 pages and I have no answer to my questions yet so ladies, help me out again

I want to make a henna recipe to get a brown color, I don't like red and I'm tired of black (all this DC is killing my color/rinse).
So I need something I can apply whenever I need/want to.

I am concerned because I am relaxed and I have used semi permanent color before and also I want to know whether the use of henna, as it is permanent and my hair is kind of "long" (it will take a while before I could cut all the henna out of my hair), my questions are:

1. Do you have a simple recipe to get a brownish color with henna?
2. Will it harm my hair, being relaxed, if I want to color with a permanent or semi permanent dye after henna?

Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

I know others will have answers but here are mine. To get a brown color, you need to mix henna with another plant called indigo. You can find various mixes that people have used to get colors ranging from red to black here. Henna is permanent. Some people have had trouble with it being drying, but you can probably get around this by staying away from vinegar and lemon juice in your mix. It should not negatively affect your relaxer. In fact, you may find that your hair is stronger as well as softer after a henna treatment. I would really do a search on this site to see what the ladies here are using in their mixes to help their hair be soft.

Realize though, that henna and indigo cannot lift your hair to a brown. You can only go darker as these dyes are deposit-only. So more than likely you won't see a big difference in the color of your hair. You may see some color under bright light or in the sun. To get brown hair, you would need to bleach first (I think).

If you want to relax or use semi-perm. colors later, make sure that you use only body art quality henna/indigo since they do not contain metallic salts. It isthe interaction between chemicals and metallic salts that can cause people to lose their hair. Body art quality henna and indigo are for sale from multiple vendors on the website I linked, above. Other people buy their products from other websites though. IF you do a search, here, you'll find other vendors.

For a subsequent dye-job, you should realize that henna is permanent. As such it will likely affect whatever color you put in next.

-HTH. You have really beautiful hair!

 

[betty-boo]

Hello La Flaca, I haven't henna'd but I know that Isis henna'd her hair to brown. You can see how she did this in her fotki (she gives instructions). But I think she had brown hair to start with... No harm checking it out

 

[la flaca]

Thanks ladies ....and here I go to stalk a couple of fotkis accounts

 

[AKA-Tude]

I use hendigo (henna+ indigo).

But with mine I started doing this on already dyed hair (it was several different light brown box colors).

And my mix consisted of 1 part henna: 1 part indigo.

The result is very pretty (looks lighter in my siggy than it really is).

HTH

 

[la flaca]

I use hendigo (henna+ indigo).
And my mix consisted of 1 part henna: 1 part indigo.
HTH

Sounds good to me but what else do you use to make the mix?

 

[Proudpiscean]

I'll share my henna recipe (I use 1/2 henna and 1/2 indigo to get a brown color)

3/4 box henna (you'll probably need a full box)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbs honey
A few squirts of Dabur Amla lite oil
*Add enough water to get 'pancake batter' consistency*
Let this sit overnight to get color release; or you could let it sit in the oven on low heat (200) for 30 min-1 hour.

After the henna is ready, I mix indigo with warm water (add just enough water to get pancake batter consistency) I let the indigo sit about 10 minutes and then add this into the Henna mixture. Slather it onto the hair in sections (like you would a relaxer). I wrap saran wrap around my head and cover with a plastic cap. I usually let it sit for a hour (I use my heat cap for about 30 minutes). Then rinse, rinse, rinse, co-wash and rinse some more
I deep condition with a moisturizing deep conditioner for 30 minutes aftrewards. HTH


It's important not to make the mix too runny or it'll drip.

 

[Proudpiscean]

Oops double post.

 

[AKA-Tude]

Sounds good to me but what else do you use to make the mix?

My mix is kinda simple:

henna + an oil of choice + acv
Let this mix sit overnite.

when ready to apply mix:

Indigo + hot water
mix well; then combine w/henna mix ; apply;

marinate btwn 2-4 hrs

rinse well; poo & con (moisturizing);

continue usual styling procedure.

That's it!

 

[la flaca]

Thanks ladies

 

[SleekandBouncy]

I know this is an old thread, but did anyone try any of the "brown" mixtures recommended? I've heard that adding saffron, cloves or honey to a henna mixture helps the resulting color be more brown than black/red.