Henna heads, I need advice about indigo please

[satsumagirl]

Hello ladies

I have dark brown hair and use henna to cover greys. It's all good but I don't like the way that my greys go orange. I would like to use indigo on top so the orange is more subtle. Has anyone got any advice about a good brand of indigo and also how to apply? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I have naturally red hair so can't help personally with your question but look at www.mehandi.com how to section it gives full details. Their henna is great quality. You can also email them and they will give you a detailed response. Good luck!

Thanks Zara

Anymore indigo advice out there MNtters?

I've always bought my indigo from Hennaboy. www.henna-boy.co.uk/
My main advice would be to decide what kind of colour you want from using henna and indigo. If you want a warm brown colour that has hints of red then mix the henna and indigo together. If you want a cooler blue/brown/black colour, then apply the indigo to the hair after you have used the henna.
I have always found this site the best for advice. www.hennaforhair.com/

I also buy from henna boy and read the forum at hennaforhair for any queries I may have.

I use Lush henna - 1 third indigo to 2 thirds dark red. Comes out a lovely dark red colour. The grey is much less orangey than just using henna alone, and it seems to last longer too.

I went into Lush recently and had a good chat about this, they told me it is better to do the colours one at a time rather than mixed. However it is such a palava, I have long hair.

WhoKnows - I've been using the henna mixed with the indigo (marron mixed with noir) for a couple of years now, after just using the henna (marron) for a time before that. No problems whatsoever. Goes on well, lasts well. No damage to hair. Reliable colour each time because I use the same ratios.

I'm not convinced that the staff in Lush actually know that much about their henna product really. They usually want to give me advice about it each time I buy it, and rarely is the advice either consistent with what another member of staff has said, or consistent with what I've learnt about their product myself after using it for a fairly long time now.

I've sometimes felt that about the Lush staff in the past, but this one seemed decidedly more knowledgeable than some of them have done, I've been using it for years too.

I was specifically asking about grey coverage as I have a few now, but notice they are very gold. I ended up doing 1 red, 1 black, 2 marron, 2 brun this time, really CBA foing them separately, and I can't see any greys, but there really are so few of them that it will just be a case of spotting one when I'm combing it in the sunshine. I just keep expecting them to start proliferating now I'm in my late 40s. The doing one layer at a time does make sense though as it isn't solid block colour, but more like a coloured varnish

I have quite a lot of grey and find the mix I used is really good at covering them. Far better than the normal permanent hair dye I used before, bother hairdresser done and shop bought box dye.

Is the overall effect darker than marron on it's own? Marron is too red for me, I've tried it but always gone back to 50/50 marron and brun.

It is darker than marron on its on, it seems to have a bit more depth to it as well, as in lighting and sunlight pick up different tones in it so it looks quite natural.

Wow just checked on this thread and there is loads of useful advice- thanks ladies!

For what it's worth I use henna by shahnaz husain. I have to order it from a uk site who import it from India but have tried lush henna and found it too drying, in my experience.

So it sounds like mixing the indigo into the henna works well then? I could do indigo after henna but it seems like a bit of a faff...

For those that do the indigo and henna thing, how much indigo do you add?

Using the Lush stuff, I add 1/3 indigo to 2/3 dark henna. Guess it would work out similarly with the purer henna.

If you are mixing the henna and indigo together then you have to get the ratios of each one right depending on the colour you are going for. A general rule would be the more indigo you add, the darker the brown colour you will achieve.
If mixing the indigo into the henna, then make sure you mix the henna, leave it ideally overnight in a covered bowl somewhere warm for the dye to get maximum release, and then add the indigo right before you are about to dye your hair.
If doing them one at a time then it makes no difference how much you use of each, but instead you have to alter how long you leave the indigo on for. I used to leave my henna on for hours at a time for the conditioning effects etc, but the indigo only ever needed to be on for around 20min to half an hour for a rich brown colour.

This page here on hennaforhair gives you an idea of the different ratios and mixes to use for different colours. It all seems like a faff at first, but once you have been doing it a while it all becomes very easy.
www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html

Ooh thanks Jasmine! How long do you leave it on for?