Henna on greys, and going back to box dye

[sergeantmajor]

I've been lapping up the LUSH henna thread in this topic but I have two specific questions, speaking as someone who has lots of greys (well, whites really).

1. If I use dark brown henna over my brown-&-white hair, will the roots stay white, or stand out as a light red? I'm all for highlights but that would look weird.

1. If henna doesn't work out for me, can I go back to box dye? My box dye instructions say not, and I don't want to sabotage the one thing that covers my grey (even though it is wrecking my hair's condition).

Anyone had experience with this?

Are you me?

Sorry can't answer but I have exactly the same questions as you! Looking forward (hopefully) to some positive responses!

Another one here wondering exactly the same!

Marking place!

I use a mixture of henna & indigo to get dark brown. My greys take red more & are more coppery. I like overall look. Can't answer 2, never been back to box dyes, started using henna as I was developing sensitivity to box dyes & got burns.

Another one wondering the same thing!

Do a strand test before you put the new dye on, mixing vegetable and chemical dyes can cause your hair to react and snap. Ideally wait until the box dye is completely grown out. I could be wrong but I remember my hairdresser telling me something along these lines and grey hair is better than no hair unless you'd like to invest in some fancy wigs

You can't wait until the box dye grows out if trying to cover grey. I want to know the answer to this as well.

Me too :) Anyone??? I read somewhere you could wait a month or so until you dye with henna after a box dye. I couldn't grow out my box dye to get the henna done, it would look awful. Surely someone knows?

Do you think it would be less risky to follow henna with a semi-permanent box dye, rather than permanent? (Assuming of course that the henna was not successful in itself, otherwise no need to return to box dyes at all).

I'm guessing that semi would have less concentrated chemicals and therefore less to react with the henna? Maybe? I get a white line, like Tippex, along my parting after 3 weeks so I do need some kind of back up plan if henna doesn't work out!

I found this useful link on the subject:
forums.hennapage.com/node/5495

It answers the question about box dyes after henna. It says that having indigo in the mix causes issues, as does going lighter chemically after henna (but darker less problematic), but it should be ok in other circumstances. I'm paraphrasing so worth a proper read if you're about to take the plunge!

I've switched from one to the other with no problems. Also found that henna over my white hair colours it a lovely red colour, so gives the appearance of red lights. However, I've switched now to Daniel Field PPD free colours, which give much better coverage over grey/white, and are much quicker and less messy to do.

Looked up the Daniel field colours. Can you tell me about these Agatha? Are they any good? Are they made from plants?

Looks really appealing! www.danielfieldmailorder.co.uk/

I also had the dilemma of what to do to cover greys after becoming sensitive to box dyes. I was using Daniel Field until recently. "natural medium brown" gave a nice subtle colour to my greys and blended them into my dark brown hair, much less brassy than it looked with the box dyes. The grey regrowth was much less obvious than with the box dyes, too.
Then, on a whim, I tried henna a few months ago. The lady in Lush said that you can dye over it after 6 weeks - I haven't tried to yet, but that reassured me a bit!
The henna does cover my greys well. I liked the caco brun at first, but after I did it for the second time, it looked redder than I wanted, so I'm trying indigo now.
I think the Daniel Brown was probably the better/easier solution really, but at the moment I'm quite enjoying the Henna for a change. And hoping it really is true that you can dye over it again..

I'm not sure what the Daniel Field colours are made from. I started using them, and using henna before that, because I wanted PPD free colours, and they are PPD free. They cover my (quite large amounts of) grey really well, and are really easy and quick to use, with much less mess than some hennas. The coverage lasts as long as henna, and I'd say longer than normal box dyes as it doesn't fade out like box dyes tend to do. My only criticism of them is that the quantity in the bottle isn't huge. It just does my hair, which is just past shoulder length, but anyone with longer hair, or thick hair, would probably need two of them, which would be quite expensive.

Thanks Agatha :) Does it improve the condition of your hair like Henna? My hair is just at shoulder length. I am unsure which colour to try tbh but can see me ordering some to try out rather than the henna. It does sound very appealing!!

I noticed that my hair improved when I swapped from box dyes to henna. Now I use the Daniel Field colours, I've not noticed any change from when I was using the henna, soI'd say that the conditioning effect is similar to henna.

Why are you bothering with henna?

I find that a box of Nice 'n Easy transforms my 90% white hair back to my youthful brunette.

Sounds good Agatha. Think I am going to order some and see how I get on with it. Thanks for all the info.

I tried Daniel Field and it didn't cover greys, and didn't improve condition. I thought it was a waste of money as after a few washes it was gone. I'm now using Caca Brun and three weeks in the greys are still covered.

I also thought the sentence 'remember that grey hair is rarely attractive' on the Daniel Field website was quite condescending. I'm not a fan.

GinandJag not everyone can use box dyes because of the ingredients in them, PPD in particular. Also the tendency they have to ruin the condition of your hair.

also thought the sentence 'remember that grey hair is rarely attractive' on the Daniel Field website was quite condescending. I'm not a fan. I have to say, I didn't like that comment either!!!
My greys are quite resistant. I wonder if it would work then? I really want to improve the condition of my hair. Its been hammered with dye over the years. Maybe do a little more research before I make my choice.
Its good to know that the caca brun covered your greys. Thanks for that info.

So bit the bullet and ordered the henna brun and marron. Have just dyed my roots. I also have slightly lighter roots. Whats the best advice from experience? How long to wait? I am quite excited :)

It says to leave a month. That's fine. Am patient. Will probably do a strand test.