While henndigo is used on a variety of hair types I want to briefly outline my hair and its past as I do feel it is relevant to my results in some ways. My hair is 2.5 feet long (tailbone length) and it is thick in quantity, but thin stranded. This means it breaks easily. My natural hair color is a medium brown. I began dying it when I was about 21 and dyed it burgundry with semi-permanent dyes. At about 24 I switched to black and then blue black. I did not start having issues until age 27, about a year ago.
After about six months of the itching and flaking getting worse I started looking for other options. First I tried a mostly natural dye called
Surya Henna in black, which left my roots dark red and just glazed over the black portions.
One Step Henndigo
Then I tried
Light Mountain Natural in black which is basically a one step henndigo meaning the henna and indigo is mixed and applied in one step. Although some people claim to get black with this, most henndigoers agree that you really need the two step process to get black tones. In me the Light Mountain was giving me a medium dark red to burgundy, but my brown was showing through as well.
One step henndigo can be done in various ratios of henna to indigo to achieve different brown tones.
Two Step Henndigo
I so longed to have my black hair return so I finally bought some henna and indigo, as well as some amla which is supposed to tone down the reds from the henna. Different henndigoers recommend different types and brands of henna and indigo, but I was on a budget and decided to go sort of middle of the road (in terms of price) for my first time. I purchased Zenia brand henna and indigo and Hesh brand amla. According to various sources you need around 250 to 400 grams of indigo and henna each for my length of hair and 100 grams is about equal to a cup. Those with shorter hair would need 100 to 200 grams each dependent on length. I purchased much more than that.
The basic process is that you wash your hair, then apply the henna paste, rinse it out, then apply the indigo paste, and rinse it out. Some people say you should let your hair dry before applying either paste and inbetween. Some say do it on wet hair. Also, people use a variety of liquids to mix into the powders to make the pastes including: coffee, green tea, black tea, lemon juice, water, and so on. People sometimes add in essential oils and other things as well to make a pleasant scent. Henna paste smells okay, but indigo paste alone smells like frozen peas and the smell can get annoying after a while without anything else.
Here is how I did it:
I washed my hair the night before and did not apply any hair products. I also mixed my henna paste the night before as it is usually recommended to let it set. My henna recipe was: 1.5 cups of henna powder, 1/4 cup of amla powder, about 1.5 cups of green tea (from bags and still warm), then enough lavender essential oil to give it a scent I liked. I used a glass bowl and plastic spork to mix. You are not supposed to use metal and that was what I had on hand. I mixed in the green tea to the powder a little at a time to a yogurt consistency, then added the oil. I let it set overnight in my microwave. I had it there because I have cats, if you do not, or if yours are well behaved it could go on the counter. The paste will turn from greenish to brownish as it sits.
The next morning I added a bit of the leftover green tea to bring the consistency back to yogurt then took the paste into the bathroom. I pinned a towel around my shoulders and put gloves on. Because my hair is so long, I put one side in a pony tail. Then I lifted the other side and started smearing fingerfuls of the paste into the roots, down to the scalp, and about two inches down my hair. Then sectioned off the bottom and let it drop, and repeated the process all the way up that side of my head. Next I did the same on the other side. I checked in the mirror that my hairline was covered as well. Then moved on to the length of my hair. I did that in small sections, smearing the paste in, then piling the section on top of my head. When I was done I wrapped my hair in a plastic grocery bag, then a shower cap, and cleaned up around my hairline with a damp washcloth and made sure to wipe any streaks off my skin as henna does stain skin. I saved the extra henna paste in a baggie in my fridge.
I left the henna on for two hours, then rinsed it out in the shower with no shampoo or conditioner. Then I went to make my indigo paste. Indigo paste starts out green, then turns a dark shiny black-ish color after it sits a while.
My indigo paste recipe was as follows:
2 cups of indigo powder
enough water to make the paste (~1.5 cups)
1 tsp salt (supposedly helps the dye to adhere better)
lavender oil to scent
Indigo powder is kind of stubborn and it likes to puff up, so I mixed with the spork (and in a glass bowl again) with short strokes until it got wet. Indigo paste is also a bit odd in texture because it looks wetter at the right consistency, but it goes on differently.
I went to put the indigo paste in immediately. You do this because the dye releases much, much quicker. And I learned and will share with you that henna paste is much nicer to work with than indigo paste. The indigo is like mud. It flakes off in bit and pieces and you really have to work it in. It also stains things like porcelain tubs where the finish has come off in places. It does not stain smooth finished fixtures or tile if you wipe it off with 30 minutes or so. Anyway, same application process, same covering (but a new bag).
I let the indigo paste sit for about 2.5 hours. People usually say between 2 and 3 hours, and then after 3 hours it really does not release much more dye. When I took the back off the paste in my hair was a gorgeous iridescent blue black like a beetle! But I had to rinse it off because it was dripping down my back. Please note that the water apparently drips out of the paste into the back and if you are not careful, as I was not, you end up with blue black water all over you and your floor. I wiped up the mess and went to rinsing the paste out. It took a while, but I could see it was dark in my shower mirror.
When all was said and done I do in fact have black hair again, so it was a success! The color is soft black, but glows a reddish color when light hits it a certain way. It should be even darker next time I do it as indigo supposedly goes a bit darker each time you dye over it the first couple times.
I think I might have had darker than usual results as I had henna and indigo in my hair already and supposedly that base may have helped.
Anyway, here are photos:
Before dying with two step, I have about half an inch of roots here, but they blend in well
After the henna (my hair is wet in the first two and half dry in the third):
And the finished product with dry hair about two hours after rinsing the indigo out:
So far the color seems about the same, but my hair was really dry this morning so I washed it with a deep conditioner (no shampoo). Very little dye bleeding, much less than I would get with my old dyes.
If anyone else decides to try this, or has tried it, please share your experiences too ^_^ /emoticons/
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