Henna 4 GREY Hair color?

[poultryprincess]

OK, I am sorry if this is Not the right forum.......but I Really didn't know What Forum I should use. * I am about 30% Grey & Hate how old I look in pics < I thought someone had snuck an "old" person in the Pic - LOL > I have a sensitive scalp & it always burns a little when using hair dye. I have Not dyed my hair in over a year......I cut all the Colored hair off. Someone mentioned that "Henna" has given them a nice head of Red hair. She guesses she is about 20% grey.........I Googled Henna Hair, but have seen pics of some REALLY Red hair. Does anyone have any experience with Henna & Grey??? Since I have Salt 'n Pepper GREY & Dark Brown - Virgin hair, I am afraid to do something that will make me look like Bozo the Clown. ( I know they say you cannot Henna if there is dye on your hair.....but what if you Henna & HATE it.....can you dye it a Normal color? ) THANXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Pink_Carnation]

Well I don't remember what they said about henna entirely but I think if you hate it you have to wait for it to wash/wear out. I found a forum that talked about hair and it had a very long thread on henna for hair...I just don't remember where it was about a year ago.

They also talked about other things that could be used that change the effects it has or just other natural hair dyes.

[MariaAZ]

I used henna for over a year to cover my grey (30-50%) and I LOVED it. I just didn't love the touchups, so I'm growing it out now. My hair is midback length and I don't want to cut off the henna, so I am just letting it grow.

Pink_Carnation is right; if you henna your hair, you might as well figure on living with it because there's no reliable way of removing it. I always suggest a strand test first; collect hair from your comb or brush, and henna that first. If you don't like the color, you're not out anything more than the cost of the henna. As for dying over henna; I've heard it can be just as dicey putting chemical dyes over henna as it is to put henna over chemical dyes.

Another thing to remember about henna is that it can take many, many applications to get the color you want. When I touched up the white roots, they turned a bright orange that slowly darkened with subsequent applications. It hardly changed the dark hair at all, but the effect was quite neat; my hair was various shades of red/orange; very natural since it wasn't all one color, and no one ever guessed I colored my hair.

If you visit www.hennaforhair.com, you will probably find answers to all your questions about henna, and then some!

[YounGrey]

Love your grey. Embrace it. It's signature.

[MELOC]

my neighbor lady is 70 and uses koolaid. mostly she uses purple and green, but i have seen it orange and red.

embrace this chance to have some fun.

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by poultryprincess

OK, I am sorry if this is Not the right forum.......but I Really didn't know What Forum I should use. * I am about 30% Grey & Hate how old I look in pics < I thought someone had snuck an "old" person in the Pic - LOL > I have a sensitive scalp & it always burns a little when using hair dye. I have Not dyed my hair in over a year......I cut all the Colored hair off. Someone mentioned that "Henna" has given them a nice head of Red hair. She guesses she is about 20% grey.........I Googled Henna Hair, but have seen pics of some REALLY Red hair. Does anyone have any experience with Henna & Grey??? Since I have Salt 'n Pepper GREY & Dark Brown - Virgin hair, I am afraid to do something that will make me look like Bozo the Clown. ( I know they say you cannot Henna if there is dye on your hair.....but what if you Henna & HATE it.....can you dye it a Normal color? ) THANXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Henna is a vegetable based colorant that coats the shaft of the hair. Traditional henna imparts a red color to the hair, however, in the past ten years or so the industry has developed other colors of henna which range from strawberry blonde to nearly black.

Henna will not change the color of darker hair, it only covers the hair with a layer of color. Therefore if your hair is dark with lighter (grey) hairs the coloration will be very subtle on the hair that is darker than the henna and very bright and noticeable on the hair that is lighter than the henna.

Because of this you should definitely stay away from the brighter red tones and go with the brown. My guess is that it will give your hair a "streaked" look. Remember too, that henna is temporary and wears off slowly as you wash your hair. If you absolutely HATE the results, coloring over it with a permanent dye is not a good idea. If you cannot wait until it wears off naturally, I'd suggest you use a color rinse to cover it up the best you can.

I would buy the henna at a beauty supply store rather than a discount store because the color selection will be better (a discount store may only carry red). One nice aspect of using it is that, since it coats the hair shaft, it does make fine hair feel much thicker.

donsgal

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by MELOC

my neighbor lady is 70 and uses koolaid. mostly she uses purple and green, but i have seen it orange and red.

embrace this chance to have some fun.

That is so cool. Some kids around here use bingo daubers! Wild colors. I don't know if I would have the nerve to do that - maybe when I am 70.

donsgal

[Alice In TX/MO]

I henna-ed my hair for about 20 years. Quit when my grandson got cancer. Dunno why that mental leap, but such is life.

If you go to a major health food store, they should have a variety of color selections of henna. Everything from black to brown to varying shades of red.

The grey hair will absorb the henna differently than the regular hair. Since my grey is coming in as a streak, I wound up with a vivid red streak where they grey is.

Here's an article about how to henna your hair.
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Hen...Hair&id=482519

You will look like you have covered your head with green cow poo during the application process.

My favorite brand is Light Mountain. Available here:
http://www.ibeauty.com/Shop/Brands/i...FRFNYAodgUTxJw

[longshadowfarms]

Proverbs 16:31

31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life.

I tried dye once but hated that the roots showed so quickly. I too have learned to embrace the gray!

[Lynne]

Once you dye your hair you have to keep touching up the new growth. Easier to except the gray – tell people that it’s natural highlighting.

[HOTW]

I started going grey at 13, now I no longer dye it since I'm the it got grey enough to not look 'drab' most people actually remember me better now that I have grown it out. Click on thegrey link to see my "crown" of glory..I'm the human LOL

[poultryprincess]

WOW, many THANX for the replies. After reading all of them, I think I need to do more research & decide then. I have been grey for the last few years, so I suppose there isn't a Huge rush to do it. It's scary to do something since I already went thru the trouble of growing it out.....it's been nice Not to have to "touch up" & color my hair. And the Fried hair ends are gone now also.
* I don't really see the grey, until I see pics......& then it's "who is That old gal" * Recently I was @ a party & I introduced a 44 year old friend.....when I heard " oh, this must be your Daughter ", well, let's just say I was #%$&ed
< insert your own word > I am Only 53!!!!!!!!!!!!
*The second brush with Humiliation was a pic taken with my sis (2 yrs younger) & my Niece (22 yrs younger) When the pics came back, it looked like a 3 generation pic........Niece, her mom & her Grand-mom
I thought Henna only came in Red.....with Indigo to darken it. IF there is other options, I might be interested in it. A warm blonde / brown is interesting. Too bad Jello doesn't come in Peach / Sand flavor/color......that would be perfect. If I didn't like it, then just wash it out.THANXXXXXXXX

[Pink_Carnation]

Keep in mind that true henna is red...it is other additives that change the color. Like walnut I think for a darker brown.

http://www.hennaforhair.com/faq/index.html

This is a good site for lots of information

[Alice In TX/MO]

I think that different parts of the original henna plant also contribute to different colors of dye.

Indigo is a plant also, so that's good!

[MariaAZ]

Originally Posted by Pink_Carnation

Keep in mind that true henna is red...it is other additives that change the color. Like walnut I think for a darker brown.

http://www.hennaforhair.com/faq/index.html

This is a good site for lots of information

It sure is, I used to hang out there when I hennaed my hair, and learned a lot about the process. In fact, a photo of my hennaed hair is in the "Mixes" section. This section shows lots of before & after photos.