Bigen and Henna

[joemerald]

Ladies,

It seems like I am always asking advice, but I know someone will give me the correct answer. I have started to use Henna and love it, however to cover my grays I use Bigen dye. On the Bigen package it says do not use if you use henna. Any advice, does this mean the henna with color or without or both. If I cannot Bigen (I refuse to give up Henna) how can I cover my grays?

 

[JustKiya]

As long as you are using Pure, Body Art Quality Henna (with no metallic comppounds, you should be fine) - but still, be sure to do a new strand test. Also - if you just use the henna alone, it will dye your grays red, and you'll have reddish highlights in your hair - just a thought.

 

[FlowerHair]

I have some greys too, and henna only gives them an orange tint. If I use a mix of henna and coffee/indigo it covers the greys nicely but only for a few weeks. After that the orange henna comes out again...
so if you aren't prepared for golden reddish "highlights" in your hair, henna is not for you. I am contemplating giving up henna for this reason. Sad, but true.

 

[joemerald]

Thanks, that is what happened. The greays are reddish brown. I am thinking of indigo but it seems so expensive not sure how much a gram will be.

I purchase my henna from an indian store. It says Mehandi and it is green powder. How do I know if it is a metallic compound henna? It does not say body art specifically, but I know it is for hair. Actually in the store there were boxes of body art henna but I figured they had color and I did not want that.

 

[Royal Glory]

Flowerhair and Joemerald,

You can use the neutral henna or cassia if you don't want the red. You'll get the same conditioning and strengthening results.

 

[FlowerHair]

Thank you RoyalGlory, but we are looking for something to cover the greys...we neeeeeeeeed color LOL

 

[JustKiya]

FlowerHair - that's interesting that the henna hasn't turned your grays red - how long are you leaving it on? And what kind of (brand?) henna are you using?

Joemerald - You might want to start using the body art kind - both Mehandi and the BAQ have color in it - the body art kind is usually finer ground, and sometimes has a better color deposit. Also - if you are getting your henna off the shelf - it might just be OLD, which is why you aren't getting a really good color deposit - who knows how long it's been sitting there! *LOL* I think fromnaturewithlove.com sells indigo - I know they sell henna, I've tried it, and I give them two thumbs up. I would give em three, if I had another hand.

 

[FlowerHair]

Oh they turn out red alright orangey, golden red. I use Lush's henna and I usually let it sit for 3-4 hours.

 

[Isis]

I just read on LHC that amla is needed to make those reds brown, whether it's grey hair or hair with henna. The amla is supposed to darken and tone down the red.