As you can see from the title, I have finally decided that I’m going to attempt to cover my currently burgundy hair with a Semi-Permanent rinse. When I started using henna I mixed it with Indigo in order to get a brunette effect. I was never really successful but continued to use henna each month for the past year or so. Although, I love the benefits from using henna, I never really intended for my hair to end up so red. We’re talkin’ Rhianna type red in the sunlight at this point.
I’ve been debating this for a few months now. Originally I decided that I would just order more indigo and do a two step henna/indigo process. This is where you apply the henna like normal and after rinsing it completely, apply the indigo for another 30 minutes to an hour and rinse. The result is Jet black hair and it is permanent. I know from past efforts that black hair does not look so hot against my skin tone. Somehow it makes my face look really red and I always have trouble adjusting my makeup palette to suit the black hair color. Because of this, the darkest I can go is a dark brown.
For this reason, I decided to go with Clairol’s Beautiful Collection in the color Darkest Brown which has a neutral base. It is a formula that does not contain ammonia or peroxide. I’ve read over on NaturalSunshine.ning.com that the Clairol line is pretty much the only one considered gentle enough for Natural hair. I’m going this route because I figure the color result will be more predictable than trying to mix henna and indigo for the color I want. The only thing I’m concerned about at this point is the Isopropyl Alcohol which can be drying. I’m going to make sure and do a moisturizing deep conditioning treatment after rinsing the product and then do an ACV rinse to close down the hair cuticles. I’ll post pictures after the application and do a review.
I recently found Reshma Hennaat a local Indian grocery store. After hearing about it online, I thought I would try it out. For 200 grams the cost was only three dollars. I figured if it worked I was definitely going back to buy more. Well, it not only worked, it also rinsed out a lot easier than the henna I used in the past.
I combined 100 grams Reshma Henna with about 50 grams Amla powder which is a great conditioner. I also had a little Moroccan Henna leftover from my Hennasooq.com order so I figured I would use the rest. The resulting color definitely covered my stubborn greys but was still very burgundy red. Indoors it still looks dark but you can really see the red tone in the sun. I was hoping for a different result because amla is known for darkening but, oh well.
On other occasions I combined Indigo with my Henna for a brunette color. Somehow I was still ending up with a more reddish auburn. I may end up going black by applying the Indigo to my hair after I’ve rinsed the henna. I’ve heard that this 2 step process will also give the best gray coverage. Either that or I’ll give the henna/indigo mix one more go but this time using more indigo.
