Another indigo story

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Posted by victoria on November 15, 2004 at 01:56:29:

Hi,

Iv'e been "lurking" here for a while, haven't posted yet. I love reading all the
good advice this site has.

But I had to let y'all know, I have, after many experiments, achieved a beautiful
black color with henna, amla, and indigo! My hair is naturally dark brown, in
hair dye shades i would say it's a 3 or 4N. But the color has been taken to
darker than a 2N with what I did tonight. I got the same results as I did when I
used to mix half a herbatint 2N with half a 1N to get a nice natural black to get
the same color. All the grey is covered, as well.

I have tried many combinations i was not happy with. Light Mtn black henna,
henna(not left long enough to release the dye), then indigo...henna and
indigo i mixed together myself...all gave a slghtly darker color, and helped
blend the few gray strands I have..but nothing worked this well!

I don't know what made it work, but this is what I did.

400 grams Indian supermarket red henna, i don't think the brand was
important. I let it sit in a baggie about 22 hours before applying. i mixed it wth
water and lemon juice...10 hours into it I added some hot tea and lemon juice.
Before I put it on I terped it with about 15 drops of tea tree, geranium, and a
couple of drops of frankincense. Next time I think I'll just use lavender
because it gave me a strange pulsating feeling in my head, which went away
after about an hour. I left it on for 3 hours. When removed, my hair was a dark
auburn, with an orangey cast I don't care for. I think it would have looked nice
if I'd let it oxidize.

Now here's what I think was the secret of my success with this attempt. I mixed
approximately 350 g Hana "black henna"(which I'm pretty sure is pure indigo
from the blue stains it leaves in my tub) with 100 g Hesh Amla. I mixed this
with warm SALTED WATER. Just a little so it tasted like seawater. (hoping for
an alkaline environment.) I tried to make it as thin as I could without suffering
copious drippage.

I mixed this in a plastic bag. I wanted to use cast iron, but didnt have the
patience.

The resulting sludge was a blackiish greenish color, unlike the greenish
bluish color I had experienced with the indigo. I applied said sludge to hair
about 10 min after mixing, I had been reading about indigo and what i read
was "if it turns blue it's too late" so i didn't give it time to turn blue as I had in
the past.

I was alarmed by the fact that the drips were not blue, as they had been when
I tried this with only indigo. They were a murky blackish grey. I was worried it
wasnt working.

But TAH DAAAH! I hopped in the shower for the arduous task of rinsing the
twiggy cheap henna out of my hair...this time i only used some conditioner to
get it out...and was pleasantly surprised by a headful of nice, natural black
hair! :) FINALLY!

I will keep you posted with the oxidizing and whatnot. BTW, my tub is stained
greyish instead of bluish this time. Ill try to post pics if I can find a before and
after that really show the difference.

Follow Ups

Re: Another indigo story Meg 18:44:20 11/16/2004 (0)

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: Hi, : : Iv'e been "lurking" here for a while, haven't posted yet. I love reading all the : good advice this site has. : : But I had to let y'all know, I have, after many experiments, achieved a beautiful : black color with henna, amla, and indigo! My hair is naturally dark brown, in : hair dye shades i would say it's a 3 or 4N. But the color has been taken to : darker than a 2N with what I did tonight. I got the same results as I did when I : used to mix half a herbatint 2N with half a 1N to get a nice natural black to get : the same color. All the grey is covered, as well. : : I have tried many combinations i was not happy with. Light Mtn black henna, : henna(not left long enough to release the dye), then indigo...henna and : indigo i mixed together myself...all gave a slghtly darker color, and helped : blend the few gray strands I have..but nothing worked this well! : : I don't know what made it work, but this is what I did. : : 400 grams Indian supermarket red henna, i don't think the brand was : important. I let it sit in a baggie about 22 hours before applying. i mixed it wth : water and lemon juice...10 hours into it I added some hot tea and lemon juice. : Before I put it on I terped it with about 15 drops of tea tree, geranium, and a : couple of drops of frankincense. Next time I think I'll just use lavender : because it gave me a strange pulsating feeling in my head, which went away : after about an hour. I left it on for 3 hours. When removed, my hair was a dark : auburn, with an orangey cast I don't care for. I think it would have looked nice : if I'd let it oxidize. : : Now here's what I think was the secret of my success with this attempt. I mixed : approximately 350 g Hana "black henna"(which I'm pretty sure is pure indigo : from the blue stains it leaves in my tub) with 100 g Hesh Amla. I mixed this : with warm SALTED WATER. Just a little so it tasted like seawater. (hoping for : an alkaline environment.) I tried to make it as thin as I could without suffering : copious drippage. : : I mixed this in a plastic bag. I wanted to use cast iron, but didnt have the : patience. : : The resulting sludge was a blackiish greenish color, unlike the greenish : bluish color I had experienced with the indigo. I applied said sludge to hair : about 10 min after mixing, I had been reading about indigo and what i read : was "if it turns blue it's too late" so i didn't give it time to turn blue as I had in : the past. : : I was alarmed by the fact that the drips were not blue, as they had been when : I tried this with only indigo. They were a murky blackish grey. I was worried it : wasnt working. : : But TAH DAAAH! I hopped in the shower for the arduous task of rinsing the : twiggy cheap henna out of my hair...this time i only used some conditioner to : get it out...and was pleasantly surprised by a headful of nice, natural black : hair! :) FINALLY! : : I will keep you posted with the oxidizing and whatnot. BTW, my tub is stained : greyish instead of bluish this time. Ill try to post pics if I can find a before and : after that really show the difference.
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