Henna and gray hair

[jettavwdrvr]

Confession time. I'm almost 37 and am about 40% gray. It's mainly localized as a wide streak on the top but also concentrated around my crown. It's more white, but whatever. My hair is dark brunette, slightly longer than shoulder length. IMO, I have smooth, rosy skin, zero wrinkles and people are always shocked when they hear my age and assume I'm much younger than 37. (Side note: people are nosy and very inquisitive about my gray hair, hence all the questioning about my age. :eyeroll: )

 

So twice now I have been referred to as someone's mom. The most recent time involved someone telling my younger boyfriend, while standing in a waiting room, that "your mom will be out shortly". Enough is enough.

 

I have never dyed my hair nor ever thought that I would dye it. But now that I am getting older, I feel as if my gray hair is aging me. My gray hair is also quite unruly and wiry. I feel like it makes an initial first impression that I am much older, no matter how youthful I think I am in the face.

 

I am interested in using henna on my hair. Keep in mind I have a very wide, pronounced streak of white. I am not interested in shocking red streak. In researching henna and also this thread http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=448489&hl=henna, I have found that henna would be best for achieving the type of coloring that I want. If I worked up the courage to do this, I would definitely do a hair strand test.

 

My question lies in...how does it work on gray/white hair?

Edited May 7, 2013 by jettavwdrvr

[giraffy]

I know zippo about henna, but I'll direct Marilie your way. She's the henna master.

[breeze]

Wow! Your white streak sounds gorgeous. Too bad people make assumptions the way they do. I know they mean well, but it's so annoying.

[Marilie]

Hey there! If you just use henna on the grays, you're going to have bright red/copper roots. If you're brunette you want to go for a henna/indigo mixture. I actually just did this a few weeks ago.

 

You have to mix the henna first and let that sit for dye release, then right before you're ready to apply, you mix the indigo, and then combine the two together and apply to your hair. Indigo will not work without the henna. Indigo has to be mixed right before you use it, because after about 2 hours, it's useless.

 

My henna bible is hennaforhair dot com. Everything you wanted to know and more. And she addresses the henna/indigo mixtures. The amount you use depends on what color you're trying to achieve.

 

Hope this helps!

[jettavwdrvr]

Thanks for the info, Marilie. I am interested in using it on all of my hair as the gray is mixed in throughout all of it, just not localized in the streak. I've read up on henna and realize that I'll need to add some indigo so I'm not shining bright red. I'm just concerned about the wide, white streak and how that will blend in with my dark brunette hair. Will the streak be lighter and stand out, like a burgundy streak instead of white? I will also do some reading on the website you recommend.

[Marilie]

If you use henna and indigo it would be more brown. I just did it on my grays. I wish I had a good pic. Henna only makes my grays coppery red. Henna and indigo made them blend in with the rest of my hair. Of course, they are already growing back in... *facepalm*

 

With the right blend of henna and indigo the gray streak should turn out brown. There should be some pics of people with gray/white hair on the site. Some before and after pics.

[MarvBear]

I tired that once.

 

Once was enough. Hair was redder that a crow's a$$ that had been eating pokeberries.

[Marilie]

LOL @ MarvBear!!

[minnie aubre]

When we were in our early 20s, one of my friends used henna in her hair religiously. It was RED. She didn't have any gray, of course, just wanted red hair. I had never heard of adding indigo and now I'm curious about this. Please let us know how it turns out.

 

 

 

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[Tigz]

Personally, if i were going to color my hair for the first time, I'd probably go to a colorologist (or whatever they are called now) A hair stylist that specializes in hair color.

 

Grey hair is tricky. Anything that is tricky is best left up to a pro.

[jettavwdrvr]

Personally, if i were going to color my hair for the first time, I'd probably go to a colorologist (or whatever they are called now) A hair stylist that specializes in hair color.

 

Grey hair is tricky. Anything that is tricky is best left up to a pro.

 

What intrigues me most about henna is that it's natural. I'm not interested in using chemicals in my hair. I'm slowly leaning towards trying this but am still doing a lot of research.

[Guest canyoncat]

Henna + grey hair is not recommended, at least as far as everything I've ever read about it? I used to use a henna mix in the 70's that made my brown hair a beautiful shade of deep burgundy. I miss that (the brown hair, and the burgundy). It's blond hiding a ton of grey now.

[breeze]

I've used Roux Fancifull rinse - Golden Blond is a nice soft reddish gold. I have caucasian hair, born blond, now light golden brown with reddish highlights and a lighter blond streak. The nice thing is, it washes out if you don't like it. I think I saw sample bottles a while back. I used the "silver lining" on my Mom's hair after she went gray. I was blessed with genes that keep me from turning gray until I'm in late 70's or early 80's. so when I used a temporary rinse, it's more for fun and something different.

 

The color rinses also make gray hair more manageable, adding body and acting as a setting lotion.

 

You can find it in stores for a lot less than the price on Amazon. I think I paid about $6 the last time I bought it.