Everyone is born with certain skin, eye, and hair colors, but that doesn't mean we can't modify some of those pigments. For eyes, there are contact lenses, for skin, there is makeup, and for hair, there are dye products, which, unfortunately, are often corrosive.
However, you can turn to natural dyes to color your hair while caring for it at the same time. To do this, henna, cassia obovata, and indigo are 3 natural herb-based dyes with which you can achieve the hair color you want. Want to know how to get different henna colors? Then keep reading.
What is henna? What is it used for?
Henna is a natural ingredient that comes from the leaves of the Lawsonia Inermis bush, which comes from the wetter areas of southern Asia and northern Africa. The leaves of this bush are crushed and the resulting powder is marketed as henna.
And what is henna used for? Well, it has multiple uses. It is widely used on hair since it contains no chemicals and is able to nourish and moisturize it, reducing dandruff and making it look shinier and healthier.
For this reason, henna is one of the main natural options for coloring hair without damaging it. It is true that natural henna only dyes hair red, but if combined with other natural additives, different henna colors can be obtained to dye hair in a healthy way.
Benefits of henna
These are the main benefits of henna on hair:
- Strengthens hair.
- Adds shine and volume.
- Eliminates dandruff and flaking.
- Serves as a conditioner.
- Regulates sebum.
- Balances the pH of hair.
- Coats hair with a protective film.
How does henna work on hair?
Henna is placed on the hair and forms a protective layer that repairs it, providing all the benefits mentioned above. Likewise, henna adds color to the hair depending on the base it acts on. Therefore, you need to know how and with what natural ingredients to use henna to dye hair the desired color.
How to make henna paste?
To prepare henna paste for hair, you will need to gather the following ingredients:
- A package of henna powder.
- The juice of one lemon
- ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
- Hot water
You just need to mix these ingredients in a bowl with the help of a spoon. Make sure the water is very hot and that you use the exact amount to form a paste that is neither too liquid nor too thick.
How to get a dark brown color with henna
To get a dark brown color with henna, it can be done in two phases or in a single application, although bleaching in two phases is recommended. For a dark brown in two phases, we need henna and indigo.
We should leave the henna paste macerating the day before with a little acid. For this, we can use lemon, vinegar, orange juice, or amla powder. As for the proportions, we will use ½ lemon juice for every 100 grams of henna. However, for dark brown, it is recommended to activate the henna with amla instead of lemon, to darken the paste.
These are the steps to follow to get dark brown hair with henna:
- We prepare a thick paste with henna, amla, and a little hot water. The proportion of amla to henna will be 10 grams of amla for every 30 grams of henna.
- We add hot water to the mixture to achieve a texture like yogurt and cover the mixture with plastic wrap to prevent air from entering and it oxidizing. It is recommended that it macerates all night, between eight and twelve hours.
- The next day, we wash the hair, since it must be completely clean for the dye. We remove excess water with a towel, but we do not dry the hair per se.
- We apply the henna and cover the hair with plastic wrap or a shower cap and, on top, an old towel.
- We keep the henna on the hair for at least one hour. About ten minutes before removing it, we prepare the indigo with hot water until we achieve, again, a texture like yogurt.
- After ten minutes, we rinse the henna with only water, remove excess water with a towel, and apply the indigo. We cover again with plastic and a cap and wait about 45 minutes. If we leave it longer, we will get a darker brown color.
- After 45 minutes, we rinse again with only water.
And that's it! We will already have our hair dyed dark brown thanks to henna and indigo.
How to get light brown with henna
In the case of wanting to dye our hair light brown with henna, we will need to gather the following ingredients: henna, indigo, walnut powder, and amla. The proportion will be one part henna, one part indigo, two parts walnut powder, and ⅓ amla. We will need to follow these steps:
- First we will activate the henna by mixing it with amla the day before and leave the mixture macerating for twelve hours.
- The next day, we add boiling water to the walnut powder.
- At the time of applying the paste, we prepare the mixture by adding the walnut powder to the henna and amla mixture. If necessary, we will add more boiling water to achieve a texture similar to yogurt.
- While this mixture cools, we prepare the indigo with hot water until we achieve, again, a texture similar to yogurt.
- When the henna mixture has cooled down, we mix it with the indigo and apply it to the freshly washed hair without excess water.
- When we have applied the mixture to the hair, we cover it with plastic and a towel and keep it covered for an hour and a half, checking every 20 minutes to make sure our hair does not get too dark.
- When we have obtained the desired color, we rinse with plenty of water and do not wash our hair with shampoo for the next 48 hours.
And that's it! We will already have our hair dyed light brown thanks to henna.
How to get a blonde color with henna
For blonde hair, we must use Neutral Henna, also known as Senna Indica or Cassia Obovata. This henna can only provide a blonde color to blonde or gray hair. It is important to understand that henna does not bleach hair, so if you have brown hair, you are not going to notice a color change in your hair with Cassia Obovata. Now, if you are blonde and you would like to dye your grays blonde these are the steps you must follow:
- Mix 2 or 3 tablespoons of neutral henna (Cassia Obovata) with chamomile infusion until forming a creamy paste.
- Add 3-4 teaspoons of a cold-pressed vegetable oil to nourish the hair with more vitamins.
- Let it cool and apply it from the scalp to the tip of the hair.
- It is recommended to leave it acting for approximately 1 hour before washing with a sulfate-free shampoo.
How to get an intense red color with henna
To get hair dyed a bright red color with henna, you only need light hair and remove the acidic component from the mixture. It is enough to make the paste we mentioned with henna, hibiscus infusion and olive oil and apply it as we have already commented: leaving it macerating for twelve hours, applying it to moistened hair, covering it with plastic and a towel and rinsing with water after 45 minutes.
If we want to obtain a very intense red, we must add the lemon and leave the mixture resting for 24 hours in the refrigerator. After this time, the henna will have released all its pigments and it will be a spectacular red.
Where to buy henna?
In our online store you can get 100% pure and natural henna in a 227-gram format. And to save you the search, you can also buy our 100% pure and natural amla sachets, also in a 227-gram format.
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