I finally became friends with henna and indigo after trying for so long. It has been 2 or more years of me using the pair and every time, it would leave my gray hair looking a bright brown. I could have been okay with a darker one like I had seen on numerous videos in my quest to get the henna & indigo thing right on my grays. But now, I am a pro, I can confidently do henna and indigo without any worry.
before henna and indigo treatment
I think I was doing both the mixing and the application wrong. You see, mostly, I don’t have much time on my hands. So, every time I did the treatment, I would tell myself I will take my time and do the proper thing but somehow, I found myself making shortcuts again. And of course my hair would not turn out the way I wanted. And I would neglect henna, only to try again because of the many benefits that henna offers to hair and scalp, besides covering my grays. Well it was not doing a good job at that until recently.
after henna & indigo treatment
after henna & indigo treatment
You may be wondering why the patience with henna, especially when I had said in an earlier post that I could not use henna becasue it turns my hair a bright orange. Well, henna has a lot of benefits on the hair and scalp and me being a lover of things healthy hair, I took it upon myself to
“Try, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”
Here are some of the benefits of henna
- Applying henna regularly makes hair glossy, healthy and voluminous.
- It repairs the damaged hair strands and restores the acid-alkaline balance of the scalp.
- It is an amazing conditioner for hair that protects the hair strands by building a protective layer around each strand.
- It is the best and safest way to color your hair that has no ammonia, chemicals, and toxins.
- Henna can be used to treat dandruff and scalp infections effectively.
- Gives thicker, stronger strands which may result in less breakage
- Reduces hair porosity thereby helping the hair to retain moisture for longer
- Smooths hair cuticle giving hair a healthy appearance
- Thickens hair because it deposits the dye on the hair strands
- Promotes growth due to antibacterial and antifungal properties
- Less shedding
- Some people report that henna loosens their curl pattern, I would not consider this a benefit but some people henna for this reason
This time, I did things differently. Instead of mixing the henna and indigo together then applying on the hair, I decided to do the henna treatment first and then follow the next day with an indigo treatment. I could not do both on the same day because it does take time and I was doing this after work.
Ingredients I used for my henna paste
- 100% natural Henna powder 100g
- 200 ml rewed black tea with 4 tea bags (can add water to get to desired consistency after the tea)
- Juice of half a lime
I mixed everything together in a bowl to make a paste. The consistency was more like a thick yogurt because I did not want it too runny so that I make less of a mess and it does not quickly start running down my face and neck. I covered the container and let it sit close to the stove where dinner was cooking to keep my paste warm. This way, the henna would release the dye faster. After about 2 hours, I then applied to my hair, starting with my crown so that I put all my hair at the top of my hair as I am smoothing the henna on it. This way, my neck and shoulders would not get all covered with henna from my hair. I then wrapped my hair in a cling wrap and let the paste sit in my hair for about 2 hours. Midway the waiting period, the henna water started sipping through the cling wrap and running down my face and neck. That’s why I had to wrap a towel around my hairline to complete 2 hours for the henna to attach to my hair. I then rinsed the henna out, conditioned my hair and put it in a loose bun. That was my hairstyle for the next day at work.
The next day, after work, I prepared the indigo paste. Indigo is what dyes hair black. Not henna. But indigo can’t attach itself to hair but to Henna. So besides the many benefits that henna has, the other is actually the first step in dying gray hair black using a safe herbal method that does not include chemicals and toxins that you may be allergic to.
My indigo paste ingredients were
- 100% natural indigo powder 100g
- 200 ml of tea brewed with 4 teabags (can add water to get to desired consistency)
- 1 tsp salt
- juice of half a lime
For indigo, there is no need to let the paste sit to release the dye. So I went straight and applied to my hair. Same operation as when I was doing the henna treatment.
After, rinsing my hair, I was so amazed at the results. My hair was so black, and my grays were so covered. This is what I call 100% gray coverage. If only I had known when I was using henna previously, to just do it as per book and not to do any short cuts. I could have mastered this a long time ago. Lesson learnt.
“Taking short cuts may actually take you the longer way to reach your goal.”
Keep smiling, keep laughing, keep loving. You will be amazed at how contagious that is.
Cheers. God bless you richly!