Is CurlyNikki's hair black? Red? Copper?
A curlynikki.com reader writes: “…your hair looks like it is jet black, is that all from henna? I’d love to get that dark shiny look.”
I know it sounds weird, but the color changes depending on the setting. It’s sort of like a rinse…a transparent copper-y rinse. Imagine drawing with an orange crayon on black construction paper—under most indoor lighting, the paper still looks black (albeit shinier), but if held under the light, just right, you’ll catch a glimpse of orange. Outdoors, in sunlight, my hair glows auburn, so much so that my sis and hubby call me “redhead”, but indoors it’s a rich black. There are some instances (back lighting, etc.) where you can really see the red indoors, but I can never really catch it on camera.
With that said, if your hair lighter than mine naturally (sandy brown, etc) the henna red will be very evident—your hair may appear auburn in most lighting conditions.
Many women use a two step indigo treatment to cover stubborn grays and dye the hair a rich, shiny, blue-black. I’ve never used indigo and don’t plan to, but the results I’ve seen look gorgeous. Hope this helps!
Later Gator,
Nik
Please leave your henna/indigo mix experiences below!
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:19 am and is filed under Curly Kinky Hair (Type 3c), Hair Color, Kinky Hair (Type 4a), Products, Redhead, Semi-permanent. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I have used henna before and about 8 months ago i experimented with henna and indigo. I loved the results although my hair felt kinda dry. I later did it and added EVOO and orange juice instead of lemon and my hair felt so much nicer! I have not done it in a while, but i did like it. It is just too time consuming (my opinion), but i like the fact that it is an all natural way of coloring your hair. What’s not to love about no chemicals?!
November 20th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Exactly! Chemical free, natural, and organic ways will always take a bit more time then just slapping on some chemicals real quick, but it’s worth it in the end. It makes a huge difference and henna and natural hair care, will really make your hair easier to manage in the long run.
A lot of people turn to henna, and indigo because they want to cover grey hair. We may say we’ll never want to use indigo, but when those greys start popping in, we may have to go that route. I personally don’t really like the smell of indigo, but will probably jump to use it once my greys come in.
Thanks for sharing Nikki!
December 15th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I have greys and I use henna and a bunch of ayurvedic herbs to condition, color, and promote hair growth. My greys turn a deep copper color, which I love. Maybe when I start seriously going grey I’ll switch to henna and indigo, but right now I love my henna and ayurvedic paste!
January 2nd, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I am very new to using henna and recently tried the henna/indigo mixture to cover some gray areas around the front hair line. With much pray and anticipation about the result I must say I am very pleased with the reaults. Not only did thehenna and indigo cover those “pesky grays” but it also made my hair feel so soft and thick. I read from many blogs how henna tends to make the hair dry so i immediately deep conditioned after. I will be using henna/indigo mix very very soon!
January 12th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Hi Curly Nikki, I remember going through your Hair story and seeing your hair getting darker and darker with the use of Henna. I am going through the same thing. I had dyed the front of my hair blonde… you know that style at the beginning of summer last year lol… and after dying it darker with a Natural hair dye it still had copper highlights and now that I am using Henna notoriously, it is a dark red and I know eventually it will be dark like yours. Currently I mix my Henna with warm beet juice, yogurt, lemon juice and a little bit of apple cider vinegar and essential oils. Sleep with it in and then rinse with conditioner at the same time. I love the results it makes my hair REALLY shinny.
January 13th, 2010 at 7:01 am
I recently did my Henna treatment and mixed mine with orange juice and olive oil and my hair is shinier and bouncier. My Henna color is brown and my hair has a deep dark brown tint,and with my sparse grey hair, the color is a lighter brown highlight. I love the Henna better than the other color rinses that i’ve used before, b/c it doesn’t leave the residue on my clothes or towel.
January 30th, 2010 at 6:16 am
I’ve been natural for a year. I’m so liberated from salon relaxers. I’m older and grey is a big part of my hair now. I love coloring my hair. Now that I’ve read about using henna, can someone tell me where to get it and how to use it. thanks much Curly Sista-friends.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
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August 25th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Hi Nikki!! I have been researching Henna for months and with the help of your lovely site, naturallycurly.com, and hennaforhair.com. I finally took the plunge. I followed your tutorial and the henna is in my hair as we speak. I will let you know the results!! Looking forward to thicker shinier hair
September 26th, 2011 at 12:02 am
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