Can I henna my hair without it turning black?

[SleekandBouncy]

I've read through several henna threads and I'm still confused. My natural hair color is a dark brown and the front has auburn/light brown streaks. I don't mind a redder or browner tone as long as it's not an unnatural/weird red, but I don't want it to turn jet black.
I've heard henna can darken hair (permanently). I want the thickening, conditioning and shine enhancing benefits of the henna, but I'll buy cassia if I have to.

Also I've heard that adding indigo makes it black, but I've also read that adding indigo makes hair a dark brown
Can I mix henna & cassia and how do I know how much henna I need?
What does indigo do and what are the results if one uses henna without indigo?

 

[♦K.O♦]

If you mix henna and indigo together, you will get dark brown. Henna by itself will give your dark brown hair extra shine with a reddish glow in the sun and will make your auburn hair shinier and richer. The only way that you will get jet black hair is if you do a plain henna treatment and follow it directly with a plain indigo treatment.

 

[HoneyDew]

Henna will not turn your hair black. FAR FROM IT.

You can mix henna and cassia, which it what I do. It does not really change my hair color as much, but is used to when I used it weekly. Now I am down to once every other month and I don't get color change that much when I use 2 parts cassia, one part henna and one part something else, like amla powder.

Indigo is what gives you darker colors.

Whoever told you that henna turns your hair black permanently, may have been mistaking it for products mislabeled as henna, but they really contain PPD.

 

[coconow2007]

My hair is dark brown also - so when I used henna I prepared it first let it sit for several hours then I prepared the indigo seperate. When the henna was ready I mixed the indigo in - my hair turned out dark brown

 

[SleekandBouncy]

If you mix henna and indigo together, you will get dark brown. Henna by itself will give your dark brown hair extra shine with a reddish glow in the sun and will make your auburn hair shinier and richer. The only way that you will get jet black hair is if you do a plain henna treatment and follow it directly with a plain indigo treatment.

On one of the henna sites it refers to indigo as "black henna" so I thought it made the hair black.

Okay, so let me make sure I have this correct.
Henna by itself results in a reddish glow. Mixing in half indigo will make it more brown.
To get it just black I'd have to do henna and then indigo directly afterwards.

So I should be fine using a henna by itself without my hair turning black?

 

[♦K.O♦]

Okay, so let me make sure I have this correct.
Henna by itself results in a reddish glow. Mixing in half indigo will make it more brown.
To get it just black I'd have to do henna and then indigo directly afterwards.

So I should be fine using a henna by itself without my hair turning black?

You got it!

 

[anahnamuslyyours]

Juss make sure it's Body Art Quality henna! BAQ henna is the safest for any kind of chemically treated hair.

 

[Miss*Tress]

Indigo is not black henna. The expression, black henna, is misleading and inaccurate. There are three different plants from Africa and Asia commonly used to treat and or color hair:

- Henna (Lawsonia inermis, syn. L. alba) can only add redness to hair.
- Cassia (Cassia obovata) is neutral, but can make grey and very light hair slightly yellowish.
- Indigo (Indigofera) makes the hair black if used in conjuction with henna.

 

[Blackoutzangel05]

Henna will turn your hair reddish brown...indigo followed by a henna application is what turns your hair black. You can mix the two and get a deeper brown or you can use cassia and henna and I believe that gives you a calmer deeper red. Cassia is what they call a "clear henna" so you can use that alone and it gives all the benefits of henna without the color, I believe. I am using a henna mixture on my hair because I want that red tint...