Cassia and hair coloring ?

[MissRissa]

Ok well I don't want to henna because I'm actually thinking about lightening my hair late spring of 09. Now I would like to try Cassia because I've read that it has many of the same properties of Henna save for the red/dark color and its effects are not cummulative. I was researching on the web and I saw that you cannot take the color of henna away or lighten it. I was just wondering if you can color over Cassia. Since my hair is dark, the cassia should have no coloring affect, just the conditioning/thickening. But when I go to lighten my hair in May, will I have any problems. I can't find good answers elsewhere so I figured i'd ask here. Gracias!!

 

[MissRissa]

imma keep bumping!

 

[Neith]

I wouldn't call myself a henna expert at this point, however... I do use it and know more than a little about it.

To my knowledge Cassia does have a dye in it. It is very light and faintly yellowish/golden, so unless you have light blond hair, you don't see any color.

If it IS anything like henna, it may also attach inside your hair's cortex and make big problems when you try to color over it with commercial dyes.

I can't say I'm 100% sure about this, but I know enough to strongly urge you to really find the RIGHT answer to this. Hopefully someone knows for sure!

 

[Neith]

Yeah, I was right...

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/cassiaobovatabuy.html
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"Cassia obovata will make damaged hair silky, thick, lustrous, and helps keep your scalp healthy, just as henna does. This has a golden yellow dye molecule, but it won't show up on your hair unless you are very pale blond or gray. Cassia will not make dark hair golden. Cassia will make gray or blond hair golden."

 

[MissRissa]

thanks for responding Neith, yeah i know it gives light hair color. thats why i said because my hair is dark it won't show up. the part i'm worried about is trying to permanently lighten my hair on top of cassia.

Yeah, I was right...

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/cassiaobovatabuy.html​

"Cassia obovata will make damaged hair silky, thick, lustrous, and helps keep your scalp healthy, just as henna does. This has a golden yellow dye molecule, but it won't show up on your hair unless you are very pale blond or gray. Cassia will not make dark hair golden. Cassia will make gray or blond hair golden."

 

[Neith]

thanks for responding Neith, yeah i know it gives light hair color. thats why i said because my hair is dark it won't show up. the part i'm worried about is trying to permanently lighten my hair on top of cassia.

The reason that henna can't be reliably dyed over is because the dye molecule really gets down in there and bonds with the cortex. Bleach won't get it out, nothing will. A lot of times the commercial color won't even take properly. Not because henna dye is red, but because commercial dyes kinda can't get past it.

I am assuming that cassia is similar to henna in that respect... the color of the dye in cassia doesn't matter. The nature of it will, the way that it attaches to the hair may very well interfere with commercial dyes.

 

[ravenmerlita]

I used cassia quite a bit last year and the year before. The effects weren't as long lasting as henna in my experience. It seemed to only last for a month or so and didn't effect any chemical treatments I had later. The dye molecule lawsone that is in henna is not in cassia. Lawsone is what binds with the hair keratin.

 

[Neith]

I used cassia quite a bit last year and the year before. The effects weren't as long lasting as henna in my experience. It seemed to only last for a month or so and didn't effect any chemical treatments I had later. The dye molecule lawsone that is in henna is not in cassia. Lawsone is what binds with the hair keratin.

Interesting. So cassia's dye doesn't penetrate the hair shaft? Or does it actually penetrate and it is just nothing like henna's lawsone molecule?

Hmmm makes me wonder. Is the color you get from cassia permanent like henna? Say if you have really light hair and color it golden with the cassia, will it stay forever?

 

[ravenmerlita]

Interesting. So cassia's dye doesn't penetrate the hair shaft? Or does it actually penetrate and it is just nothing like henna's lawsone molecule?

Hmmm makes me wonder. Is the color you get from cassia permanent like henna? Say if you have really light hair and color it golden with the cassia, will it stay forever?

Good question. I'd like to know this too.

 

[vkb247]

I've read plenty of stuff that says no hair color is permanent including henna but none of them said why and I can't find out on my own so I don't really know what to believe.

There is neutral henna. You can buy it at RoseMountain Herbs.com and it is made from the bark ans stems of the henna tree instead of the leafs and it is a very fine powder, no twigs, I was able to use it with no mess.

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use bleach to strip your natural color whether or not cassia/neutral henna was used previously because they have hardly any color...but I really don't know.