Henna + Hair Color

Emerwen

Ok, so, I have been dying my hair for years now. I started out semi-permanent, then accidentally put a permanent on. So, I'm slowly lightening my hair now.

I've heard that applying henna to colored hair too soon is bad. I'm considering doing the "golden henna" (I forget the name). I know it will not actually lighten my hair, I am interested in it for the conditioning properties.

But, I have a couple questions:

1) I last dyed my hair 2 months ago. Is that too recent to apply Henna?

2) If I did the henna soon, would I be able to re-dye my hair shortly after or no?

3) Will henna react badly with semi-permanent dyes (like manic panic, etc)?

Thanks!

smasters467

As long as the henna your using is 100% henna, and nothing else, you can use it the same day as you used regular hair color. Henna isn't a chemical, so it won't react with hair dye. Your hair is more porous right after coloring, but all that really means in terms of using henna is that your hair will probably pick up more color from the henna.

On another note there is no such thing as "golden henna", you may be referring to Cassia, which is a plant similar to henna, and should also have no adverse reaction to box color, regardless of how long ago you used it. Of course, this is only true if it's 100% Cassia, and not a mixture of anything else. Cassia, unlike henna, can however have a reaction to your water. If you have very hard water it can turn Cassia greenish.

Your best bet is to find out everything you can about the henna your referring to, if it isn't 100% henna, don't put it anywhere near your hair. Henna For Hair is a great resource for researching henna before taking the plunge. HTH

Emerwen

Thanks! And yeah, Cassia is what I was referring to.

Salamander

Cassia will condition your hair in a similar way to henna. It will not change the color unless you are a very light blond to begin with. I'm a dark golden/strawberry blond and didn't see any color change at all from cassia.

The conditioning benefits don't last as long as with henna so people usually do cassia once a month or so.

I haven't tried using commercial color over cassia so can't advise there. But I would assume it would probably be OK assuming you are using 100% cassia.

It does make your hair less porous, so dye might not penetrate as well if you've done a cassia treatment recently. Might be better to color first, then do a cassia treatment for conditioning afterwards.

CurlyLolo

1) You can apply PURE henna (BAQ) same day
2) Dyeing over Henna is rarely successful and the dye may not even take!
3) I think it just fine with Manic Panic and other dyes that just lay down color OVER the hair shaft

Henna - is a life long commitment

it is for all intents and purposes - permanent