The "Before"
I decided to do a few "before" photos of my hair color, to see how it changes as I try to get it as red as possible with henna over the next 3 months.
This was definitely my favorite, because it cracks me up! It looks like I'm pretending that the paparazzi got me while I was sunbathing, but really the sun was just extremely painful on my eyes.
Henna oxidizes from orange to red the most in the first 3-4 days, and finishes by day 10 or so. I hennaed the whole length 7 days ago, so this is a pretty accurate color. Well, it's accurate for being in the sun and having that Henna Glow I love so much... indoors, it is much more brown and less sparkly.
What's interesting to me is that the hair by the roots has not oxidized much at all, and I'm wondering if that's because I've been oiling my scalp too much. I'll have to quit the monoi oil for a few days and see if this reddens up, or if the hair there just did not absorb as much.
Lightening up
My normally dark brown hair is lighter at the tips from years of unintentional sun-bleaching, and dark brown toward the roots. Henna acts as a sunscreen, so I actually used to have these sun-bleached highlights (sometimes all the way to blonde!) all over and especially around my face. I'd like to lighten it up a bit around my face again so that the red can show through, so I might do a few test patches of a honey treatment. Mixed with the right amount of water, honey makes a very weak peroxide, and I've heard of a few success stories in lightening up dark brown under henna without damage.
Have any of you tried the lemon juice + sun method? I may do a test patch of this as well, and it'd be great to do while I'm hiking and out in the sun anyway, but I hear that it causes damage. When your hair is old, the damage builds up fast. :/
Records
Ok, just for the record, here is the tentative plan:
The reason I'm taking so long to build up the color is because... I dunno, it's fun. Why not draw out a science experiment and enjoy every step along the way? Plus, my hair releases some dye in the shower for about a week after a major henna, so I feel like I should just let it do its thing for a week before adding more.
I decided to do a few "before" photos of my hair color, to see how it changes as I try to get it as red as possible with henna over the next 3 months.
This was definitely my favorite, because it cracks me up! It looks like I'm pretending that the paparazzi got me while I was sunbathing, but really the sun was just extremely painful on my eyes.
 |
| The sun... it burns! |
Henna oxidizes from orange to red the most in the first 3-4 days, and finishes by day 10 or so. I hennaed the whole length 7 days ago, so this is a pretty accurate color. Well, it's accurate for being in the sun and having that Henna Glow I love so much... indoors, it is much more brown and less sparkly.
What's interesting to me is that the hair by the roots has not oxidized much at all, and I'm wondering if that's because I've been oiling my scalp too much. I'll have to quit the monoi oil for a few days and see if this reddens up, or if the hair there just did not absorb as much.
Lightening up
My normally dark brown hair is lighter at the tips from years of unintentional sun-bleaching, and dark brown toward the roots. Henna acts as a sunscreen, so I actually used to have these sun-bleached highlights (sometimes all the way to blonde!) all over and especially around my face. I'd like to lighten it up a bit around my face again so that the red can show through, so I might do a few test patches of a honey treatment. Mixed with the right amount of water, honey makes a very weak peroxide, and I've heard of a few success stories in lightening up dark brown under henna without damage.
Have any of you tried the lemon juice + sun method? I may do a test patch of this as well, and it'd be great to do while I'm hiking and out in the sun anyway, but I hear that it causes damage. When your hair is old, the damage builds up fast. :/
Records
Ok, just for the record, here is the tentative plan:
- March 31: 12 hours, watery consistency (this was an accident, normally it is as thick as yogurt)
- April 7: 8 hours, strong henna gloss (50% henna, 50% conditioner)
- April 14: 8 hours, medium henna gloss (25% henna, 75% conditioner)
- Weekly: repeat step 3, but full-strength on roots monthly, until a good red is achieved.
- Monthly, to maintain: 5-6 hours, full-strength on roots and weak gloss (10%) on length.
The reason I'm taking so long to build up the color is because... I dunno, it's fun. Why not draw out a science experiment and enjoy every step along the way? Plus, my hair releases some dye in the shower for about a week after a major henna, so I feel like I should just let it do its thing for a week before adding more.
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