Adventures with Henndigo (aka disappointing results when trying to go black)

[Mindi Kellaway]

After having black box dye fade out on the ends of my hair to a sort of darkish brown colour, I decided to try henndigo (a combination of henna and indigo) to get a black colour.  I followed the instructions properly, but unfortunately, it didn't come out black at all.  So here are some photos of the frankly disappointing results.  I will be returning to the box dyes shortly (giving my hair a few days to recover first) in an attempt to actually get black instead of the gingerish brown colour I've ended up with.  So on to the pics.  First is a pic of what the henna mix looks like, which is quite disgusting.  It also smells horrible and is a completed pain to apply.  Also kinda expensive in comparison to box dyes, so a total fail all around!  The next two pics are the colour I started out with, which is a darkish brown colour, faded from a pitch black box dye.

[Mindi Kellaway]

(Have had to put this as a reply as I can't post all the pics in one post)
And now for the results of the henna and indigo.  It's a two step process, first you mix the henna (which needs to be an acidic mix, so I mixed it with vinegar and added a bit of olive oil to make it easier to wash out).  Then you have to let the mix sit in the bowl for 6-8 hours for the dye release.  Then put the gloop onto your hair, cover, and leave for 4-6 hours (or longer - some people leave it on overnight).  Then rinse out.  Then you mix the indigo using water instead of acidic liquid.  I also added an egg for a conditioning/protein hit at the same time, and again a little olive oil to make it easier to wash out.  This part doesn't need to sit for dye release, just put it straight onto your hair, and let it sit for as long as possible.  I left it on overnight, but still didn't achieve black.  I am actually quite surprised that the henna seems to have actually lightened my hair (which henna shouldn't do), but the end result is only slightly darker than the henna result.  The first two pics are just after the henna (hair is wet, so it'd be a little brighter red when dry), then the next two are the results after the indigo.  Disappointing isn't the word for it.  The indigo just made it go a slightly browner shade of red!  The roots are darker than the ends, but still not black. Oh well, back to the box dyes it is then!

[pippachainsaw]

wow. im still really suprised. im sorry it dodnt work mindi, but i like the colour =) not that helps your dreads at al. have you tried xxl?

[StephanieFlowers]

Wow that sucks Hopefully it sorts it self out asap

[Member-I]

I'm sorry that it didn't work

[The_sunny_girl]

Sorry dear, i hope you'll manage to fix it

[theodora]

Yikes henndigo is a notorious pain to get right, especially on the first try. I wonder if you'd have had better results with a mix like Lush caca noir instead of doing the 2 step process. But yeah indigo is very unpredictable and washes out easily as well so it's really high maintenance. Not to mention it often takes many applications to build it up to a black colour.

I hope you have better luck with box dyes. Remember to use coconut oil before applying

[Mindi Kellaway]

Well, I don't know what was in the henna (it was labelled as 100% pure henna), but my hair is still feeling awful!  I've done two deep conditioning treatments, an overnight coconut oil soak, and even more intense moisturising treatments, but my hair is just really really tangled all the time!  It's not breaking off or gummy feeling, but I can't even run my fingers through it when I've got conditioner all over it in the shower!  I'm hoping that just persevering with the deep conditioning and throwing in a few protein treatments will do the trick before I go to have the dreads put in, cause I really don't want to throw a box dye over it at the moment!