Calling All Naturals with gray hair

[HeChangedMyName]

I am just tired of these gray hairs that keep multiplying. I wouldn't care if they were not all around my hairline. What is the best, and least damaging hair color.

I have some henna, but I know from experience that Henna can be VERY drying and I can't afford dry hair right now.

What are you all using? I'm desperate at this point and I wouldn't mind a punch of color for change.

 

[onyxdreams]

Right on time. My gray hair when I henna doesn't give me the color I want and the gray isn't completely covered.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Right on time. My gray hair when I henna doesn't give me the color I want and the gray isn't completely covered.

Have you tried any other color in the past? For me, henna works so so if left on for 50-11 hours. I just don't feel like devoting the next 48 hours solely to the whole henna process. . .wash, henna, DC, yada yada yada. I want my color NOW lol

 

[onyxdreams]

Have you tried any other color in the past? For me, henna works so so if left on for 50-11 hours. I just don't feel like devoting the next 48 hours solely to the whole henna process. . .wash, henna, DC, yada yada yada. I want my color NOW lol

My grays just doesn't take to color, I can keep my henna on for a whole day and still have gray hair. I haven't tried anything else because I didn't want to risk mixing a dye with henna. Now,I just don't care and really would like the coverage.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I'm researching and Im thinking about getting a box color specifically for grays, but only using it on the area where I have the majority grays, and picking a color that is close to my own.

I just don't trust professionals to treat my hair like I do, otherwise I'd go have it professionally done.

 

[KaramelDiva1978]

Oh wow. Sorry about the bad experiences with henna. I use henna with no problems because I always deep condition with a moisturizing conditioner for over an hour afterwards. No drying.

I edited because I saw for naturals. Color never took well for me as a natural unless it was permanent. And for me that meant damage.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Oh wow. Sorry about the bad experiences with henna. I use henna with no problems because I always deep condition with a moisturizing conditioner for over an hour afterwards. No drying.

I edited because I saw for naturals. Color never took well for me as a natural unless it was permanent. And for me that meant damage.

This is exactly why I'm being so cautious. Even as a relaxed head, I experienced damage, even with semi-permanent and rinses. My hair doesn't like to be bothered apparently.

 

[India*32]

I did a box color to cover gray, Soft Sheen, but I wanted a darker color and did not want to mess with it myself, I went to my stylist. I told her I don't comb and shampoo once a month. She applied color, rinsed, a little shampoo then conditioner. She asked me if I wanted a pick, I said no. She used a little Morrocan Oil. Sat under dryer to remove excess water and bounced. I love the color. I would show pics but camera not working.

 

[Crystal]

I use demi permanent Color Gems 2X a month. I hate my gray hair with a passion.

 

[ajargon02]

Oh wow. Sorry about the bad experiences with henna. I use henna with no problems because I always deep condition with a moisturizing conditioner for over an hour afterwards. No drying.

I edited because I saw for naturals. Color never took well for me as a natural unless it was permanent. And for me that meant damage.

Yup me too. I used to use baq henna mixed w/indigo or amla.For meit was worth it. Now I just don't care as much.

 

[onyxdreams]

I use demi permanent Color Gems 2X a month. I hate my gray hair with a passion.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a demi- permanent and is it suppose to only last teo weeks?

 

[naturalmanenyc]

Many ladies in the henna threads are using indigo to cover gray hair. It's a two step process, henna treatment, rinse, and then immediately do an indigo treatment. The indigo needs something to bind to and since henna binds to the hair, it's a two step process to cover grays. Don't get organic indigo. I've read that it does not cover grays well.

Not all henna takes 50-11 hours. I have been researching and ordered Moroccan henna which takes only 1-2 hours for the color release. I also ordered indigo. I'm going for a brown color by mixing henna and indigo for a one step process.

I will bump the thread for you with an example of gray hair covered with henna and indigo.

 

[grownwomanaz]

My grays just doesn't take to color, I can keep my henna on for a whole day and still have gray hair. I haven't tried anything else because I didn't want to risk mixing a dye with henna. Now,I just don't care and really would like the coverage.

Dang it, I was working my way up to try henna/indigo. I've had a gray patch in the front for a long time now, but not that many elsewhere. I use cassia now for conditioning/strengthening. It's not as messy as I thought it would be.

 

[faithVA]

I'm a natural and I have used both color and henna. I was having it done at a salon and it works fabulously but now I do it myself. My hair is low porosity so no matter how long I leave it on, it doesn't take to my hair line. And it rinses or wears out after about 3 days. It doesn't seem to work well at my root. It seems to do find on the length of my strand though. And it leaves my hair sort of hard no matter how much I condition it. So I switched back to color.

Now I use ION Demi. I only color my roots though every 3 months. I tried Bigen powder. That did not work for me at all. I have used Soft Sheen. I love the way it looks and feels but I think it has both ammonia and peroxide so I left that alone.

I plan on sticking to the ION for now.

My hair is too short to tell if there is damage. But I'm not walking around with all this gray until I'm 60.

 

[constance]

I use Naturtint. It is a permanent dye and it matches my natural hair color and covers my greys. Despite the name, it has chemicals but not as many as other dyes.

(PS. I use very little heat to balance out whatever damage may have been caused by the dye.)

 

[hair4today]

^^^^^ ditto what faithVA said about henna not working for stubborn grays at the hairline. I have low porosity hair but never made the connection til now. Anyhow, no matter what I did the henna colour would revert within a couple of days and whenever I used henna+indigo, my hair would be dry and brittle and would take weeks of conditioning treatments to bring the moisture back. Then it would be time to henna again. The solution I found was Baka Natural-Colors Henna Hair Color for Gray Coverage. It's a henna based product with dye content (3%) added for color. You mix the powder with ACV, wait 10 minutes to apply, then its 30 - 60 minutes for the colour to set and viola stubborn grays are gone. What I love is that its non drying, comes in a variety of colours and the colour lasts 4 to 6 weeks until your new grays appears. Great stuff. The only drawback is that you can't get this product on the ground. The vendor, Treasured Locks, offers volume discount when you purchase 3 or more so I stock up and it lasts a long time as I just use it on my hairline. Here is the link with more info http://www.treasuredlocks.com/henna-hair-color-gray-hair-coverage.html.

 

[faithVA]

Thanks ladies. I have seen those. But I get tired of having to continually try products. Since I also have low porosity I may look into the Baka Henna. Having low porosity changes everything.

 

[hair4today]

faithVA, I had just about given up fighting with my grays and was soooo over the henna thing until I saw this youtube video http://youtu.be/RgKSWVKSdCA on Baka Natural. I think the YouTuber is a LHCF member and I must have followed the link from from one of her posts to the video. Glad I did...the product works just like she said it would.

 

[Jobwright]

Black tea rinses work like a charm. I pour the tea over my head, put on some DC, let it sit under the dryer with a cap or just lounging around with a cap for about 30 mins, rinse, perfection.

SL 2013, APL 2013, BSL 2013, Challenge for our Children 2013

 

[grownwomanaz]

^^^^^ ditto what @faithVA said about henna not working for stubborn grays at the hairline. I have low porosity hair but never made the connection til now. Anyhow, no matter what I did the henna colour would revert within a couple of days and whenever I used henna+indigo, my hair would be dry and brittle and would take weeks of conditioning treatments to bring the moisture back. Then it would be time to henna again. The solution I found was Baka Natural-Colors Henna Hair Color for Gray Coverage. It's a henna based product with dye content (3%) added for color. You mix the powder with ACV, wait 10 minutes to apply, then its 30 - 60 minutes for the colour to set and viola stubborn grays are gone. What I love is that its non drying, comes in a variety of colours and the colour lasts 4 to 6 weeks until your new grays appears. Great stuff. The only drawback is that you can't get this product on the ground. The vendor, Treasured Locks, offers volume discount when you purchase 3 or more so I stock up and it lasts a long time as I just use it on my hairline. Here is the link with more info http://www.treasuredlocks.com/henna-hair-color-gray-hair-coverage.html.

Any cons to using this product? I'm like 2 seconds away from purchasing lol. What ACV/Baka ratio do you use?

 

[hair4today]

grownwomanaz, no cons as far as the product is concerned, it delivers on the gray coverage and its far more moisturizing than pure henna (for my hair). The only con is that I can't find it locally so shipping adds to the cost. If you click on the link, check the review tab for more pros and cons. In terms of the consistency, basically, you mix equal amounts of ACV to powder. Instructions calls for entire contents (2oz powder ) to 2 oz ACV. For my hairline, I use approx 1 tsp of powder with 1 tsp ACV. Here's the instructions that comes with.

Preparation of Paste:
Mix powder (entire contents) gradually adding about two ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar. Hot Apple Cider Vinegar is recommended.
Stir paste thoroughly 3 minutes. While stirring it will become a gel like paste Use after 10 minutes.
Do not use the remaining paste. Discard Immediately.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA, I had just about given up fighting with my grays and was soooo over the henna thing until I saw this youtube video http://youtu.be/RgKSWVKSdCA on Baka Natural. I think the YouTuber is a LHCF member and I must have followed the link from from one of her posts to the video. Glad I did...the product works just like she said it would.

Thanks. Maybe it is the Amla that helps soften it up. I'm not a mixtress. I want my stuff already ready so I would rather pay for it already mixed the right way.

I want to color my hair in February so I will give this a try. Even with shipping cost it is comparable to buy the ION color + developer locally.

 

[Shadiyah]

I use henna and I henna my hair every month and you will not get the color you want right away and I don't have any drying with my hair because I deep condition my hair after every application.

I have a lot of grey most in the front of my hair and and I am grey streak so the henna looks very nice I think I have been doing it for yrs so it is dark burgundy now and Ilove it.

 

[geejay]

I do a one step henna/indigo. So far it's been keeping the grays in check. Not perfectly, but adequately. I'd get better results if I did it ever 3-4 weeks like clockwork, but I'm lazy and do a more 8-12 week cycle, so that lets the gray get a foothold from which to fight off the color

 

[BostonMaria]

I used to color + indigo but got tired of the long process. I now only dye my hairline to get rid of the gray hair in the front. I usually buy a $19 hair dye from whole foods. I think it's called natural tints. I use it because its plant based and supposedly better (picking my poison). Or sometimes I just grab Miss Clairol and be done with it.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[DarkJoy]

I also used box color to cover my grays. Had to big chop in July. Totally damaged and that was with a semi-permanent

I use henna. With just water. I think ppl adding stuff too it like DCs with protein and all manner of hoodoo just does their hair in. Without that stuff, henna actually leaves my hair quite moisturized. I do it for 3 - 4 hours now with about 30 mins heat.

Think I will do the black indigo though. The red doesn't cover the gray as well as I'd like, unfortunately

 

[Ltown]

I use box dye loreal or dark and lovely and just cover my temple grays. I had allergic reaction to indigo so please do a strand test it has history like all dyes of having ppd. If you use henna make sure its pure,

http://www.hennaforhair.com/ppd

 

[Kindheart]

My grays are sprouting proud and unapologetic ,lol . I tried hair mascara but i find it very sticky and uncomfortable to wear . i dye the sides and top of my head with a semi permanent color ;Clairol in the little brown bottle .

 

[wavezncurlz]

i might try the BAKA stuff. The only time I get full coverage without drying has been at the stylist. I have a halo of gray now and I don't want to go back to the stylist yet.

 

[Bajanmum]

I use box dye loreal or dark and lovely and just cover my temple grays. I had allergic reaction to indigo so please do a strand test it has history like all dyes of having ppd. If you use henna make sure its pure,

http://www.hennaforhair.com/ppd

Please be careful...This BAKA product has PPD in. PPD is linked to some types of cancer and you can't treat BAKA like BAQ Henna.

Please click the link that Ltown has kindly given.

I henna gloss with 4 ingredients and I found it's quite moisturizing. Nupur 9 herb henna (it has Brahmi, Shikakai, Aloe Vera, Methi, Bhringraj, Amla, Neem, Hibiscus, and Jatamansi which all strengthen and condition hair), weak green tea, cheap conditioner, and an oil usually amla.

My numerus greys (I'm only 38yrs old, and I'm 40% grey) don't come out orange but dark burgandy which I love.