heyyy mahalia! awww you so sweet! i was hopin no one would get mad!
lol..with bigen, you wash your hair like any normal dye- after youve finished the application dye, altho the directions tell you to rinse whenever the color starts to look how you want. it takes two weeks of washing to really get the dye out in my opinion... then thats when the "real" color shows through and you regain your natural texture without all the excess color. im hoping that made sense! hehehe
ive found bigen to be very stable! its been 3 almost 4 months since ive used it and the color is still rich and vibrant although now its getting kinda dull so i wanna touch it up in a few weeks. bigen is definitely different from other dyes- definitely.. it doesnt fade as fast, its dark, and your hair texture doesnt change as a result (probably since theres no ammonia or other chemicals)..
the way bigen comes is in a small glass bottle about an inch thick and an inch high..its weird i know..lol but its a powder first and they give you a measuring cup about two inches high that you mix it all together with inside a plastic container.. the bottle is so deceivingly small but its potent with color! it really only takes 10-15 minutes for me to get a deep rich lasting black (but you can definitely leave it in longer, i think it says not to exceed 30 minutes)
I use MTG as well and sooo many oils, coconut, amla, sweet almond, light dabur, wild growth oil, and regular essential oil and it doesnt effect the color AT ALL!! its very long lasting! and nothing effects it at all. i used oriental black which is a very dark blue black (almost although i didnt really notice a tinge of blue in the remaining color) and is now (and im talking through daily washing) is starting to fade. I applied it thoroughly to my ends at the end of the application process because they say the ends are the lightest part (especially if they are brittle) and need less coloring than the rest of the hair because they suck it up. when i washed it out (and after the two weeks of consistent washing) the ends were still stable and didnt suffer any damage..
ive used indian henna..haha im talking the green colored powder that has little twigs and plant leaves hahaha the stuff thats straight from the tree almost...regular henna (although this does vary) gives your hair an orange red hue. girlll i know SO MUCH about henna..hahaha i can always go more in depth for you! just ask! it doesnt turn that bright automatically, over time the hue gets richer and brighter..
there are many things you can add to influence the ending color. lemon juice makes it brighter, letting it sit overnight makes the color more progressive and intense, adding indigo (as some ladies do on here) makes it black and its a safe way of doing it..henna is all natural and id say it takes about two weeks to see the true tone as well (you have to wash regularly to get all the henna out) i stopped using it because i havent had a chance to buy more or any indigo..using indigo is the safest thing to use with henna to make it black...NEVER BUY BLACK HENNA.. its usually something thats imitation that many people add UNNATURAL things like motor oil or other harmful things that could irritate you/ have HORRIBLE EFFECTS ON THE SKIN! if it has PPD IN IT ITS BAD FOR YOU!
http://www.mehandi.com/
the site i gave you above is the best site to check out more about henna..they also SELL samples and the actual henna and indigo at reasonable prices.. CHECK IT OUT!
IVE ALSO TRIED THE BELOW RINSES THAT ARE SEMI PERANENT:
http://www.sallybeauty.com/shop/1430/320250
AND
JAZZING
both never worked for me, made my hair feel over processed, and smelt very very chemically..i personally would not recommend them..bigen didnt really have a scent to me...it smelled clean.
i havent tried these rinses two close to each other...if youve tried henna and its been a few months (3-5+ months), it should be okay to try bigen without adverse reaction...if youve done henna about a month or two ago, let it grow out a bit and then attempt to rinse..but honestly, i wouldnt recommend using anything besides regular henna (with or without indigo) and bigen..they are the only things that DONT HAVE AMMONIA OR PEROXIDE...i stay away from the other cos they gave me a headache, the chemicals they have arent healthy, and it fades VERY QUICKLY in comparison..but thats just my idea of the situation..
if you need any guidance of any sort, im here for you!
meia
ps: i KNOW that was longer than you wanted to know....hahaha