I used about 60 g henna (7 tablespoons), 40 g indigo (4-5 ts).
I did not add anything but boiling water (henna), lukewarm water (indigo), both Brita filtered.
Both henna and indigo were rather easy to apply. With the indigo, however, one must work rather quickly, because the colour sets so soon and becomes very dark after about 25 minutes. I covered the henna with plastic and wool; I left the indigo uncovered.
My normal hair colour was light chestnut, which has turned 90% white/grey. During some years I used Logona umbra (100% organic). However, with this my hair turned more and more copper-orange as the natural white increased. I was unhappy with the colour, coverage on outgrows decreased, but I refused to turn to chemical hair dyes.
I am very satisfied now with the result! A long-searched, excellent solution! Next time I plan to leave the indigo 5 min. longer at the front, but I do not wish my hair to turn too dark. Perhaps you have a suggestion?
One question: are the henna and indigo cultivated organically and sustainably? If not, are there future plans to do so?
Just wanted to let you know I started using henna a few months back, after using various other products that I found I was having an allergic reaction to them all.
Thankfully, henna is the only product that has been good for me in may ways.
1) No allergic reactions
2) Longer, smoother, ticker hair
3) Acknowledgement from others, as so many people have complimented me on my hair, since using henna
I like the way my curls are more defined and softer.
I also add Alma and Shikoku to my henna mix my hair love love it.
I am very happy since using your product and will definitely recommend it to others.
thank you for the delivery of 700g for the price of 600g.
Another thank you for such an informative website and wonderful hair products. I have sought natural hair dye for years. Immediately I used the Indigo I felt my hair to be healthy, rich and nourished.
I am confident the years of damage to my hair and scalp by chemical products is now being repaired.
dear sabrina, thank you,thankyou,thank you for the wonderful work you do.i finally took the plunge and used henna and indigo after years of using chemical dyes.my hair isnt falling out any more,its soft healthy and unbeleivably shiny.your website gave so much information and answered every question i had.i even emailed you with a question and you replied the next day.i honestly cant thank you enough and am sorry i never did it years ago!thank you so much!
I bought some Henna and indigo off you a few weeks back and we have tried out 2 applications of it and so far so good.
Attached are 4 photos of a before and after nature, except that I forgot to take a ‘before I started’ photograph unfortunately – I was halfway through trying to stick the stuff to my wife’s head before I remembered about it, sorry.
Some background info: My wife is Thai, and she has that very jet black hair which is so characteristic of asians. She started going grey early and has been dying her hair using chemical products but we were worried about the possible side-effects – more so when I started finding out more about chemical dyes. So we decided to try a natural alternative, see what happened and if it didn’t work then just let her hair go its natural colour.
We waited six weeks after the last chemical dye, then twice used a Henna/indigo mix bought in a health shop but the results were disappointing = so even if I had taken a ‘before starting’ photo it would have been much the same as the ones taken after the 1st application. I looked at a few internet sites selling natural dyes but decided on trying yours out first since the information you give is pretty comprehensive.
The problem with my wife’s hair is that it is not just grey, but a startling white, there is virtually no natural colour left in probably more than 50% of it. So I knew we would have to apply it more than once before we’d start to get good results.
Application 1 was rather messy – I’m no hairdresser, so she had to endure me trying to plaster her head with this stuff but we got through it. The photos I took are a bit overexposed but you can see the chestnut colour that we were left with, the overexposure exaggerates it a bit, it wasn’t really as obvious as that. Even though the colour was not great there was no white showing, the lighter hairs were not all that noticeable as the top had gone dark (probably got the application right on the top). Her hair felt lovely and had a really beautiful shine to it. The henna was left on for 3 hours and the indigo for 2.
Application 2 (four weeks later) was less messy – I’m getting better at it. The results were much better this time and I was really impressed, more because I think I managed to actually get at the hairs better and coat most of them properly – that must be the trick? Given that the hairs would be startling white otherwise I think the results are pretty good. The next one should be even better and with any luck will go completely black. This time we left the indigo on for 3 hours. The photos were taken the day after.
It’s a bit of a palaver putting the stuff on, but really it’s a small price to pay considering the only alternative is to put some pretty nasty chemicals on your head. Even if it never goes completely black we rather like the deep chestnut colour that it gives so even if that was the best colour we can get we’d be happy, but I suspect that it’s my poor technique that means we’re not getting a really dark colour rather than any shortcoming in the dyes. Do you have any suggestions?
You’re welcome to use the photos on your website if you want but I’m not sure they illustrate the results well enough for that.
Hennaed my daughter’s hair last week during the spell of really hot weather – partly because of the cooling effect, and partly because I know henna is natural and safe, and also acts as a natural sunscreen when in the hair. She has black brown hair – predominantly black. The results are absolutely stunning – incredible ! I’m sending you some before and after photos – it was a beautiful henna experience and her hair looks gorgeous.
Hello Sabrina, Just to let you know that I put the henna on my hair yesterday (3 hours). The colour is so lovely that I don’t intend to use the indigo. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Thanks so much for your valued advice over the last week. I’m definitely going to use henna from now on. Best regards, Jacky.
This is Jacky’s hair after using Renaissance Henna – compare the colour now with her starting colour in the strand test hair photos above. Jacky had used permanent hair colour and had remnants of bleached streaks in her hair; she was also going grey.
I’m totally hooked and I now regularly use henna which I normally leave in for a couple of hours or longer, immediately followed by indigo which I usually leave in about 30 mins to 1 hour. I use the colour roughly once in 6 weeks, sometimes once in 4 to 5 weeks. I’m really pleased with it ! By the way, my hair has been cut which is why my hair now looks a bit different ! Best wishes, and thanks for supplying an awesome quality of henna and indigo which continues to work wonders on my hair ! Maryam.
Maryam has kindly allowed use of these photographs to demonstrate the use of henna and indigo on grey black hair.
Maryam says : “I have tons of grey and I used Sabrina’s henna and indigo combination before she started marketing it and I was so pleased with the quality of the henna and indigo, not to mention the results, that I agreed to let my hair go grey to show everyone just how it works. Even when it’s grey you can see hints of burgundy left from my previous henna indigo applications. As you see in the pictures below, the henna alone – at first – makes my grey hair look orange, but actually if it’s left alone it deepens after half a day or a day to a more even reddish tone which is quite nice. However, I prefer an overall darker hair colour as I have dark hair anyway. Once I put the indigo on, the orange red tones deepen to between darkest brown to black, but with red undertones which I really like. For me, it’s such a relief to have discovered this product because without it I didn’t enjoy the henna (mehndi) on its own in my hair due to the amount of grey. But now it’s great ! .
Maryam’s henna application
Here’s the henna paste going on, and finally wrapped round with plastic wrap to hold it all in place and keep warm – henna likes warmth !
Here is the black grey hair after henna application
hair brushed forward over the face
this is the henna hair on day 2. Note:the white streaks are light reflecting off the hair
Maryam’s indigo application
And here is the indigo going on, and then how it looks after the indigo application. Note the indigo was not covered at all whilst the colour developed.
Here’s how Maryam’s hair looks after the indigo application.
hair brushed forward over the face
Unfortunately most of the above photos are taken in bright sunlight and the hair is reflecting light which misleadingly gives the impression of some grey hair remaining; the bright sunlight photos have not brought out the true intensity of the dark colour from the henna and indigo. Next time, I’ll try to get photos taken in natural light indoors to demonstrate the true depth of the colour. But better still, try it to find out for yourself !
Maryam’s hair some 5 – 6 months later
I wanted to show how the colour has built up and deepened since those last photos were taken. I regularly use henna which I normally leave in for a couple of hours or longer, immediately followed by indigo which I usually leave in about 30 mins to 1 hour. I use the colour roughly once in 6 weeks, sometimes once in 4 to 5 weeks. I’m really pleased with it ! By the way, my hair has been cut which is why my hair now looks a bit different ! Best wishes, and thanks for supplying an awesome quality of henna and indigo which continues to work wonders on my hair ! Maryam.
Caution
DON’T try using indigo alone on any light hair colour (blonde hair colour / ash hair colour ), including grey hair, as it has the potential to produce blue or green and it may not be a shade you like ! But if you’re interested in blue or green, then go ahead and strand test. On dark hair colour it is generally considered safe to use indigo alone as it will darken the hair colour even more towards jet black hair colour.
On grey hair, make sure the hair is orange from your henna before using indigo. And if the grey hair looks bluish after using indigo ( rare, but it could happen if henna didn’t cover it properly), then just repeat the henna application followed by indigo again.
Always do a strand test and even if you like the idea of using indigo on its own, do experiment by using it after henna hair colour as well. We find indigo is best used with henna for optimum results and spectacular hair colour.
Finally, if you’ve used hair dyes and especially bleaches on your hair, do not use indigo for at least 6 – 8 weeks since the last dye / bleach, as indigo over bleached and dyed hair can be unpredictable, not to mention green ! In many cases indigo ( used with or after henna ) works perfectly well straight after dyes and bleaches, but we urge caution and would prefer that you wait to get rid of chemical build up first. In the event of green hair, apply tomato sauce / ketchup in the hair, cover, leave in for up to an hour and shampoo out. Repeat applications may be necessary but the tomato sauce should get rid of any green tones !
10 % off all orders when you sign up to the Newsletter ! Enter your e mail address in the sign up link towards the bottom of this page & remember to click the opt in link in the confirmation e mail (check junk mail). Dismiss