Brown Hair Gallery.
Indigo after henna will give you brown hair colour, even on 100% grey hair. For best results use them separately – henna first,then indigo to get brown hair.
Step 1 Henna First
The lighter your starting colour, the more vibrant your resulting step 1 auburn henna hair colour will be.
You’ll get a shade of fiery auburn on lighter colour hair, and deep auburn on darker starting colours.
Step 2 Apply Indigo After Henna
Indigo after the henna will turn your auburn hair colour to chestnut brown hair colour, through to chocolate brown hair colour , through to black hair colour , depending how long you leave the indigo in your hair for. A detailed instructions booklet accompanies all our beginner herbal hair dye kits.
Burgundy Hair Colour on Light Hair Colour Shades
For burgundy hair colour use herbal henna mix and indigo together over grey hair or over lighter hair colour tones. And get hibiscus purple hair colour with henna and indigo. Detailed mixing and application instructions come with the Renaissance Henna Plant Hair Dye Kit.
The Renaissance Henna Natural Hair Colour Kit gives you a choice of hair colours – pick one ! We don’t guarantee your end result hair colour, but we’re certain you’ll love it, and that you won’t look back.
The hair colour strand tests don’t always give you an accurate prediction of your end result hair colour. And they don’t always take up colour like a full head of hair. Many strand tests give disappointing results which are nowhere near the results from a full hair colour application. Body temperature may make the difference. Your strand test hair also may not give a true indication of final hair shade because the strand test hair may have uneven colour saturation, especially if you’ve previously used hair dyes. Also remember that hennaed hair can look different in different light conditions so it’ll look different indoors compared to how it looks outdoors.
A Reminder about Previous use of Chemical Hair Dyes and Henna
If you’ve previously used chemical hair dyes, although you can go straight ahead and use henna / indigo, we recommend you wait as long as possible. We recommend a wait time of at least 2 weeks, especially if you’ve just permed your hair. The longer the better. This is to allow time for your hair to detox from chemical hair dye build up. The wait will also ensure you get the best hair colour uptake from henna/indigo. It’s the compound “metallic salt mix” hennas which hairdressers generally moan about and say you can’t use before or after hair dyes. Our henna and indigo are not mixed with any metallic salts. They are 100% pure henna and 100% pure indigo plant hair dyes. These are PPD free hair dyes, additive free, ammonia free, and chemical free. They are not the same stuff your hairdresser is talking about. Our henna and indigo are safe to use both before and after chemical hair dye, but we advise that you wait as long as you can before using hair dyes either side of henna.
Strand Test Hair Colour Pictures
Have a look at these photographs of natural hair colour swatches showing how they colour with henna, and how they intensify to darker shades after the indigo application. The photos don’t do justice at all to the final end result colour – scroll down to the real life photos. The henna used for these strand tests was mixed with part lemon juice and part water so the resulting henna shade is lighter than it would have been with a straight hot water mix.
Strand Test Hair Colour Picture File : Brown Hair Colours
Light Brown
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| Light brown natural hair | Light brown straight after henna | Light brown henna hair on a sunny day, day 2 |
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| Light brown after indigo | ||
Medium Brown
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| Medium Brown hair natural colour | Medium brown straight after henna | Medium brown henna hair on day 2 |
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| Medium brown after indigo | ||
Dark Brown Hair
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Dark brown natural hair | Dark brown straight after henna | Dark brown henna hair on day 2 |
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Dark brown after indigo |
Khadijah
“I had my hair highlighted several times and in my before picture it has one or two single process browns over it as of 3 months ago, and the ends were very frayed from the chemicals. I used henna hoping the henna will help me out with this. ”
Jacky
“My hair colour is medium/dark brown. My last permanent colour was mid December with loads of bleached copper highlights; however I had to colour semi permanent over it 2 weeks ago as holiday sun faded it. The colour I would like to achieve is medium brown/red.”
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| Jacky’s starting colour | Jacky’s hair after henna | Jacky’s hair after indigo |
“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 auburn hair after using Renaissance Pakeezah 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 actually have naturally light-medium brown hair as you can see in my beforepic .. it’s been a long time, lol). My dad and a *lot* of my relatives have naturally red hair so I have the right complexion. Photo 3 is me after I had hennae’d it twice but had used chemical dyes many times. It’s a good example of how using natural henna after chemicals can work out lovely. A lot of hair stylists say you can’t henna after chemicals (or vice versa, as I’m sure you know), but if you’re using pure henna, then you’re good to go. The henna has made it softer and fuller than it has in years (ie. in the years I was using chemicals). For my mix, I used pure henna, lemon juice, olive oil, and paprika.
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Carly 1 My natural hair colour before henna | Carly 2 My hair dyed hair | Carly 3 My hair after henna |
Patricia
Photos here have been submitted by Patricia.
 |  This is how my hair looks after henna |
| My natural hair colour – before I used henna |
Scrappy Doo’s Photoshoot : Bleaching Hair after Henna, and Henna after Bleached Hair !
Submitted by : Barbee of www.barbeecain.com
Barbee’s Natural Hair Colour : Dark Brown
Barbee’s Previous use of Hair Dyes : bleached her hair all white
Barbee’s Henna Mix : Mixed ancient age old henna with boiling hot chamomile tea
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| Barbee’s natural dark brown (previously hennaed hair ) pre -bleach 1 |
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| Barbee’s bleached white hair | Barbee’s dark brown hair colour re-growth in between bleached hair | Barbee’s hennaed hair 1 – the bleached white hair turns red orange and the natural dark brown hair colour deepens to a slightly reddish brown |
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| Barbee’s hennaed hair 2 Red hair colour contrasting with deep orangy/red brown | Barbee’s hennaed hair 3 | Barbee’s henna hair 4 |
Celia
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| Celia 1 |
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| Celia 2 |
“Thank you very much, Renaissance Henna! You are a lifesaver! I wrote you almost 3 months ago in a panic because I had suddenly developed an allergic sensitivity (itchy bumps on my neck and ears) to a hair dye I had been using for many years.
I started graying in my late 20’s/early 30’s and have tried commercial dyes and mail order dyes with very low levels of PPD for over 15 years. When I had my allergic reaction in April, I was so depressed. I couldn’t bear the thought of going gray, but with some persistance I was very fortunate to discover your website. It is the most thorough and consumer friendly website I’ve ever seen, and your customer service is outstanding. I was especially attracted to your ppd story because it sounded so familiar.
Anyway, I was skeptical about your henna products because I had tried Light Mountain Color the Gray about 10 years ago with unsatisfactory results (hence the return to chemical dyes). I tried your product for the first time in May and was pleasantly surprised and relieved. I have since used it 3 more times with no reaction.
Here are some things I’ve learned. Results using the henna and indigo together were less satisfactory than using the 2-step method. The 1-step method did not cover the gray as well for me, and the color also did not last as long (less than 2 weeks). In all fairness, I did not use as much henna or indigo when I used the 1-step method since the 2 ingredients were combined.
As a result, I now apply henna (5T henna plus 2T sugar) for about 2 hours, followed by the indigo (5T) for 40 minutes. This method stays 3 weeks. My hair feels soft and the henna and indigo are both easy to wash out (unlike the Light Mountain product). I’m hoping continued use of your product will restore the thickness I once had.
Thank you for your wonderful products and for alleviating my fears and answering my many questions.
Celia”
Joan
Joan’s Natural Hair Colour : Dirty blonde/golden blonde, with natural highlights/sometimes looks more strawberry blonde in light blonde brown hair .
Hair Dye History : Never used any chemical hair dyes before henna
Joan’s Henna Mix : “a mix of leftover paste and some cheap powder I bought from a local Indian grocery store. I mixed the henna with lemon juice and a bit of rosemary, mostly for scent. After I applied the paste I wrapped with plastic and a towel and left it covered for one hour. I’ve never been one to put chemicals or manufactured product into my hair beyond the basic shampoo and conditioner, so hearing about henna (a Natural alternative!) was too tempting to pass up. As it turned out, the red color suited me well and I’ve now hennaed my hair three times. Using henna in my hair leaves it amazingly soft and silky, well conditioned, and a bit thicker than before. Even when using stale or leftover mixtures I get great color that blends in well with my natural tones and highlights.”
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| Joan’s natural dirty blonde hair colour | ||
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| Photo 2 Joan’s hair immediately after her first henna | Photo 3 Joan’s hair one week later | Photo 4 Joan’s hair after she cut it and hennaed it |
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| Photo 5 Joan’s hair after she cut it and hennaed it | Photo 6 Joan’s hair after she cut it and hennaed it | Photo 7 Joan’s hair after she cut it and hennaed it |
Joan’s friend
Joan:
” I hennaed my girlfriend’s hair today! she had been dying it red for a while, but her roots had grown out about five or six inches, so we tested the other day with henna and did the full dye job this afternoon. it turned out beautifully, her head smells tasty =)
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| Joan’s friend before henna The before picture is her dodging the camera – turned out well when needed a picture of the back of her head! Here are all the after pictures – flash and no flash. the color’s much more consistent than the dye job was : |
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| Joan’s friend after henna, 1 |
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| Joan’s friend after henna, 2 |
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| Joan’s friend after henna, 3 |
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| Joan’s friend after henna, 4 |
Katie
photos submitted by Katie.
“I i wanted to get photos in the sun after the henna, but it’s winter and i work during most of the daylight hours, just hasn’t happened yet. so here’s what i do have!
before – in sun – most of the hair was permanently colored lighter and redder, and covered with permanent as close to my own hair color, dark brown, but was still lighter and a little red.
after – inside – the flash photo is actually accurate for what it looks like in the sun, the nonflash photo is a little redder than it really is!”
Dee
“God – how hard it is to photograph your own head, you will see I didn’t do too good a job but you are welcome to these. I opted not to use the indigo in the end. I used 150 grams of henna mixed with the advised volume of lemon juice and water and which I left standing overnight. My hair has been previously chemically coloured. Black ages ago and still visible on the bottom 2 inches or so and a burgundy brown in September which had faded somewhat and my roots were showing through (and the dreaded greys!). Henna was applied to dry hair (washed night before) and cling filmed and shower capped for 6 1/2 hours before rinsing. The grey ones are a shade of red but I like this and there aren’t what people would consider a lot (although I do!) Thank you, I will be ordering again soon. Kind regards, Dee x”
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| Dee 1 | Dee 2 | Dee 3 |
Claire : Henna & Indigo on previously bleached hair !
“My hair is naturally dull brown. It has been chemically coloured countless times and I’ve recently bleached it as well, but I hated the end result ! I’m attaching 2 photos – taken last weekend of how my hair looked after my last lot of colour and bleach, and how it now looks after henna and indigo. While I’m a tiny bit disappointed that I couldn’t get the bleached highlights to deepen completely to brown, I absolutely love the overall result ! I was a little scared as I’d only used my last colour and bleach about a month ago, but I was so fed up with my colour that I was prepared to try so I jumped right in and I love henna and indigo ! I’m definitely going to stick with it. I love how it feels, smells, and colours – it’s fantastic ! I’m so grateful to you sabrina for introducing me to your product and for persuading me to give up on that chemical trash. It was amazing how the colour changed within a single day – initally the henna looked too red/orange but within hours it deepened to deep auburn and I actually started to like it, but thought I’d jump in and try out the indigo ! The bleached bits went a bit yellowy with the henna, but then got tonded down somewhat with indigo and as for the rest of my hair I love the shine, the gloss, and the deep brown with red bits underneath. This is an amazing product and I would recommend it to anyone even if you’ve just used chemical hair dyes or bleached your hair recently. Eternally grateful, Claire.”
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| BEFORE | BEFORE | AFTER |
Jessica
Henna over chemically dyed hair.
Jessica’s natural hair colour : brown
Jessica’s Hair Dye History : “i dyed my hair before-once a month since i was 16 -now 21 Thoughts on henna : would i go back to hair dye after henna?-maybe, but after discovering how nice henna is on hair it’ll be a while. My Henna Mix – mixed my henna with hot chai (tea), olive oil, and some henna cones to get some tea tree oil into it. it’s a very nice cherry color and i love how shiny my hair is. and the flyaways are gone.”
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| Before Henna – Jessica’s fluorescent pink dyed hair | Fluorescent pink turns to a cool funky red hair colour after henna ! |
What happens if you indigo grey hair or white hair without using henna first ?
This is what happens, as demonstrated by Maryam :
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| Maryams’ Grey Hair ( roots are showing through after previous henna / indigo applications) | Indigo straight on to grey hair / white hair turns it a blue green | Henna on top of the indigo blue green hair turns it back to henna orange brown |
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| Now the indigo result after henna ! | ||
Indigo on blonde hair or gray hair (click and scroll down the page)
Finally, if you’ve used hair dyes and especially if you’re ever bleached or permed your hair, do not use indigo for at least 6 to 8 weeks since the last dye, perm, or bleach application. Indigo over bleached, dyed, and permed hair can turn it green. In the unlikely event of green hair, apply tomato sauce or ketchup in the hair, cover the hair with plastic wrap, 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. You can also apply henna again to correct the colour.
Julia’s Feedback
“Dear Sabrina,
Please find attached some pics as promised:
1. before application
2. henna stage (1.5 h incubation); panic!
3. after indigo on the henna (20 min. incubation)
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?
Thank you so much!
Very best wishes and success!
Julia, France”
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| Julia 1 Before Henna | Julia 2 After Henna | Julia 3 After Indigo |
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| Julia 4 Indigo Hair Almost Dry,Daylight | Julia 5 Indigo Hair, Evening Lamplight | Julia 6 Next Morning, Daylight |
ONE MONTH LATER :
“Dear Sabrina,
The result of the second treatment was better, no more patches. A uniform shiny chestnut. Sorry no photos, but I’ll try make some during the next process. My sisters and friends are all compliments and they find it hard to believe that no chemicals are involved.
Good luck and best wishes,
Julia”
Healthline : info on changing your hair colour with other natural hair dyes .
