Questions about using hendigo for medium brown hair

[whiteorchid]

I've been using just cassia on my hair for years to dye my grays. For a long time, it worked great, but recently, it's not covering the gray roots as well on the back of my head. I guess I must be getting more gray there. The rest of the hair length is a nice golden light brown from the buildup of cassia (slight reddish tone).

I'm thinking about using hendigo to get rid of the grays that the cassia isn't covering as well anymore. I don't want too dark of a brown--more of a medium brown. My natural hair used to be a level 6. Although I'm fine with a warmer brown, I'd like to avoid it looking red.

I'm not planning to go back to conventional dyes, so I'm okay using indigo. I'm just nervous about getting a brown that's not too dark or too red.

I've read that I should do 50/50 henna and indigo. Should I also use some amla? Does anyone have advice for me? Should I leave the mixture on for less time (maybe an hour) to avoid my hair getting too dark?

[C_Bookworm]

Start gathering shed hair so you’ve got enough to test with. Henna sticks easily, indigo is more fickle. When I was doing 1-step henndigo, my grays soaked the henna like a sponge but didn’t take as well to the indigo. So if you can, test on sheds first and make sure you like the color it turns the grays before you do a whole-head application.

[lapushka]

I second the strand testing; it's just the best way to tell if it's OK for your own hair.

Henna/Indigo is nothing that can be predicted on anyone's hair just like that.

[whiteorchid]

Thanks for your advice! I'll definitely do a strand test before using henndigo.

[LillyBlossom]

If it helps, the pre-mixed henndigo I use is mainly cassia, its a like a henna/indigo mix in a cassia base.

Its not red and its not too dark.

Might be an option for you

edit to add

What I mean is, and didn't really explain well at all lol is

I get a pre-mixed medium brown henndigo (50/50 henna/indigo) and I mix that into twice as much cassia.

e.g.

50 grams henndigo mix, mix it up and then mix it into 100 grams cassia

[whiteorchid]

If it helps, the pre-mixed henndigo I use is mainly cassia, its a like a henna/indigo mix in a cassia base.

Its not red and its not too dark.

Might be an option for you

edit to add

What I mean is, and didn't really explain well at all lol is

I get a pre-mixed medium brown henndigo (50/50 henna/indigo) and I mix that into twice as much cassia.

e.g.

50 grams henndigo mix, mix it up and then mix it into 100 grams cassia

Thanks, LillyBlossom! Your mix sounds like something that might work for me. The cassia works pretty well for me now as it is; I just need a little more color help for the roots.

[LillyBlossom]

Thanks, LillyBlossom! Your mix sounds like something that might work for me. The cassia works pretty well for me now as it is; I just need a little more color help for the roots.

You're so welcome, I'm glad I could help. It was a happy accident to be honest! I was so terrified to use henndigo that I dumped my mix into some cassia to dilute it a bit in case it all went wrong. It works really well for me. It pretty much is my natural colour, so when my hair grows I can't see any roots or anything like that. I only do it about once every 3 months.

Good luck and I hope your hair turns out how you want it too. I'm so happy to be able to use plant dyes now, I dyed my mothers hair for her recently and the smell of the chemicals was a great reminder why I don't want to do that anymore

[Soj]

Personally I'd try an amla/henna mixture first. Indigo typically has some problems. It can lend a bluish cast to some people's hair, and reportedly "washes out" over time (more likely fades sometimes I think). Can't suggest ratios but there are lots of suggestions out there from reliable sources. Greys are harder to predict than some other hair colors as not only the COLOR of your hair has changed but also its texture/permeability.