Buxus dioica AKA katam

**Sunshine69** · February 26th, 2009, 11:44 AM

Has anyone tried using just buxus over hair that has previously been henna'd?

**jivete** · February 26th, 2009, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Sunshine69

Has anyone tried using just buxus over hair that has previously been henna'd?

I'm going to second this question. My length is pretty red from old henna/dye and I'd like to tone it down. My natural color is an ashy brown/blond. I have about 4 inches of roots.

**Sunshine69** · February 26th, 2009, 06:02 PM

I ordered some buxus and some amla, and i'm going to do some experimenting on my own. I'd still love to hear from anyone who has tried this.

**Jeni** · February 26th, 2009, 06:19 PM

I wanna say at least someone did a kind of buxus gloss over their henna to tone the red down but I can for the life of me remember who that was nor where they talk about it...Maybe its all in my head....?

**Anje** · February 27th, 2009, 01:46 PM

I've been wondering the same thing (not for myself -- I like my red). Can people just apply buxus to hair that's too red or orange to darken it and counter the orange tones? Will it "stick" for at least a few weeks? I suspect that it could work...

**Cersei** · February 27th, 2009, 02:40 PM

I do buxus over my henna. I used to mix them together, but found that my grays get better coverage if I use just henna first, then buxus. I guess this is similar to a two step process some people use with indigo. My hair is naturally a medium ashy brown, and using the buxus definitely tones the red, and helps retain that ashy color.

A warning though, buxus can be very gritty. (I get mine from mehandi.com.) I have found mixing it with conditioner helps the application process. So, it is similar to a gloss, but a very strong gloss. I only use enough conditioner to get it to a good consistency to apply.

Jeni- there was a posting on the hennaforhair.com about a buxus gloss- maybe that is what you are thinking of?

Also, as far as fading, mine lasts a good 3-4 weeks. Then, when I do my roots with henna, I do the buxus over my whole head.

My last piece of advice is to test for timing. With full strength buxus, I got the color I wanted at 20 minutes, but with the slightly diluted mixture, I leave it on for 45 min.

Sorry this is a little long. Hope this helps!

**ljkforu** · February 28th, 2009, 02:49 AM

Originally Posted by Cersei

I do buxus over my henna. I used to mix them together, but found that my grays get better coverage if I use just henna first, then buxus. I guess this is similar to a two step process some people use with indigo. My hair is naturally a medium ashy brown, and using the buxus definitely tones the red, and helps retain that ashy color.

A warning though, buxus can be very gritty. (I get mine from mehandi.com.) I have found mixing it with conditioner helps the application process. So, it is similar to a gloss, but a very strong gloss. I only use enough conditioner to get it to a good consistency to apply.

Jeni- there was a posting on the hennaforhair.com about a buxus gloss- maybe that is what you are thinking of?

Also, as far as fading, mine lasts a good 3-4 weeks. Then, when I do my roots with henna, I do the buxus over my whole head.

My last piece of advice is to test for timing. With full strength buxus, I got the color I wanted at 20 minutes, but with the slightly diluted mixture, I leave it on for 45 min.

Sorry this is a little long. Hope this helps!

I second the strong katam gloss usage. I'm going for chocolate brown so I'm going to do a katam with some indigo strong gloss over 2 hennaings.

**Sunshine69** · February 28th, 2009, 11:51 AM

Thanks ljkforu and cersei. That was helpful

I've got some buxus coming in the mail soon.

**ljkforu** · March 1st, 2009, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by Sunshine69

Thanks ljkforu and cersei. That was helpful

I've got some buxus coming in the mail soon.

I should have clarified that the reason I'm going to add a little indigo is so my hair doesn't go to green.

Henna -- Orange/red
Katam -- Green
Indigo -- Blue

I'm going to be very interested to see what happens when I gloss each one in descending order over my hair going for chocolate brown

**Anje** · March 2nd, 2009, 02:42 PM

Honestly, from the tests on Cathrine's site and the anecdotal evidence I've heard here, I think the indigo might push you greener than katam alone will. Cathrine's site shows a very greyish sort of brown on white test hair from katam, and I've heard lots of stories about straight indigo turning hair greenish.