My hair is naturally a mousy medium brown, but I've been dying it red for about 16 years now.  You can see how the henna darkens the lower sections of my hair that are still growing out from the commercial dyes and puts the reddish tint onto the top of my hair where the regrowth has occurred.  I've tried to get some good before & after pics of my greys in the roots but it's hard with my crappy digital camera.  You can see, though, in the after pics the hairs that are a wonderful Irish Setter red--THOSE are my greys!

I first started by trying the gel mix but found that the heat of the water used to dissolve the pectin ended up "cooking" my henna and I got poor coloring over my greys as a result.  I switched to just henna and lemon juice and some lavender EO and couldn't be happier.  Here's what I do:

Take 50g of Catherine's body art quality henna out of the freezer and put it in a Ziploc freezer bag.  I then add 200mL of room-temperature lemon juice and about 15 - 20 drops of the EO.  I zip the bag closed and squoosh the mixture around until the henna & liquid are completely mixed together.  I leave this flat out on the table on a white paper towel overnight -- this way I can check for dye release in the morning! 

If the henna hasn't quite gotten to the dye release by the time I get up, I add a couple more drops of EO and set the bag flat on top of the white paper towel on a heating pad on the lowest setting.  Guaranteed that the dye release will occur within the next two hours....

Then I apply the henna with a hair coloring brush I bought at JustForRedheads (before I found this site I tried their Avigal henna--it was VERY twiggy).  I wrap my head in plastic wrap then cover that with a bandana, like an old cleaning lady.  I usually leave it on for about 6 hours or so, then rinse out with conditioner. 

I have a large bunch of stubborn grey hairs but I love that the henna turns them into red highlights that almost exactly match the color of my previously commercially-dyed hair.  I think that is helping to bridge the gap between the two hair colors as I grow it out.  In reality, the difference isn't as great as it looks in these pics.  I love henna--it has tamed my often frizzy wavy hair and I can continue to use it while I'm pregnant with my second child! 

Jennifer N. 

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