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Hair color and cuts

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
thanks for the replies! i have been embracing my grey hair for many years....but i wanted a change. i will have to do it if/when i ever look for work again. i think my salt pepper hair might affect my chances of being hired - especially after so many years of not working.

@taniaaust1 wow henna dyes permanently?!? my mom has been using henna for years. northern indians typically start dying their hair very young cuz it goes white so fast. she had been using chemical dyes for decades before she began getting a reaction where her scalp would break out in huge hives..so she had to stop. now, anything other than henna will make it happen. she struggles with her hair looking blue / orange and the color washing off very quickly.

She's obviously not using it how I do it or something is wrong with that henna but if she's tried two and its still not permanent I do think she must be doing it differently to me (maybe she's not soaking it as long as I do in warm water or just not leaving it on as long as I do when dying it). Ive used at least 3 different brands of henna so far with doing it the way I do it and all the brands have had permanent results even on my grey hair.

I didnt realise my computer was allowing me to put photos online still till yesterday so I will take a photo of my henna hair tomorrow (its dark here now) if I remember to put here and you will be able to see how its actually growing out and not a trace of grey to be seen where its grown.
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
@taniaaust1 ok thanks! i will show my mom the pics too. maybe she will go back to her safer dye.

thanks a lot for the info. it looks like there are some options out there if one wants to be safe.

i wonder if the hair dye at the salon really did trigger this decline cuz i am feeling quite bad again.

another issue is, i use medicated dandruff shampoos that have to be left on for 3 - 5 minutes and i worry that will get rid of hair color quickly, too

xo
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
@Daffodil

the photos are working so I managed to take a couple of my hair right now showing how grey silver I are where henna is growing out at top of my head (haha I cant believe im showing this) compared to the side of my head currently which is still all henna covering my grey and brown here there.

(note the two different shades of hair the brown and the red.. that's cause I have different amounts of grey in my hair so my hair comes out two colours with the henna... a real red where its fully grey rather then partly grey which then the henna just blends in with my normal brown hair more and hides the grey).

the first photo is a big blurred and the camera flash isnt too good as its appearing greyish areas in where its still dyed which arent there but you can see by it how much regrowth of grey I have since I dyed it and compare it to how well the dye is still working with the clearer photo of side of my head.

(i think the henna colour I used was burgandy)
henna hair 2.jpg

henna hair.JPG
 
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Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
@taniaaust1 wow that is gorgeous! i never saw it look that good on my mom! but then she uses like 1/4th of the package and only dabs it on the front parts lol she is a little on the cheap side

it looks really soft and shiny too. i think my mom used 2 colors at once cuz she read to do that for a more black color result.

its so strange that its permanent on you...cuz i dont think its supposed to be permanent hair color....?

anyway...yea never saw it look that good before

xo
 

hellytheelephant

Senior Member
Messages
1,137
Location
S W England
oh no. your're right...black henna has PPD! although the old one from indian stores my mom used didnt have it

i found this one...a little expensive though:

http://www.danielfieldmailorder.co.uk/natural-hair-colour/
I have used Daniel Field recently. It feels very natural ( no nasty smells), not too messy either. It is pricey but it doesn't wash out or fade. You would only need half a bottle for root regrowth. I only added half the powder to the big applicator bottle, washed it out and will use the other half when I need to. Hair is very natural looking and feels in good condition. No horrible after effects/headaches etc.

BTW> I am allergic to almost every hair product so this stuff must be mild!..
 

Jennifer J

Senior Member
Messages
997
Location
Southern California
I had a bad reaction last year to hair dye. It lasted for over 5 days. Still trying to figure out what to do because of health limitations and how serious a reaction can become. I think color is fun but may decide it's not worth the risk.

Please be careful, health food store natural hair color can have PPD too. Not sure if Herbatint does, I looked at my Naturtint box and was surprised it does have PPD, and this is for light blonde hair. :(

Also, hennas for all colors can have PPD. Not just black.

There's a lot of names for PPD, can't google all the ways it can be written right now. Google them if you're trying to avoid PPD.

I did a lot of research on options after having my allergic reaction. Some time when I can look at my notes and have the brain power, I'll see if I can share some of what I read. (It will be awhile.)

Good luck everyone that colors.

@taniaaust1, thank you for the pictures. :) That is a pretty color.
 
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taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
@taniaaust1 can you tell me the exact brand of henna you use? also, how often do you use shampoo?
thanks

The hennas I got here currently are
-Supreme Herbal Henna Mehandi (that's the burgundy one in my photo)
- Aishwarya Henna's (that is also from the Supreme Mehandi henna company by the looks of it)

I hadnt realised this before but the other one I have is Egytian Henna by Nazeer. That works just as well for me too.

I used to wash my hair weekly and that didnt wash it out.

I rarely wash my hair now though, about once every 3 or 4 weeks. I've only washed my hair once since my daughters wedding 6-8 weeks ago (or has it been longer...)


I think I last washed my hair about 2 weeks ago, its got used to not being washed much and has adapted to me when I do with washing with bicarb soda and then conditioning it with vinegar.

Incredible even after two weeks since being washed, it is currently soft (I didnt brush it for that photo, unbrushed at least 12 hrs). My hair ends are dry though as I havent had a hair cut in 2-3 years other then cutting out knots I cant comb or brush out. The not using actual shampoos even the normal natural ones I used to buy has made a very good difference to my hair.

Originally it would get oily after a few days of not being washed and I'd have to sprinkle some bicarb mixed with cocoa powder into the root area of it (cocoa so I wasnt putting something white in brown hair) to get rid of the oilyness but I dont need to do that any more as it adjusted more to things.

Ive been trying to convince my sister to switch to using just bicarb soda to wash and vinegar to condition as her hair is extremely oily with the natural shampoos she uses but I havent managed to convince her that yet though.
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
@Jennifer J Do you know which brand of hair dye gave you the bad reaction? I was also curious what the reaction was? Was it limited to your skin or full anaphylaxis or something in between?

I used Naturtint for years until I got diagnosed with MCAS. I only colored my hair 2-3x a year and this was enough to cover the gray. But now it has been close to two years and I so badly want to try it!

I did not know about PPD b/c prior to having MCAS, I never reacted to any hair dye and once I learned of Naturtint I thought it was "natural" and safe! I still have the two colors I used to use in case I am well enough to do it in the future.

I never did it myself and had a hairdresser do it. Now I have someone come to my apt a few times a year to cut my hair but she is too afraid to dye it b/c of my MCAS (even though I would premedicate and never blame her if something went wrong)!

I still hope to do it again some day but not quite yet. Luckily my gray hair is still minimal and underneath so I can hide it unless my hair was pulled back which I never do.
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,691
Luckily, I don't react to the semi-permanent color I've been getting at a salon for years. My hair is gray enough that the color looks natural because the gray strands take the color differently.

I sometimes envy my sister. She's 63 and no longer colors her hair. She has dark hair and only 1 small gray lock, and it looks great. I'm younger, but have a lot more gray than she does.

My grandmother had almost black hair, deep blue eyes, and very pale skin. Even into her 80s, she had only a slight amount of gray, and she had never colored her hair. She may have had a Black Irish background.