Covering grey hair is a particularly thorny issue when dyeing hair. Many commercial hair dyes are not effective once greys have reached a certain percentage of the hair. Using a natural dye such as henna is tempting due to its lack of chemicals and impressive sticking power. However, using henna to cover salt-and-pepper hair will likely result in two-tone hair.
Why Henna Colours Grey Hair Differently
Henna works with the natural colour of the hair. Most Caucasian people have hairs of different colours. Paler hairs will be dyed a flaming orange with pure henna, while darker hairs may become red, auburn, mahogany or simply take on a reddish sheen in sunlight, depending on their initial shade. This is one of the reasons henna is so popular - as a head of hair mantains some diversity of colour after dyeing, henna looks more natural than a boxed dye.
Silver and white hairs, having little colour of their own, will take on henna’s vivid orange colour. If the rest of the hair is pale blonde, the hair will look uniformly orange (although many people find this extremely bright shade of henna undesirable). If the non-grey hairs are darker, the hair will appear two-toned – perhaps orange and mahogany or orange and auburn. For people with only a few greys scattered evenly over the head, this should not be too noticeable and may give the henna a more natural, multitonal look. For those with grey or white hair in distinct patches or streaks, the effect of flaming orange streaks may be disconcerting!
How to Avoid Orange Hairs When Covering Greys With Henna
Repeatedly hennaing will eventually darken orange hairs to red; however, this requires a lot of maintenance, particularly with short hair. A simpler solution is to combine henna with another natural herbal dye, indigo. Henndigoing hair, even just the offending grey streaks, can produce colours ranging from cool-toned reds to browns and even blue-black. Henndigo is slightly more of a nuisance to maintain than plain henna, but gives a far wider range of colours. Those whose hair looks best in cool tones are advised to henndigo, as the blue of indigo helps cancel out the red of henna.
Finding a Stylist to Henna Grey Hairs
Older women may prefer to have someone else apply their henna. Unfortunately it can be tricky to find a stylist who is knowledgeable about henna and willing to spend the time applying and rinsing it out. In addition, many stylists are prejudiced against henna due to bad experiences with compound hennas. Look for a hairdresser who deals with Indian and Middle Eastern clients or who takes a natural approach to haircare.
It should also be noted that henna can relax curls to some extent. Tight perms may become a little looser and softer after using henna.
Covering greys with henna will take more experimentation than colouring brown or blonde hair. Fortunately, natural haircare is very fluid and adaptable. The cardinal rule is to strand test before committing to a full head of henna. With care, greys and silvers can be completely covered without using any chemical dyes.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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