/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>6375516
>my mousy colour
get a wig

>>6375517

The answer to "I don't like my hair colour" = "get a wig"...

>only on /cgl/...

>>6375526
>useless for all forms of cosplay
I SEE YOUR INTENTIONS

>>6375531

I don't like wearing wigs with mori girl anyway... It feels unnatural and not in-keeping with the fashion.

>>6375538
whats wrong with a mousy color in mori?
GIRL STOP CHANGING YOUR STORY

>>6375539

I said I prefer richer reddish colours in mori.

>>6375516
Share your results anon! I've always been curious about the Lush henna die. I have this obnoxious dish water brown hair and I'm always considered dying it to liven up the color, but am weary of damage.

>>6375571

Will do :)

>>6375574
Seconding. I, too, am thinking of dyeing with Lush henna. Misc question: does reddish hair look good on you when you have the yellowest fucking undertone?

>>6375571
Henna is just about the only hair dye you can use and retain little to no damage.
Hell, I've been maintaining a l'oreal color for years and I don't even have noticeable damage. Just don't be dumb about it and follow directions

>>6375605
If you have yellowish skin avoid yellow, gold or orange tones. Deep reds that are far from orange should be fine.

>>6375571

Henna actually improved the condition of hair apparently, especially the lush stuff which is hardened with coco butter.

SOMEONE MENTIONED HENNA

So I got trained by the head of LUSH Cosmetics, the lovely Mark Constantine, back in the day.

I dye monthly with henna. I use Caca Rouge, but I've experimented with different colours, and used to do colourations for other people.

QUICK TIPS

* Like sex, the first time is messy, painful, and full of tears.
(Hurr.) You will make a mess, you will want newspaper, and you will want a friend to help. (Hopefully not like sex.)

* "I left it on for seventy-billion hours!" lolnope. In two and a half hours, it's more or less completely oxidised. It's done. Take it off. Sleeping in it is just uncomfortable.

* Use a lemon-based shampoo to wash it out - the oils and butters in the LUSH ones, whilst a lovely treat for your hair, require some degreasing to get out. You don't want to dry out your lovely new hair, or strip out the colour by using a strong shampoo - lemon juice will help it last longer

(TBC)

>>6375647
* If you do not like your colour DO NOT TRY TO BLEACH IT OUT. You will drive it deeper into your hair and you will be a lovely shade of flaming orange. (Unless you're after that effect!) This is why the lemon juice in your shampoo is good; it helps it last a bit longer.

* Henna is a lacquer. Think furniture polish: your base colour and your henna colour will decide the outcome. If I put mahogany wood polish on a pine table, it will be orange. Same with your hair.

* If you are blonde or have grey hair and want to go brown - you have some work to do, but it can be done

(TBC - bloody word limits)

>>6375647

Whose awesome?
You're awesome...

>>6375656
Blonde/Grey coverage:

Because this is essentially a "blank slate" for henna, the colour change is dramatic. You will need to do this in 2 stages.

The first is an indigo or dark brown henna application. Your hair will VERY LIKELY go green. Do not panic. Henna is a greenish plant, thus the green - of course, on brown hair, this merely makes it go darker. What we want to do for light hair, is tone it in.

Once you have washed out your new greeny-dull hair, go over the top with the red henna. This will prevent you getting the FLAMING CARROT TOP look, and the nice brown-red colour you wanted. Note it will take several applications to go super-dark. It will take effort. On the other hand, no chemical burns for those with sensitive skin, and stronger hair.

* Stronger hair? Yep, henna is a lacquer. (Look, I used to be a LUSH salesperson, it's in the blood, ok?) So each hair strand is a little bit thicker after henna'ing.

* How often? Once a month is good. You'll need more henna on the first application than on subsequent applications. It clings very well to dry, dead hair, so stays in your ends a long time.

Any questions, anyone? I am happy to help because I love henna'ing hair.

>>6375663
MORE SHIT I FORGOT

* I do mine monthly and it now takes me 15 minutes to apply my henna to my shoulder-length hair. It takes practise, but the messy-death that is the first time will not apply later on.

* Not staining everything: WEAR GLOVES. Henna tattoos, anyone? Even 2-3 mins is enough to give you an orange patch on your hands, and your nails stain like crazy. GLOVES. It washes out quickly from skin, so don't panic too much. Annoying, though.

* How to protect your hairline: Vaseline! Or Ultrabland. Anything oil-based like that. Do the back of your neck thoroughly - you inevitably get a lump of henna go LOL I BID FOR FREEDOM and slide down that way.

* The hotter you can stand putting it on your head, the better the result. Fresh henna is best.

* To wrap or unwrap your head? There's supposedly a colour difference; I've tried both and never seen it. Wrap it, especially if dear sweet god your carpet is cream.

>>6375663
Hey hey wonderful person! If one has raven hair (like I), how light do I have to bleach before I can use henna?

(Also, do you have any of your tips typed up somewhere permanent?)

>>6375647
>Like sex, the first time is messy, painful, and full of tears.
...I don't think it's supposed to be painful or full of tears, unless you're getting raped or something...

>>6375690
Hi hi!

I don't have them written up - this is 5 years of experience working for LUSH and henna'ing my own hair. We could get this archived for interest, maybe?

How light you want to go depends what colour you want out of it at the end - on black hair, you get a tint-in-the-light but little else. On dark brown hair, Caca Marron is very nice to just give it a warm, chestnut-mahogany glow, without changing the colour very much - it just... intensifies the brown and brings out some red.

What sort of result are you after?

>>6375700

It's usually painful. Only full of tears if the girl's a pussy.

>>6375702
That's not even a funny joke, dude.

>>6375700
Hence the "hurr". I'd also like to think you're dying your hair wrong if henna'ing your hair literally causes you tears.

>>6375663

I bought some "maron" but also some "brun"... How will either of these look on light brown mousy hair?

Also, I'm inclined to not want bright red or orange hair, but I've heard that if you wrap up your hair this might happen. How does one tie your hair loosely if you don't want your whole house stained orange?

>>6375701
Ok, I'm the yellowface from a few posts above. I've got dark brown hair with some auburn tones, so I'd get Caca Marron, right?

>>6375693
Does henna go well over pre-colored hair? I currently have a pretty nice color that will inevitably become a light ginger when it's completely faded. The light ginger WILL clash with my skin color.

>>6375702
...Well, it wasn't painful for me, and that was the first time anything had been up there. I don't get how it's supposed to be painful unless your partner is extremely inconsiderate.

>>6375701
Since I tan easily and my skin is slightly yellowish I was thinking just a reddish tinge would be nice to bring out more pink in my skin! (I'm half Korean, half Portugese) And thank you for helping, btw!

>>6375715
It usually does - I'd recommend doing a strand test as some dyes react with it (weird colour changes). Most people I know didn't bother and were fine, but it's always the exception that proves the rule! Same rules will apply for your coloured hair as to what end colour result you will get post-henna.

>>6375718
Brun will bring your mousy-brown to a mid-brown. It will not look red at all.

Marron will bring it to a mid-brown auburn, because it has a lot of red in it.

If you wanted a richer, darker red, you could do the brun first to get your mid-brown, and marron over the top on your 2nd application to get your slightly-lighter-than-mahogany finish. Might be a lot of work for your first time though!

>>6375720
If you have very deep-chocolatey brown hair and wanted a red glow, I'd go straight for Caca Rouge - Henna cannot make your hair any lighter, and Marron is part-brown part-red, and would warm the tone on very dark brown hair. I'm not sure which poster you are, so it depends how you want it to look.

>>6375732

Sounds good, I was thinking of just mixing them together and doing it once but your way is probably better.

>>6375738
I want to bring out a bit more red, so I guess Rouge it is . I'm >>6375605 btw . Second question: I'm also cursed with very fine hair (think kooter-tier), so will henna help give a bit of volume or will it crush my pitiful strands under its might?

>>6375741
You can totally mix hennas to get an "inbetween" colour - always fun to experiment.

I once did a half-Noir half-Rouge mix on my mid-brown hair and got straight-up mahogany at the end; it looked fantastic. I then one time (for lulz, mostly) did one half of my head in Noir, and one half in Rouge. The result was kinda odd (henna doesn't exactly sit static on your hair - its prone to blend and move), like I had deep dark patches and sudden flashes of red, but it was great fun when I put it up in pigtails to show off the two tones.

>>6375751
I'm fine-haired - henna will be your SAVIOUR. It thickens each individual hair strand, so it will make your fine hair just that little bit more thicker, shinier, and durable. It's why I've stuck with it - fine hair is the first kind of hair to frazzle under chemical hair dye.

Oh, and because henna is a plant, it's not half bad for your scalp either. (Even if it does dye it funny colours for a few days).

>>6375762
I love you. I've got no way to thank you except for picture of a corgi with a plant on his head.

if you are tan, don't dye your hair red

pls and ty.

>>6375771
Thanks! I think it counts, though the corgi is not using the right technique to get even coverage with his application.

>>6375768

Preach...

>>6375783

further discouragement.

>>6375783

Do you think maron or brun would go better with my skin tone.

Pic related, is me...

While I was typing this post, I noticed someone else posted practically all this for me. But ok, I'll post anyway.

OP, I started dying with Lush henna a few months ago. It's great stuff. It made my hair get next to no split ends anymore and the colour is heavenly. My best friend has been doing it for years and taught me the following to get the best results:

First off, NEVER ever let the henna touch metal. No rings, no earrings, no metal bowls, no metal spoons, yadayada. It might turn green if it does.
Second, as a rule of thumb: henna dyes EVERYTHING it touches. I kid you not. I've had exceptions like the sink or something, but your skin, your clothes, the bowl it's in, wooden spoons: if it touches it it's orange (or green). So be very careful with the stuff and think which place it would do least harm. Because this shit is messy. You have been warned.

Preparations: Wash your hair and make sure it's completely dry before you start. (Unlike with normal dye, henna sticks better on clean hair.)
Smear a good layer of vaseline all around your hairline. Don't forget your ears. Henna stains your skin, so you'll end up with orange ears if you don't do this.
Don't forget to get an old towel or two and seran wrap before you start.
Actually, I say seran wrap, but you will probably want what we call "microwave wrap" in Holland. It's like seran wrap but it has tiny holes in it. I'll explain later.

>>6375801
I'm not one to tell people how they should look - how do *you* want to look? :)

If you want to just give your hair some gloss and richness, Brun will do that - very little colour change.

Marron will give you auburn-brown - I also see you have some (natural?) highlights in your hair - the blonde rule applies - these will get bright little flashes of red with Marron applied.

Get a bowl in which you chop up the henna. The finer it is, the easier it'll dissolve. Pour boiling water on it (enough so everything's dissolved and easily spreadable. Make sure there are no lumps. However, it'll always have a grain to it, like there's sand in it. That's ok. If you're doing it right, it will look like mud, diarrhea, or somewhere inbetween. If you have a lot of hair you might want to add more water so you can get all of your hair covered). You'll want to keep the henna as warm as possible while spreading it out, so if you can, put the bowl itself in hot water as well. This makes the colour stick better.
Then start spreading it as you would with normal dye. And yeah, use gloves. Starting at the bottom and working up in layers is handiest. Because of it's consistency it's very hard to spread. Try not to miss spots inbetween layers because it's next to impossible to fill those spots in afterwards.
Once you've spread everything, roll up your hair in a bun on your head and wrap seran/microwave wrap around it a few times. Make sure it's all covered and wrapped up tight. If you use seran wrap for this, air bubbles might form, which means it'll start leaking out behind your ears which you kind of don't want. That's why the wrap with holes in it is handier. The seran wrap, once again, makes the red colour stick better. If you don't want it very red, don't use the wrap.

After that wrap a towel around it as to not look like an alien/idiot and to catch some remaining leaking bits.
Clean up the mess you've made, try to get any henna you've gotten on your skin/clothes off, and let it sit for two hours. You can let it sit for longer if you want to but after two hours, it'll hardly make a difference.
Then shower. Do not be surprised at the amount of gunk that'll come out of your hair. It might also be green, that is not abnormal. Wash your hair thoroughly, twice if you want to, and be sure to use conditioner.
And that's it.

For the first week or so your hair might get oily very fast as dying with henna dries out your scalp, so your scalp wants to compensate. All good, passes soon enough.
The first time you dye your hair with henna it might be more orangy than red. The more often you dye it, the redder it gets. I dyed with marron the first time because I didn't want orange hair and that worked decently enough for me.
>6375605
So you'll probably get a more orangy colour the first time. Getting marron might be a fix, unless you don't mind orange.

For reference I added what my hair looked like before henna, after I dyed it the first time with marron Lush henna, and then the second time with rouge Lush henna. I tried it again with a powdered henna a week or two ago, also worked great and wasn't such a bitch to dissolve, so Lush isn't holy or anything, but it IS good for your hair.

>>6375819
I'll back you up and say all valid points. I wrap my hair in saran wrap; never bothered with towels. I do use old towels when it comes to the post-henna shower though - it always gets in the towel! It does wash out after several washes, but I wouldn't like to test that on the family heirloom whites.

>>6375826
Okay, I think I'm going to ease into it with some Marron first, then Rouge later.
If I do get bright carrot results it'll be something to talk about, I guess.

>>6375826
How long did you leave on the rouge henna? It looks like the perfect shade I've been looking for, but darker than how I've seen it described (ie as a bright copper color).

>>6375768
I disagree. Tanned girls look so hot withred hair. I have a friend who is biracial and has freckles. She dyes her hair copper and it looks so natural and awesome. Everybody assumes she is a natural redhead lol, i guess the freckles throw everybody off. I think that every girl should go red at least once. Blonde too, even though thats a trickier color to achieve.

>>6375959
They may look 'hot' but they dont look natural or classy.

>>6375715
Honestly I've heard that putting henna over box dyes is bad. Or anything that contains metals, which not all box dyes do.

>>6375971
SOOOOOO UNCLASSY OMG.

>>6375986

I think tanned girls look bad. Naturally dark skinned girls can look okay with reds that are not too bright.

I've been dying my hair a brownish red...what can I do to get a color like this? http://media.vcstar.com/media/img/photos/2009/09/12/20090912-233715-pic-4335126_t607.jpg
My hair is a light brown in its natural state.

Any additional advice for blondes wanting to get that lovely dark reddish colour with henna? :x
I dyed my hair black for a few years, but it's more or less my natural colour again now.

Henna only comes in one colour, and that is red/ auburn. Anything else can safely be assumed to be full of shit (there are no regulations).
You also need to make sure you get body art quality henna.

>>6375937
I left it in for two hours both times. I do think doing marron first and then rouge helped in achieving the darker tone, though.
>>6376078
I've read the same. The Lush stuff is great for your hair though. It apparently doesn't dye as much as body art quality henna does, but hey if this shit works then it works right.
And I think they get the Lush Noir thing by just using indigo instead of henna. No idea what the Brun does. Marron is just a mix of Brun and Rouge.

>>6376078
Agh double post, I just remembered this. Someone said something about not putting henna over dyes with metal. I read something different.
Bad quality henna like the kind you described (though definitely not Lush, I've checked) contains metals. If you bleach your hair after you've used the 'bad" henna on your hair, you hair can melt.

I was a bit scared when I read that.

>>6376322
Shit like this is why I will never, EVER dye my hair.

Wig wearing forever, for me! It's cheaper and reversible with little to no damage.

>>6376322
Yeah, that shit happened to me. I was literally left with peach fuzz for hair. Nowadays i dont fuck with hair dye, permanent, semi-permanent, professionally done, henna, nothing. Although i do spritz lemon on my hair in the summer to give myself natural red highlights.

I dyed my hair with henna a year ago. The process is time consuming and will make your whole house smell of the product, so if you live with someone who doesn't like that aroma, you're ... a bit SoL. The stuff is meant to stay in your hair in some form or another for roughly three days to get the full saturation.

Just a warning, though. If you ever decide to dye your hair with anything OTHER than henna from now on, go to a salon. Henna penetrates the strand so fully that if you use anything OTHER than henna on it, even months later, your hair will turn all kinds of bizarre colours (green is most common, as many dyes contain copper and the henna somehow forces it to oxidise; it's bizzare).

>>6376395
I used to do the whole lemon thing but all it did was make my hair look bright orange in the sun, not to mention it made my hair feel like straw. Now i make a mixture of lemon, chamomile tea, and honey and leave it to sit on my hair for a few hours. I was trying to get blonde without using chemicals (lol impossibru) but i have instead achieved a beautiful, light, natural red with no damage.

I'm considering the same, only I'm hispanic with olive skin complexion and black, coarse curls. I would like to get some color in it without damaging it, but would it be a waste with my hair?

pic related... what I might end up with?

RE: dyed hair - I had a LOT of customers dye over their chemically dyed hair with no problem - it's just one of those things. If you're really worried - DO A STRAND TEST. Save yourself pain.

RE: cheap henna - for god's sake, don't cheap out on it. Also "blonde henna" is a ripoff. It is chemically adulterated. It is a Lie.

A lot of other questions that have been asked have already been answered further back in the thread, so I'll leave those.

>>6376507
Absolutely not a waste. Henna is one of the few dying processes that is good for your hair. Henna flattens the hair shaft (as a lacquer), so it may reduce some frizz/dry ends.

That colour red is quite purple-y, and would not be achieved with henna. You could get that in a more coppery shade using henna.

Henna cannot lighten your hair, so if your hair is black, you may get a red tint in the light, but that is all. You could give your black a glossy shine by using indigo henna instead (Caca Noir at LUSH).

>>6376516
Thanks a lot!

I read that it might actually be good for my hair in curly hair care forums. I don't mind if it doesn't look red, I've never died it before so it wouldn't really make too much of a difference. It would be cool to see it be reddish in the light.

Getting glossier looking black sounds cool, too. New dilemma!

Thank you, lots!
xoxo

I've always wanted to dye my hair using henna, but it's gonna be like $70 to get 500g shipped. And apparently that's only enough for one round of dye for long hair

>fuq lyf

>>6376533
Even as an ex-LUSH evangelical, there are plenty of other companies that sell powdered henna? A lot of places sell it wholesale online.

asdjjhjhjduhjhuhjdh

tan girls, do not dye your hair red--it looks shitty and trashy, a dark brown or black would look 100x better.

asdjjhjhjduhjhuhjdh

tan girls, do not dye your hair red--it looks shitty and trashy, a dark brown or black would look 100x better with your skin tone.

>>6375826
Your before is the same color as my hair, time to get some henna.

I've been wanting to Henna my hair for a couple years now, and just haven't taken the plunge yet.
In doing my research, I've read that Henna can make it harder for your hair to take a perm, and you should do the perm first. I'm getting a digital perm tomorrow for some loose curls, but I'm curious to know if Henna will effect the shape/weight of the curls. Also, how long I should wait after the perm before doing the Henna?

>>6376533

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/hairhenna.html

>>6376983
Crap, I know LUSH wrote a bit about this in the LUSH times - I think that is correct, it has to be done in the correct order, or else, limp perm. But I don't know enough about the process of perming to help on this one, sorry. :(

>>6376677
But thats so boring, though :(

>>6377018
its for the best, bb.

>>6377005

Welp, I'll find out! I'm not going for crazy tight curls, anyways, and may hold off until my next paycheck for the Henna just to be safe.

>>6377025
Urgh, that looks terribad. Clearly she has gone to the trouble of bleaching her hair before dyeing it ronald mcdonad crimson. She might as well have gone blonde. Blonde would have looked a bit trashy, sure, but it would have suited her tan, olive skintone a lot more.

I've only skimmed the thread, so I'm not sure if anyone has said it yet, but, don't expect the color to last long. Red hair color typically only lasts a few weeks before you need another touch up, and that's when it's done professionally. It fades super fast, and depending on the shade, can fade to a weird pink to a copper to a multitude of things.
I've dyed my hair red perhaps 3-4 times in the past 2.5 years (my hair holds treatment really well,) so I do speak from some experience, and multiple stylist discussions.
I have no experience with henna, however, so I have no clue how long it lasts or anything related to it

>>6377042
Henna won't fade pink - it's not hair dye. Because henna is a lacquer, it more or less "wears off" over washing. It clings well to dead hair (the ends) but tends to fade quickly at the roots to your natural colour, hence the need for a monthly touch-up. I just henna up my roots, since the ends hold the colour well.

You are right about red pigments, but henna is more or less coating the hair and pigmenting maybe a small amount of the surface of the hair, rather than actually a dye process.

>>6377147
What will I need to do if use henna but then decide to dye my hair to a lighter color?

Quick question: I have golden blonde hair that I absolutely love, but I want to take the plunge and do a shade of red. My only concern is that dying it may make my natural shade come back darker (so I've heard a million times) will henna do any permanent damage to your natural color?

>>6377189
You can use peroxide after henna, but it's tricky.
My friends swear by rubbing alcohol + mineral oil. Henna is a permanent dye, but that will get out enough that you can dye to another color.

First: LOL at all the people who keep saying that medium-dark skinned people look trashy with red hair. Why the fuck is it a trope then. Also, don't fucking tell people what to do like your opinion matters to them (not to mention, it's just color theory. No really.)

Second: Any reviews for Rainbow Henna? I'm not sure if I've seen Lush locally (Rainbow Henna is available at Whole Foods) and I do know someone who was successful using it to dye her ash blonde hair black (using the red-indigo method mentioned) but when I saw that it came in burgundy I was intrigued. I've only ever used regular henna in my hair (South Asian here, just a regular box from an Indian store) for non-dying purposes and I'd rather not strip my natural-black hair. I kind of only want a tint anyway...

>>6377198
No, I highly doubt it. I have golden blonde hair that I hennaed as well, and although I've kept my hair red, the roots appear to be my normal color.

>>6377198
The reason that your 'natural shade comes back darker' is that blonde is influenced by not just your natural colour, but also light exposure over the years (i.e. you may notice you're darker in winter/lighter in summer) so your golden blonde is the result of those hairs being repeatedly "bleached" by UV. When you dye it, what grows back is brand new and hasn't been affected by that process at all, so of course will look darker for at least a year or so.

I've been using henna again for three years now. I use Jamila brand, which is a body-art quality henna, and it's given my dark brown hair a deep, rich mahogany color that I love.

Long ago, I used the Light Mountain brand "henna" that's widely available in health food stores; I had no idea how shitty it was until I used it after running out of Jamila. Instead of rich color, I got a nasty pumpkin orange. There might be actual henna in that stuff, but it's low quality and very adulterated. No way am I using it again. (cont'd)

(cont'd) I get the best results with henna when I start preparing it about 30-45 minutes ahead of time, so the plant material is already breaking down and releasing the color by the time I apply it. I add a splash of vinegar and just enough water to make a thick paste, then wrap the container in plastic and put it in a warm spot. When I'm ready to use it, I add more hot water until it's a loose paste, and apply it with a colorist's brush.

I also add a small amount of olive oil to my henna, even though I have oily hair; it not only helps with the conditioning effect, but it also helps the color "take" better. You know how anything you spill on your clothes that is even slightly oily is a pain to get out, and usually leaves a stain? Same thing.

Three hours is the longest I bother to leave it on; the color doesn't get much more intense after that. If I think I want a deeper color, I'll wait a couple of days to see what it looks like, because henna tends to darken slightly in the first day or two. If it's still not right, I'll go ahead and apply a fresh batch.

Root growout doesn't look so bad with henna, but you still need to keep it up. The first application of henna to new hair establishes a base coat, and subsequent applications deepen and enrich the color. Letting your roots go long means you'll still have a noticeably different color even after you do them. If you're like me and have white hairs this is especially true, as henna doesn't stick to white hair as well; it needs multiple layers built up over time to get good coverage.

>>6377275
Dark skinned people with bleached blonde hair also look trashy but that's a trope as well.