Is there a natural way to cover gray hair?

[Linda on the move]

I have a ton of gray hair and I really don't like it. It makes me look much older than I am, and I'm fairly odd to have kids as young as mine are any way. Without dyeing it, I look like their grandmother

Is there a natural way to cover gray?

[JLav]

Henna! It works really well for covering gray. Check out www.hennaforhair.com for more information. There are lots of tips on covering gray!

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by JLav

Henna! It works really well for covering gray. Check out www.hennaforhair.com for more information. There are lots of tips on covering gray!

What a fun web site! Have you used henna?

I'm reading through the recipe section.... there is so much to think about! I'm glad I asked this before my roots got too bad. I've got some time to figure it out. I will test some hair, first, though, it seems a little scary to use it over dyed hair (and I've been covering gray for about 15 years!)

Is it less damaging to hair than commercial dyes? I wear my hair very short because it just gets icky if I start to let it grow more than a few inches long. I spend a lot of time outside and I swim a lot; those just aren't good things to do and dye your hair.

[JLav]

I do use henna, once a month for about a year. It has made my hair a beautiful shade of red and very shiney. It has thinned out recently from horemone fluctuations, but is still strong and healthy looking. Henna is actually good for you hair and doesn't damage it all and can help protect your hair from further damage.
If you have used commercial hair dye on your hair within 6 months, you should definetely do a strand test first to make sure there is no residual dye in your hair. On the hennaforhair site they say that if you buy a high quality henna it won't matter, but I would still want to be safe. The chemical reaction can turn your hair green, so it's worth the extra step!! True henna will only make your hair red...what shade depends on what color you start out with. As you probably read on the site there are a lot of things you can add to your henna mixture to tweak the color, but it will always be reddish. It is worth it to buy body art grade henna as opposed to the pre-mixed kind you can get at the natural food store (Rainbow for example). There are resources on the hennaforhair site on where you can order it...I've ordered it from that site and I was really happy with the henna.
Let me know if you have any more questions!

[Linda on the move]

How long do you leave it on? As I was reading the recipes I was really surprised to read that people were leaving it on for hours and hours.

[JLav]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

How long do you leave it on? As I was reading the recipes I was really surprised to read that people were leaving it on for hours and hours.

I leave mine on for a long time...sometimes overnight. I always try to have it on for 6 hours, but it's so hard to resist washing it out...I'm impatient. It is much easier for me to put it on before I go to bed and wash it off when I wake up. If you keep your head hot...either with a blow-dryer or sitting out in the sun...you can cut that time in half. Spend a couple hours washing the car or gardening and it should be good to go. I have very long hair, so it gets pretty heavy...with short hair it should be easier.
What color is your hair naturally?

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by JLav

What color is your hair naturally?

Brown and white stripped :LOL

I was a red head as a child and look fine with red highlights.

[blessedwithboys]

be careful that you dont buy the cheapy metallic salt henna. it will disolve any and all hair that has been colored. only buy high quality stuff. i believe i have seen girlndocs post on other threads that she uses henna. maybe she can help with specifics.

[JLav]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

Brown and white stripped :LOL

I was a red head as a child and look fine with red highlights.

:LOL
I totally agree with blessedwithboys...don't go the cheap route with henna!! Go for body-art grade henna...Katherine on the hennaforhair site sells it.

[suz515]

I LOVE henna for hair dye. I got ours from Freedompondmoonworks.com and it turned out fantastic. DH and my hair feels healthy and thicker.

It actually looks more natural than commercial hair dyes. DH looks like he got natural highlights. I love it!

Best,
Suzanne