Re: Light Mountain hair dye -- opinions?

Posted by Christopher on January 02, 19100 at 02:40:12:

In Reply to: Light Mountain hair dye -- opinions? posted by Henna diva on January 01, 19100 at 23:18:53:

: A while ago I posted about my attempts to dye my dk. brown hair

: red(der) with henna. Because of lack of time, resources, etc., I

: thought I would try one of the pre-made henna hair dyes instead of

: trying to make my own from scratch.

: My local natural food store only had Light Mountain henna hair dye.

: If anyone is familiar with it or has used it, I will be grateful to

: know:

: - did it work for you?

: - is it safe? They have several different shades, but the box says

: 100% pure natural henna so I'm kind of suspicious. When I asked the

: clerk I was told that they're blends of the three types of henna:

: neutral, red, and black (??).

: - should I be worried about how old it is? I tried to smell the

: package but it was pretty tightly sealed/thick plastic.

: - do you know of a ready-made brand that works?

: Also, someone I know who highlighted her hair with henna told me that

: you have to bleach it first for the color to take. Is that

: really necessary?

: I really want to dye my hair, but I'm getting more and more

: discouraged. . . maybe I'll just have to go the chemical route! :(

: Thanks for your help. . . happy y2k!

I used Light Mountain hennas on my hair seven or eight years ago.

The results offered by this product are truly variable and depend not only on your natural hair color, but also on the porousness of your hair. My hair is light brown. When I used "auburn" I ended up with slight highlights that no one noticed. I later tried "red" and ended up with something verging on Lucille Ball's famous locks. I have often heard people say that henna "washes out" over time. The auburn seemed to be gone in a week, and yet, while the red certainly mellowed over time, it never completely left the hair until it was cut off. Friends who use henna regularly tell me that experimentation is the only way to find what will work best for you. I don't know anyone who uses henna for radical dye jobs (this doesn't mean its not possible to do so), and have noticed that individuals using it regularly and happily are simply intent on adding rich highlights to their natural color. I remember being very happy with the conditioning benefits of henna, and actually purchased "neutral" earlier today - thats how I ended up at this site tonight. To attempt to answer your other questions: you do not need to bleach your hair for highlights, you probably do for dramatic color changes (but then why not go with conventional dyes - the peroxide involved is one of their more toxic aspects). I haven't heard anything that calls the purity of this product into question, but you may want to buy it from a store with a lot of turnover if you are concerned about age. Obviously, the longer you leave in the henna (and the longer you apply heat), the more intense your color will be. Good Luck!!

Christopher

P.S. Any good hair dresser should be able to recommend products that deliver consistent, non-toxic color. These products are usually plant derived and coat the hair much as henna does. They are not permanent, but if you have a very specific color in this may be the route to go. You will have to have it touched up more frequently, but will avoid the perils associated with permanent color.

Follow-ups:

• Re: Light Mountain hair dye -- opinions? jor 12:14:55 2/15/01 (0)
• Re: Light Mountain hair dye -- opinions? jor 11:47:59 2/15/01 (0)