Organic Indigo Powder, 100g

2024 crop
Triple sifted
Vacuum sealed and foil wrapped
Individually packaged 100g amounts.

Used in combination with henna and / or with cassia to create a variety of darker colours
Used alone over dark hair can create a blue-black colour.
Used alone indigo will dye blond hair an uneven combination of green / blue / violet
Usually permanent when used correctly with high quality henna on healthy hair

Colour varies depending on your original hair colour, but generally:

1 Indigo : 3 Henna = auburn
1 Indigo : 1 Henna = medium brown
2 Indigo : 1 Henna = dark brow
henna only, wash out - then indigo only, wash out = black

How much you'll need (total powders for your colour desire):
50g = root colouring
100g = short hair
200g = collar length hair
300g = shoulder length hair
500g = waist length hair

Benefits: Indigo is a source of blue dye. When fermented, enzymic hydrolysis transforms indican into indoxyl and glucose. When oxidized, indoxyl molecules form the blue Indigotin dye.

Disclaimer: For external use only. Do not use on cut or abraded scalp and in the area of the eye. Keep out of reach of children. Always collect hair from your brush as do a test before using henna & indigo, as well as a small test patch on the scalp.

Natural plant based dye is generally considered safe to use but it is advised to consult your physician if you have any questions about your health.

Storage: Store in a cool, dark place. DO NOT FREEZE INDIGO!

Latin Name: Indigofera tinctoria
Common Name: Common Indigo, Indian Indigo
Part Used: Leaves
Active Ingredient: Indigotin

Product Details: 100% pure, partially fermented Indigo leaf powder, free of preservatives or additives. This product is certified organic, following the  Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) for medicinal plants published by the World Health Organization. It is free of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, metallic salts, chemical dyes, adulterants; it is not  irradiated or genetic engineered (GMOs). The powder comes in airtight, 100g vacuum sealed packages.

READ ALL instructions before you open your indigo

*Follow dye release instruction for a small sample test (1 tsp of powder):
1. Do a test patch on your inner arm with your paste to test for allergies. Cover paste with a bandage for the day & check for reactions over the next 2 days. Anyone can have an allergy to a plant.
2. Test the colour mix you’ve chosen with some hair harvested from your brush before you colour all of your hair.

How much powder you’ll need:
For average hair thickness, 100g powder per 5” of hair length.
* amount will vary with super thin, super thick hair & your hair porosity.
**Unless you’re using indigo alone for the 2-step black, to overdye dark hair for a blue-black or to dye white hair a blueish green, the powder amount needed will be the total powder when combining indigo with henna and cassia.
Storage:
Store indigo in a cool, dark place. NEVER freeze indigo.

MIXING INDIGO:
Indigo doesn’t need to be dye-released. In fact, letting it sit after it’s a paste is BAD. Don’t make your indigo paste until right before you’re going to apply it. (so hair is already washed - no conditioner, just damp or dry & sectioned for easier application; gloves are ready, plastic to cover head is beside you).
1. In any bowl, mix the amount of indigo needed with just enough warm, distilled water to make a paste – like thick yogurt. Add water slowly – it can get too runny quickly. Whisk out lumps to make sure all powder is combined.
2. If dye resistant hair is an issue, add 1 tsp table salt / 100g indigo powder

APPLICATION:
1. Wear gloves & move quickly. Indigo has to be applied FAST
2. Apply paste to small ¼” segments of hairs at a time. Make sure that the paste is being massaged each section so that no hair is missed. Repeat until all hair is coated.
3. Cover head with a plastic shower cap, plastic bag or plastic wrap. Press against the hair – you want it airtight to keep moist & protect from oxygen. If you’re cool, put a towel or knit hat over your head to keep warm. Heat helps.
4. If you have dye-resistant or non-porous hair, blasting your head with heat from a hair dryer outside of your plastic cap & hat for 15 minutes.
5. Leave the paste on for 2 - 4 hours Just keep the paste moist & warm.

Indigo needs to be applied quickly because once it oxidizes, it won’t bind to the hair anymore. So if your indigo paste is turning from a green paste to blue, it’s demised.

RINSING:
If you have long, thick or super curly hair, the mermaid method will be the easiest way for you to start rinsing out the henna: soak in a bathtub & massage your scalp, swish your hair until you feel like most of the paste is out. Then you can move to a shower to rinse out the rest. If residue is left behind, your scalp will feel itchy & your hair will feel dry, so make sure you rinse until the water runs clear. There’s no need to shampoo, you can condition.
DO NOT oil your hair with coconut oil – if can pull out loose indigo.
*DO NOT blow your hair dry or use heat styling for the next week… just air dry.

THE WAIT & AFTERCARE:
It takes 2 – 5 days for the henna to oxidize (darken) into its final colour. Wait at least 4 days to judge the colour & henna again for touch-ups or to change to a different colour mix. Heat (blow dryer & heat styling) can make the hair darker during the 5 day oxidation period, that’s why you want to just air dry for the first week, until you see the final colour.

If your hair feels dry, don’t worry, the follicles are just a little bumpy from the lawsone dye binding. In a few washes & conditioning sessions, the cuticles will settle back down.

IF IT’S TOO DARK from too much indigo:
You’ve rinsed out the paste, your hair has air dried & even before oxidation, you’ve decided that the indigo was a mistake. Indigo is very difficult to remove (even chemically with the hair dresser). There are only 2 things I’m aware of that will help take some of the indigo out to lighten the colour, but you need to do them as soon as possible.
1 – saturate your hair in warm coconut oil (like a hot oil treatment). Keep head hot with oil in for a few hours. Shampoo the oil out.
2 – mix enough vitamin C powder with shampoo to make a thick, gritty paste. Massage in into your hair, making sure not to miss any. Cover with a plastic cap & let sit 2 hours. Then Lather & rinse out until water runs clear.
Check the colour. If it’s still too dark, you can do both steps again. After than just keep repeating the Vitamin C shampoo method. There will come a time when it’s apparent that no more indigo is going to come out, but hopefully it will have lightened enough!