Cool Dark Brunette Hair Kit

Not sure what to do and a kit sounds like a good idea?  I have you covered ;)

Natural hair dyes are translucent, so the final colour will depend on the starting hair colour.
The henna alone in this kit should:
- blonde hair: create a natural warm highlighted dark brunette colour
- dark blonde to light brown hair: a richer dark brunette
- medium brown hair: a richer dark brunette
- dark brown & black hair: not visible, but is a fabulous conditioner!
- dark hair with grey: warm medium to dark brunette highlights depending on the colour of your grey
*on pure white hair: a medium to dark brunette depending on the variances in your hair.

How much do you need?
1 kit = shoulder blade length hair
2 kits = waist length hair
** based on average hair & height. You may need more or less depending on the thickness & density of your hair

Kit Contains:
* 100g Body Art Quality Henna - you choose the type!
* 200g Indigo
* 25g amla
* 6g cream of tartar as your acid
* piping bag
* latex-free gloves
* instructions

In the "Special instructions for seller" box that comes up when you add to cart, please let me know what type of henna (jamila or rajasthani).

Rajasthani vs Jamila henna:
Raj is very stringy - not suitable for kinky or super thick hair
Jamila is very creamy & easier to rinse out

Coll Dark Brown Kit Hair Dye Instructions:

Read all instructions before you open your henna

*Follow dye release instruction for a small sample test
1. Do a test patch on your inner arm with your paste to test for allergies to either the henna or the fruit acid you’ve chosen. 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 with some hair harvested from your brush before you henna all of your hair.


START THE HENNA DYE RELEASE THE DAY BEFORE YOU DYE YOUR HAIR
How long it takes depends on the ambient temperature & which fruit acid you use

1. Combine henna powder, amla & cream of tartar in a bowl, then add enough distilled or RO water to make a paste. (or, you can add the fruit juice chosen from the blog article on fruit acid options
2. Add enough liquid to make a thick paste – like guacamole or a thick yogurt. Whisk out lumps to make sure all powder is combined.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap – making sure the plastic is against the paste.
Tip for later: put a piece of paper towel or tissue over the plastic wrap. Then cover bowl with a towel to protect from the lights & let sit to dye release.
Depending on ambient temperature & the fruit acid you used, dye release can take anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours:
Hotter temperature (30 C) & higher pH (apply juice, orange juice) = faster dye release of 4–6 hrs
Lower temperature (20 C) & lower pH (lemon juice, vinegar) = slower (but better) dye release of 8 – 24 hours
Pro Tip: if you have an oven with a light bulb, put the henna in there to dye release. It provides a consistent dye release time of 12 hours for a low pH paste.

4. TEST FOR DYE RELEASE:
Depending on your temp & pH example above, estimate when you need to start checking your paste.
Check the paper towel / tissue. If it's not stained orange, let it sit longer.
If the paper towel has an orange stain on it, it's time to test your paste!
Scrape the top paste aside & dip your finger below. Keep henna paste on your fingertip for 5 minutes. Rinse. If there is a vibrant, rich orange stain on your fingertip, your henna is ready! If it's a light, dull orange stain, wait another 2 hours & test again.

*If you don’t like the smell of henna, you can add a tsp of ginger powder for 100g of henna powder.
*Do NOT add anything else to your paste, no matter what you read on the internet of have been told through folklore. No egg, yogurt, tea, coffee, oils, conditioners, etc… It will only damage the results.

PREPPING HAIR WHEN THE HENNA IS READY:
Shampoo your hair right before applying paste. If you have hard water, use a lot of styling products or swim in chlorinated pools, a clarifying shampoo is best. If you have dye-resistant non-porous hair, you might even want to wash with something as harsh as dish detergent. Do not use conditioner or any oil product after. Just shampoo & rinse well.
*If you have dye-resistant greys or non-porous hair, you can now use the baking soda trick to help lift your hair cuticle: mix baking soda with enough purified water to make a paste. Apply to dye-resistant hair areas, cover with a plastic cap to keep it moist. Leave it on for 20 minutes. Rinse well.
Towel dry or air dry your hair.

Now you’re ready to dye release you indigo & apply your paste.

Get everything you need ready: non-metallic spoons or spatulas, comb or chopstick for parting hair, your carrot bag, second bowl for indigo, rag for wiping drips or smudges on the skin, plastic cap or bag to cover hair after. Everything has to move very quickly once the indigo is mixed.

MIXING INDIGO:
Indigo doesn’t need to be dye-released. In fact, letting it sit after it’s a paste is BAD.
Try to get the paste in your hair within 20 minutes.
1. In a separate bowl, mix the amount of indigo needed with just enough hot, 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
3. Add the indigo paste to the henna paste & stir very fast. Crazy fast. make sure all indigo paste is fully combined with the henna paste. If not, you'll have uneven colour streaks in the hair.

APPLICATION:
1. Wear gloves & move quickly.
2. Apply paste to small ¼” segments of hair 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 air tight to keep moist & protect from oxygen. If you’re cool, put a towel or knit hat over your head to keep warm. Heat helps the dye bind.
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. Make sure 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 YOU DECIDE IT’S TOO DARK RIGHT AFTER RINSING OUT:
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 that 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!