The other week I was looking at my hair and boy was I frustrated. Not because my hair was behaving badly, but because of the color. Now, I have probably hennaed my hair more than a few times, and I have been noticing that in the light, my strands are getting redder and redder. I wasn't too crazy about it. So this past MLK weekend, I decided to indigo. Now, there is a two-step process where you henna first, then apply the indigo paste second after rinsing out your henna (this can result in your hair being jet black). Or, you can simply mix the indigo paste in with your henna mixture, which can result in a dark brown/ natural black color (depending on how much indigo you add to the henna your resulting shade will vary). I opted for the latter process, as I was pressed for time.

So, I prepared my henna mixture as usual (applying amla and chamomile tea). I let the henna stand for about 2 hours. Then just before I was about to get in the shower, I made my indigo paste. All that requires is mixing your indigo powder with some warm water in a plastic bowl, until it reaches a yogurt consistency. I let the indigo paste sit for the duration of time that I was in the shower (so about 15 min). After I got out, I added the henna mixture to the indigo paste (leaving more indigo than henna because I wanted my hair to be darker), mixed it together, and applied to my hair. I let that concoction sit in my hair for about 2 hours. Let me warn you that indigo smells a little funky. Anyway, when I rinsed out, I was left with a lovely, dark, dark chocolate brown color. Lord have mercy, the red was gone! Like henna, the color will oxidize within 2-3 days.

The downside: My hair was and still is left extremely DRY, even after deep conditioning my hair with a moisturizing conditioner. It is slowly starting to regain its moisture back, but it is a slow process(I've been loading up my hair with crazy amounts of coconut oil in the meantime). I liken it to the feeling of after you dye your hair with commercial hair dye. Though, I LOVED the resulting color, which left my hair looking naturally dark (not like elvira),my hair is still trying to recover from the drying effects of indigo. So if you decide to indigo, be prepared to have desert locks for a while.

Just got back from the gym, so the hair was up. But, I wanted to show you the color and spare you the full frontal lol.