Please henna 101 me to get a RED(!)/not too orange effect : what do I buy / how do I do this?
Hello,
The best henna to go with for a bright red would be Monsoon, and you would want to mix it with either Kristalovino or cranberry juice. If you hair is naturaly brown, you may not get a bright bright red, but more of a reddish brown shade. You may also need more than one application to get it to the level of vividness you want, but keep in mind that dyeing hair with henna too many times may cause the color to get too dark.
Here is the chapter on mixing: http://www.tapdancinglizard.com/AS_henna_for_hair/Chapter_7_Mixing_and_T...
You will want to leave the henna in your hair for at least 3 hours. With henna, you can honestly leave it on as long as you'd like, and the dye will continue to saturate the hair. 6 is probably the max you'd really want to do, but some sleep in it.
For your length and thickness, I'd estimate somewhere between 200 and 300g of henna powder.
Rinse out the henna by filling up the bathrub with warm water, soaking and swishing your hair around, then applying conditioner all throughout, refilling the bathtub with clean water, and soaking again. This shouldn't leave any stains. If there are, a cleaner with bleach will be fine.
Finally, make sure the hair is cleaned with a good clarifying shampoo before applying, to get the best results. Chlorine doesn't seem to affect henna much, but coconut oil may potentially loosen the bond and cause fading. If you can switch to another type of oil, that would be good.
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