Dear All,

After coming across repeated queries and apprehensions regarding henna or indigo powder, I thought of writing them down.

Q) Why should we use henna or indigo powder over other color dyes ?
A)  Color dyes have one or the other chemical especially ammonia, in them which damage the hair. Long term exposure to these chemicals causes allergic reactions to the skin. Whereas, henna or indigo powder, pure leaf powder, do not harm hair or skin. It also controls hair fall. They also act a very good natural hair nourishers and conditioners.

Q) What color does henna give ?
A) Used alone, pure henna give orange/flaming red color.

Q) What color does indigo powder give ? Does it give black color ?
A)  Depending on the texture of hair and the usage, it gives light brown, dark brown or black color.
In some cases, on first use, it may not give these shades, but with regular use, the color will get absorbed in your hair and grey/white shade will start reducing.

Q)  I have never used henna. I use only L'oreal. Can I start using henna ?
A)  Yes, you can. But you have to keep patience. It will take a month or two to reduce the effect of color dye and in turn henna's or indigo's effect to start showing.

Q) Process is cumbersome and time consuming. Whereas color dyes are instantly effective, then why ?
A) There is no gain without pain. Ultimately health is more important and not convenience.

Q) What is the  best way to use indigo/henna ?
A) Everyone is having his / her method to use these powders. In most of the cases they use 1-step or 2-step process but ladies keep on trying different ways to get the optimum way as per their hair texture and suitability.

In my previous blogs I have mentioned the use procedure for Yauvanya indigo/henna. You may start with it, later you can customize as required.

Some of the add-ons that you can experiment with are coffee powder, amla powder, tea water, cloves etc.

Q) How frequently it is to be applied ?
A) Generally, 10-15 days gap in starting as it takes time for the color to give results. After that one can apply as per the need. Again varies from person to person.

Q) Can only indigo powder be used ? Or used only with henna ?
A) Yes, people use it both ways. Either with henna or alone. But mostly its effective after henna or mixed with henna as it tones down the orange / flaming red color of henna and gives nice shades of brown.

Q) Can indigo be mixed with any henna powder, like ozone henna or ayur henna powder ?
A) Yes, you can if you are confident that it is pure and no chemical is added in it.

Q) What is kali mehndi or black henna ? Some claim to be instantaneous.

A) As per our knowledge and experience, pure henna/mehndi as is the case with Yauvanya Henna powder, gives only one hair color, i.e. orange/flaming red and cannot be instantaneous. You have to follow the procedure of soaking henna overnight, applying henna paste for 2-3 hours and so on.

All hennas that claim to be instantaneous or to give different shades ranging from golden to brown to black, are essentially henna powder based chemical dyes.

These are as harmful as normal chemical based hair colors/dyes.

Q) There is vast difference in prices of Henna Powder available on the net and in the market. How do we decide what to buy?

A) Ultimately it all depends on your experience, As a general rule, pure is costly. ☺☺☺