Henna Hair Dye or Other Natural Dye for Brunettes/grays?

I would recommend visiting the website www.hennaforhair.com. It cuts through a lot of the malarky. True henna (lawsonia inermis) will make your hair red, and the red will be based on your hairs' natural color (ie, if you're blond and use henna, your hair will be brighter red, if you brunette hair, it will be darker auburn). There is a plant-based indigo dye (indigofera tinctoria) that will dye your hair black. By mxing the two, you can create a brunette color. Directions on it are at http://www.mehandi.com/shop/brunette/brunette.pdf.

I used to order my henna from San Francisco Herb Co., but I only ever used straight henna (lawsonia inermis) and not indigo.

I loved being a redhead (I'm a natural light brown). :) It definitely covers gray.

I use Light Mouintain Red henna - have for years, and have always been pleased with the results. My hair is naturally mousy brown, liberally shot with grey, and the henna makes it auburn with copper highlights.
I get it at Whole Foods for about $7 a box, and since my hair is a little shorter than shoulder length, one box treats it twice. Each treatment lasts about 6 weeks.

As a hairstylist, I urge you not to use henna. Not only.does it not work, it reacts terribly with the normal dye and then you have a real mess.on your hands. To blend grey without damage, use a semi or demi permanent color. Leave it on the roots for a while and then comb it through the rest. This will give you blended grey without a lot of upkeep or damage. You could also get hilites to blend the grey, but that you would have to go to a salon for. If you have resistant grey, cover your head with a bag and then wrap it with a hot towel out of the dryer to help.the color take.
I dont know of any all natural dyes, but they do make low ammonia or ammonia free color, which is the chemical most people are worried about.

For the most part, with the grey - it does not work well. I too am a brunette with a lot of grey and was told flat out by people who do the Henna professionally that it will NOT cover properly and I will have "odd looking" roots/highlights. Some will take in some color (red or brown or orange), some will take color at some points in the hair and some will take NONE! I have very healthy hair, and it accepts color well in general, aside from the grey. I have found perfect success with a new coloring treatment that the offer at Ulta Salons with my dark hair color and greys, but I DO NOT reccomend henna, and I am the FIRST to go for an all natural product.

Henna is a natural color in that it has been used for 1,000's of yrs. & contains no accelerant such as peroxide, it coats the hair rather than the, lift prior to deposit, as other products do in order for the color to get into the hair itself.

I have not ever used the new Hennas that purport to not have red in them. I have used henna many times to GET red in my hair & enjoyed the effects (color). Henna WILL work to color your grey hair. I don't find ANY product TOO smelly or to take TOO long or to be TOO difficult to use to cover MY GREY! ;)

Ask the sales person @ the supply store about the Henna product & look on the box to see if they have an 800 # to call to ask questions. Don't go to Walmart, etc. to buy the product, try instead to find a local Beauty Supply that sells to the general public such as, Sally Beauty.

Good Luck!

You can get a nice brunette color using a henna indigo process.
If you like a cooler brown (less auburn) you can add a little alma to your mix.
Here are the details:

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/brunette/brunette.pdf

http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/

I've been using henna for over 10 years now and I love it!
It covers my grey and it doesn't fry my hair.
I use henna (I add a pinch of ground cloves for scent) on my brown/grey hair and get a great auburn.