Hair: Natural Brown Hair Color with Henna and Indigo

You can achieve various brown and red shades by mixing henna and indigo together.

To do this:

  1. Mix henna powder with lukewarm water until it's like thick yogurt.
  2. Let it sit for 2-4 hours (3-6 hours for Jamila henna) to release dye.
  3. After henna has released dye, mix indigo with warm water until it's very thick, then let it sit for 15 minutes.
  4. Combine the henna and indigo pastes.
  5. Apply the mixture to clean, dry hair, covering every strand.
  6. Cover hair with a plastic cap and press it down.
  7. Remove any paste from skin.
  8. Let it soak on the hair for 2-6 hours. The longer you leave it in, the richer color.
  9. Rinse without shampoo but use conditioner.
  10. Optionally, blow dry for 10-15 minutes to set color.

Important! This is not the final color of your hair. The color will oxidize over the next 1-3 days to reach its final color.

The more indigo you use, the darker brown your hair will be. Some experimentation may be in order to find the perfect shade of brown for you and your hair.

Chart for henna and indigo ratios to get different hair colors.

To adjust the shade:

  • For reddish brown, use three or four parts henna to one part indigo.
  • For brown, use equal amounts of henna and indigo.
  • For dark brown, use one part henna to three or four parts indigo.

To reduce redness without going fully brown, add indigo gradually until you achieve the desired shade. The color outcome depends on your hair's natural color.