What is an indigo powder?
Indigo is a plant-based dye used widely in ancient and medieval India and other parts of the world. British colonies were highly prosperous just because of cultivating indigo. Indigo is a blue dye-producing plant. Various ancient mythological stories revolve around Indigo and its uses.
How is it produced?
It is produced through farming Indigo plants in sustainable temperatures and with adequate water. It was then removed and soaked in purified water for 24 to 46 hours based on the Indigo species. Then it was dried in sunlight until the leaves absorbed all the water. This, in turn, produces a blue color stain on the vessels. The dried leaves are then ground into a fine powder and then made into a fine paste by adding water. This herbal indigo paste can be used for six months.
Check This Video To Know How To Use Indigo Powder With Henna For Black Hair?
How to color with henna?
Being a great coloring agent, Henna was widely and easily available all over the world, especially in India. Every hair dye in the market uses henna as a major raw material in its production process. Henna has an important pigment that naturally helps the hair to nourish itself. Henna also promotes hair growth and conditions hair automatically.
This also prevents hair damages like split ends, dryness, dandruff, and so on. Hence mixing the indigo paste with henna provides various benefits and health factors than just dyeing and providing color.
How to make Henna Indigo Mixture?
This mixture can be made based on the nature of the hair. Because various hair molecules have different textures, it is important to choose a specific amount for better results. The color of the mixture can also be determined by the composition of the number of mixtures we mix.
In the case of dyeing brown, we need to add 60 percent of henna and 40 percent of the indigo powder and mix it thoroughly into a fine paste. If you need a darker bluish shade, add more quantity of indigo paste than henna. Likewise, we can determine the color of the dye we want.
For best results, we need to add further additives like lemon. For example, adding lemon increases the acidic content of the mixture. That is, it makes the hair protein like keratin stronger. Then we can also add betel nut seed or leaf. This helps to intensify the color of the dye.
The most important part is adding the correct amount of water to it. If the amount of water is more, then the mixture becomes running, and it cannot be applied properly, and the dye can give the color properly. In the same way, you shouldn’t add less water because adding a small quantity of water makes it harder, reducing the color imparting the quality of the dye.
Procedure to follow:
- Apply the henna mixture to the wet hair, then massage it thoroughly without leaving any gap between the hair.
- The henna mixture must contain lemon and sugar for good conditioning and color imparting in the hair.
- Leave it for about a day, like 12 hours, because color absorption varies from person to person. Hence it is necessary to wait till it dries.
- From time to time, sprinkle a small amount of water for better absorption.
- After it dries, wash it with plain water.
- Then apply the Indigo mixture with cornstarch and some amount of salt.
- And leave it for a day.
- By this method, you get black hair. If you want brown dye, then mix both henna and indigo and make a hair mask.
For getting the best dye without any type of side effects, henna and indigo make the best pair. As we said earlier, henna and indigo promote hair growth and texture without chemical agents, making them a natural boon for hair.