I've been thinking about trying to use henna to return my hair to as close to its' natural color as possible, but I'm not sure how I'd go about it...  What can I add to darken the henna enough to make it a dark brown, without going black? Another question is, is it true henna makes hair thicker? I've already got a 4 1/2'' (12cm) ponytail, and that's on a good day. Much thicker and I could probably stick flowers in it and say I'm wearing a small shrub as a hat... ;D :o  anyway, in case anyone has any suggestions for additives to the henna...

the color in the inset is my natural color, the one I wish to return to... or something close, at least. the other color is what currently covers 3/4 of my hair.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p15/pawnofhearts/Hair_photos/bleacheydyedcolor.jpg

any advice is most welcome!

Sorry, I don't have any experience with henna for hair.  When I quit coloring my hair I had my stylist put on a semi-permenant color to bridge between the red and my natural dark blonde.  It worked great, however I don't know how to tell you how to do it.

If you henna your hair,it will have alot of red in it.  You'd need to mix it with indigo.  I don't like the nautral red highlights in my hair when I henna,so I use 3 parts indigo to 1 part of henna.  I usually use 200 or 300 grams of indigo and 100 grams of henna.  I get very dark brown,near to black.  You can go on the the henna page to see alot of different results that people have had.  Always do a harvest test before the whole head though!  This way there are no surprises!

I have also heard that you can use neutral henna mixed with coffee to obtain the natural dark brown.  I am not sure of the ratio.

Debr

Hmm, thanks, Debr... I'm going to have to look into that.   I've also heard good things about indigo mixed with henna, but I'm afraid it will end up way too dark... (better too dark than too light, I suppose, but that defeats the purpose)  
and Curlgirl, I've already got a fallen-out-strand collection started for if I do decide to go with it. My BF is urging me to go with a pre-prepared henna from Sallys or something similar, I'm not sure, though. I've heard that if you use henna over hair that's recently been chemically dyed, it will turn funky colors, but.... How recent is recent? My last dye was ~8 months ago... That should be long enough for the ammonia and chemicals to be gone, right?

Kiraela, on the henna page, Catherine is extremely "in the know" about how long is a good time to let pass before applying henna to chemically treated hair.  My opinion is that the stuff you buy in the stores isn't pure and may have metallic "stuff" in it.  Your best bet is to buy quality henna whether it is from Catherine or another reputable seller.  This way you know you are getting pure natural product.  I believe you won't be disappointed! ;)

by "the henna page", you mean hennapage.com / hennaforhair.com, right?
I've been reading everything on that page for a few days now. I can't believe black hair dye can be so horrible. *shudders* Luckily I didn't get that kind of reaction when I did my hair black.. I don't think I am going to risk it again. Expecially since the one time my BF touched black hair dye (he was applying it to an ex. GF of his) he says he broke out in blisters all over his hands.

yes, that is the page.  Sorry I wasn't specific.  By now I would think Catherine has completed her further education in the henna dept.  She is a good resourse to have if you have any questions.  You can always find an answer there on the site or if not,just ask!!

I was not, unfortunately, able to find out how long after a chemical dye a compound henna was safe to use. That could be for promotion of Mehandi, though. If you don't tell anyone how long afterwards it is safe to use something else, they might be more likely to go for the pure stuff. That's simply good marketing! The information there is vast, though. Perhaps I just haven't found it, yet. I might still go with the pure henna, of course, I have to have my own money first. *grimace* when it's others' money, one should remember, just be glad one *might* get anything at all.

if I do go with true henna/indigo, I think so far, that a mix of 2 parts henna to 3 parts indigo would be fairly close. Maybe a little warmer than my natural color, but it would still grow out much better than dark brown abruptly turning into medium auburn/brown.

would love to see the results when you're done!  Pics,hint hint ;)

Curlsgirl- I've always wanted to try henna- I've been lurking on the H4H site- but there is a major reason I'm afraid.
Since I joined the boards in 2004 and have slowly been treating my hair better and finely cut off all the highlighted/bleached hair- My hair has gotten wavier and even sports a ringlet or two.  My hair is also very fine and easily weighed down.(I now have only hair colored every4 months with Redkens Shades EQ demi-perm)
I would really like to try henna for health/hair reasons- but one thing I see from posts from people using henna over a period of time is curl loss/reduction.  This is one thing I don't want- as I feel the curl/waves is the best thing about my fine type "i" hair.  (permanant color also pulled out my waves, too the semi-perm doesn't seem too.)
I think this may be more prevalent in fine, waves or loose curls(like mine) rather than more tightly curled hair.
This is the one reason I'm afraid to go down the henna path.

I totally understand your concerns!  
You may want to try Cassia.  It's shine only,no coloring.  It (from the description I got from Catherine on The Mehandi Page) strengthens your hair,gives shine and some ladies have said it enhances their curls!  
My experience is; the longer your hair gets,the curls are weighed down by the length and the curls relaxes a bit.
I wish your only positive outcomes with your decision! :)

Thanks Curlsgirl, maybe I will try it!

according to the Henna for hair book at hennapage.com, body art quality henna (which is the only henna they suggest you put in your hair) is totally safe to go before or after checmical dyes, because the henna contains nothing that will react badly with the chemicals found in other dyes, some other Henna's may not be that high quality and may contain additives, so the same does not go for that.  That's why you should go with body art quality, its allllll leaf baby :)