LIGHT MOUNTAINHenna Hair Color & Conditioner - Light Red Hair Dye for Men/Women, Organic Henna Leaf Powder and Botanicals, Chemical-Free, Semi-Permanent Hair Color, 4 Oz

For reference: I am a natural strawberry blonde and when I was a kid, it was a shade or two lighter than copper. Pictures shown are two from before, one before washing, and 3 from after.If I could give this 20 stars, I would! As I've gotten older, I have noticed that my hair has definitely dulled with time. I thought at first it was because of environmental factors, but I realized it's just what red hair does with age! I also had quite a few white hairs coming through and while I always cherished them when I was younger (they gave me a nifty 'streak' in my bangs) I didn't want them all over. I wear my hair in ponytails a lot and all of my gray was exposed.My mom, who is a natural dark auburn, used boxed dye for -years- and I knew I didn't want to go that route because I watched the issues she had to deal with and the imperfect color matching. So off to the google I go! I found tons of places that sell all sorts of color dying pastes and shampoos, but it was all temporary. I used the John Frieda Red Hair shampoo/condition for a while, but as soon as you stop using it, the 'fake' luster goes away. Granted, it worked pretty well! But don't spill it on your fiberglass tub or it will take forever to get the stain out. I wanted to stop using that stuff as well, mostly because it was costing me a pretty penny a month. Not as much as a professional, obviously, but I definitely didn't have the money to go that route.Through my hours and hours of research, I found henna dye. I asked my well-versed friends about it and they encouraged me to try it because it is all natural and if I didn't like it, I could take it out fairly easily. I also liked the fact that you could control the intensity and the depth of color by adding a few things to the dying process. I've only dyed my hair a few times because I have always loved my natural color and never wanted to damage my hair. I watched my aunt bleach her natural red hair until it was basically dead and I vowed never to do that.After much stress, worry, and anxiety....I settled on Light Mountain. And y'all.....my life is -changed-. I absolutely LOVE the results and I feel so much more empowered with my locks! It was a subtle change...but enough that people noticed and complimented the change. This stuff brightened up my hair and gave it life back!! I couldn't recommend this more highly and that's a lot to say for someone like me who cherishes their natural color.I definitely followed some of the recommendations listed in the instructions, like lemon juice. I didn't have any distilled water around, but tap water didn't seem to give me any issues. Next time, I will try it with distilled water. I also used heat (by placing a heating pad on my head set at high). I did leave the mixture on for the full amount of time and it did get messy, especially with the heat. However! It's not so bad that the results aren't worth it. Honestly, if you follow the instructions and their tips, you'll be just fine. I know I was and I am not an experienced hair dyer! My hair has grown about about 3 inches so I'm going to buy another box soon to touch up my roots....I am so happy to have found this stuff!!

Love this henna

First picture is before. Pictures 2 and 3 - after. Did not expect a drastic change from the darker red but I achieved the result I wanted. I added a little bit of white vinegar to the mix.

I am an older natural redhead with a fair amount of white hair now. The first time I used it, hot water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, plastic cap, two hours. A mild change. Second time a week later. I added a bit of plain yogurt (as seen on a youtube video, adds viscosity and conditioning) otherwise all the same....except...I located my hair dryer. ran it at low volume, high heat for maybe five minutes. Wrapped a towel around my head and another two hours. Wow! It took this time! Bright orange, kind of like what my hair looked like when I was ten years old. It is starting to tame down a bit. Still fairly bright but a natural redhead's orange. I understand that it will fade in time. I used the Light Red. Overall I am happy with the natural look. Be prepared for a lot of red! Especially if you have light hair or were once a redhead but now have a good amount of white hair. It will take hold in a big way. I'm assuming that the big difference came from the hair dryer heat. I let it sit in a glass bowl (No metal!) for at least an hour. I used an electric glass kettle set at 180 degrees F to mix the henna powder.

The color looks almost like on the box. Have some bleached strands in the front.

Natural and inexpensive

Was as advertised, but research henna before dedicating to it. You can't get it out of your hair and it's pretty much unpredictable what exact color it will turn out, also darkening with each reapplication of color on top of the old coloring job. It makes a mess and requires you dedicate hours upon hours of sitting and cleaning up. The worst part to me was that it comes out a very bright, nuclear red for the first few days... which is rather embarrassing if you have anywhere to be afterwards. It mellows out into a great color, but it's just way too many downsides and work for the result. The biggest issue I ran into was that it's damaging to dye over the henna, so this option is pretty much permanent. Would personally not recommend to anyone unless you have a ton of free time to touch it up every month and an entire weekend alone afterwards for it to settle into a non awful color.