What if you want to go black or dark brown but don’t want to use the synthetic/chemical hair dyes, because you don't want to risk your natural shine and strength or even worst, your health? or you what if you're allergic to them?

Most of the synthetic black hair dyes have harmful para-phenylenediamine, mentioned as PPD in the ingredients in them that will slowly but eventually damage your hair & affect your physical health.

So what’s the best and safe way to dye your hair black? Indigo Powder combined with henna powder, an abundantly used natural hair dye combination to get the lovely and shiny black hair that has been used since almost 4000 years ago when no artificial hair color was even thought to be invented.

Indigo powder is grounded leaves of the plant famously known as IndigoferaTinctoria. It is named as indigo powder because it has the deep blue pigment in it. Although indigo powder has blue pigment it only gives dark brown/black hair color and not blue.

(Indigo powder itself does not work effectively on grey hair, it has to be applied either by mixing with pure henna or after applying pure henna (2 step method) on your hair.

Some brands sell indigo powder as “Black Henna” which is most of the times not pure or safe to use, these may contain chemicals/metallic salts. Especially henna & indigo products out there that are being sold very cheap, most probably contain harmful chemicals.

Read More: Henna and Indigo - A Herbal Combination of Romeo and Juliet

Make sure the indigo powder you are using is green in color and smells like dried-up peas when mixed with water it gives ink blue colored paste.

SHADES YOU CAN GET WITH INDIGO POWDER

Indigo powder is mostly used to get the deep black hair or dark brown hair color but for the blonde, gray or white hair, getting black hair with indigo powder requires a two-step process.

In this case, you first need to apply the pure henna to the hair that will dye your hair orange-red and then apply the indigo powder in the same way. This will give you a deep black color with wonderful shine.

The color pigment in the indigo powder works really well with the orange color of the henna that is already present in your hair, otherwise, you will get NO COLOR at all (on white or gray hair) or light bluish-colored hair.

If you apply the mixture containing both pure henna and indigo powder you will get different shades of brown depending on the ratios of each powder used.

Reminder: If you only apply indigo powder on gray hair, it will have little to no color. Indigo powder is best used in combination with henna or after dying your hair with henna.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED TO APPLY THE INDIGO COLOR:

• A plastic or wooden bowl
• A plastic or wooden spoon
• Indigo Powder
• Shower cap or plastic wrap
• Petroleum jelly
• Gloves
• Old towels
• Water/black brewed coffee/tea

Indigo may stain your surface, so do handle with care. By following the simple and easy steps stated below you may easily apply indigo on your hair:

Estimated amount needed for your hair:

It is very important to follow each step very carefully.

1. In a bowl, mix Indigo Powder with warm water until it forms into a pudding/cake-like batter consistency. The indigo mixture should be thin enough to apply easily but not too watery that it slides off your tresses. It is recommended to leave the mixture out for only 15-20 mins before applying. Your indigo powder may harden over the wait time, just apply a little water to loosen it up a bit. (it is recommended not to use any metallic utensils)

2. Please make sure your hair is clean and dry in order to achieve maximum results. Do note, you may add anything into your mixture as desire; however, we do not recommend adding any oils to the indigo mixture. You don't want so many products on your hair. You can always apply any oils afterward if needed.

3. Put your gloves on & separate your hair into sections to achieve maximum coverage. With a brush or with your gloved hands, apply the henna mixture from root tips working down; each section at a time. Continue applying until all of the henna mixture is applied to your hair. At this point, you should feel well coated with henna paste & a bit heavy (please note henna smells like nature). For facial hair: please use your fingers to deeply color the area and then go over with another smooth coat.

4. Cover your head with mixture and wait for 2-3 hrs. The Longer you wait, the darker color you will get but you need to leave it on for a minimum of 2 hours for good color (3 hours recommended). For facial hair: the recommended amount of time is 1.5 to 2 hours.

5. Now it’s time to rinse out. This will take a bit more time then rinsing out regular hair dye. To better rinse, out do not layer your hair on top to rinse. Start from the roots and rinse downwards. Rinse indigo with cold/cool water (no shampoo) with/without conditioner and rinse until water runs clear. Cold water helps to lock in the tones. This goes the same in washing any facial hair.

Please shampoo your hair between 24-48 hrs of application to lock your color. Don’t see the desired color yet? Wait for 48-72 hrs to see your results. Since our indigo powder does not contain the chemicals required in developing the color right away, you may need another application (especially on gray hair).

Gray hair tends to be stubborn and when it comes down to henna being so natural; nature will take its time. If you smell indigo powder even after washing, don’t worry it will go away in about 1-2 days, as well as any indigo powder stains.