Musings from the Junque Pile "Dyeing my Hair naturally, part 2

In "Dyeing My Hair Naturally, Part One," I attempted a rinse of all natural cranberry juice, with absolutely no results.  After further researching, I found out that that rinsing color into your hair is something that shows results over time.  But I found other things to try, as well as ways to make the natural "dyes" thicker in order to have it sit in your hair, and not run or drip off.  Olive oil was a good choice, and something that I had on hand.

Last weekend, I made a paste of Paprika, olive oil , cranberry juice (hey, I had to use it up, yanno?). I let this paprika gunk sit in the fridge overnight, and then took it out a couple of hours before I planned to shower, so that it would come up to room temperature. I then washed my hair, using my usual No-Poo method, and while the hair was still wet, I slathered this paprika mixture all over my head, from root to tip. I have to say, it sure looks like it was going to do some good.  Not all of the paprika dissolved into the liquid, so it was a tad gritty, but not too bad.

I decided to let it sit on my head until it dried fully. It took about 4 hours.

After rinsing my hair, I looked at it wet, and I don't know maybe it me being hopeful, but there was a reddish tinge to my hair.  After letting it dry, I checked the mirror again, and nope...really no difference.

DaHubster and my mother both said there was a bit of red in my hair, but I think they were just trying to make me feel better.

It's widely reported over the interwebz that using herbs, flowers, teas and spices to color your hair means doing it frequently, and the color builds up over time.  I'm lazy and I don't want do much more than wash my hair, scrunch it a bit of hairspray, and call it done. I was hard-pressed to dye it with real dye any more than once every 3-4 months.

So, my next experiment will be with Henna. It's apparently come a long way from the 70's when you were told not to use it if you have processed your hair in any way.  I've researched the different companies and looked at reviews, and I chose one company. I should get my order early next week, and I'll let you all know how it goes after I goop it on my hair.

In the meantime, I'm just going to have too look like a mongrel: half blond, half dishwater, and sprinkled with silver. blech.

I want my red back.