
I’ve been using henna consistently in my hair regimen since March 2010, so almost 4 1/2 years now. If you follow me on Instagram @mnmlistbeauty, you most likely saw me post a few weeks ago that I was going to use indigo in my hair for the first time. I decided to add indigo in my henna treatment to darken my hair. The results were wonderful, but the process wasn’t exactly what I expected. I’ll explain.
I purchased Godrej Nupur 9 Henna and 100% pure indigo from my local Indian grocery store. I mixed 100 grams of Godrej Nupur 9 Henna with a full can of organic coconut milk as I normally do, yet instead of applying the henna to my hair right away as I’ve explained before, I let it sit for an hour. I then mixed 100 grams of indigo with water and added this mix to the henna and applied to my hair in sections like I usually do with my henna treatments.
I covered my hair and let it stay in for almost three hours. The consistency of the henna/indigo mix was thicker than henna and coconut milk alone, and I was actually surprised that I used the entire mix for my hair. I did apply it pretty liberally though.
Here is where the process wasn’t what I expected. I had an unfortunate reaction from using indigo as it gave me an insane headache, made me nauseous, and I won’t go into any more detail but it got worse. I have extreme chemical sensitivity so either the indigo that I purchased contained some form of toxins since it was not organic, or I am allergic to indigo.
After rinsing my hair thoroughly my headache lessened and I felt better. The henna/indigo rinsed easily from my hair since it was mixed with coconut milk which is the main reason I always mix henna with coconut milk. I then applied wheat germ oil to my hair to soften my hair further and later rinsed my hair again thoroughly. I have been continually washing my hair with water only so I did not use any conditioners after my henna/indigo treatment. Herbal hair rinses are a great alternative to conditioners when doing the water only hair washing method, yet I only rinsed with water followed my an oil rinse this time.
Since doing water only hair washing, I’ve noticed that if I want to “deep condition” my hair all I need to do is put my hair up in a bun under the running water. When I take down my bun once it is dry my curls are extremely stretched which can provide a great set up for another style and is very moisturized. I use my Tangle Teezer to detangle and smooth my hair into a bun. I continued to rinse my hair daily and put my hair into a bun for two more days before wearing it loose again. I wanted to ensure that my hair was completely moisturized as indigo has a reputation for being drying to hair.
My hair is not as dark especially in sunlight as I would like, but much of the bright red tones that my hair had previously has been toned down dramatically. Usually it can take three applications to achieve a strong color change with henna/indigo especially if you’ve applied strictly henna in your hair for years. Regardless I do love the results, but am hoping to have a much more pleasant experience with indigo my next application.

hair still has prominent red highlights in natural sunlight
My future plan is to look for a high quality brand of indigo and this time mix it with Reshma or Dulhan body art quality henna which does not contain extra herbs which Godrej Nupur 9 Henna does. I’ve used Godrej Nupur 9 Henna numerous times successfully, but I am not sure if the herbs in Godrej Nupur 9 henna mixed with indigo created the issue I experienced, or if it was the indigo itself. I am also considering using a premixed henna/indigo from Mountain Rose Herbs instead.
At this point I am mainly using henna/indigo for deep conditioning and hair color. With the water only hair washing method, my hair is stronger, softer, and more manageable than it has ever been prior, so I do not feel the need to use henna as often as before. If you’re curious exactly what I’m talking about read From The Curly Girl Method, To Herbal Hair Care, Now Water Only-Part 1 and Part 2 where I go into a lot of detail about this method of hair care.
Well there it is, my very first experience using indigo. I am hoping to find a better quality henna/indigo mix since I love the color of my hair right now and hope to intensify it more in the next few months. I’m honestly in no rush at the moment though. For examples of different henna and indigo mixes to create different hair colors look here. For more articles on how I use henna, and especially why I only use henna with coconut milk look here.
How do you use henna and indigo? Do you do a one step treatment like I tried, or the two step henna then indigo treatment?
(Images by Dawn Michelle)
Tara says
I’m sorry that you didn’t have the best experience with indigo but your hair looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing this.
Dawn Michelle says
Thanks Tara! <3
Sierra says
I use a one step henna and indigo on my hair, which I buy here http://well.ca/products/colora-henna-powder-natural-organic_11282.html
it works great for me, turning most of my brown hair black (although I took two times to turn my bleached ends black)
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Sierra,
Thanks for the suggestion. I like to keep it simple so I will most likely get a one step premixed henna/indigo for my next treatment. <3
Trina says
Hi Dawn,
Sorry your first try was so rough. I get my indigo from an herbal shop that is organic and artist grade. Please get highest quality you can so you don’t get sick again. Once you have established that you can tolerate indigo you’ll need to add more to deepen the color. Also I mix together and put on my hair at once. I use 200 g of henna and 125 grams if indigo to to get chestnut brown and it takes two applications to from dark red o that color.hope this helps
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Trina,
Thanks so much for this info! I will definitely be trying indigo again if not an organic premixed henna/indigo. All of the suggestions that I’ve been receiving is so helpful.
sherri says
I do a one step henna/indigo process using 25% henna to 75% indigo because I want to color my gray hair. I use Mehandi products, mixing the henna the night before. I mix up indigo prior to use, before adding it into the henna mix. I leave it on about 2 hours. Great results. I have multiple chemical sensitivities too, so I am happy with this product. I will try it with coconut milk next time.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Sherri,
This is good to know. Thanks for sharing this! I am feeling more hopeful about using indigo again.
Kimmy says
Hi Dawn Michelle,
Love your blog – your posts are thoughtful
and original.
Sorry you had a less than ideal experience
with indigo. I have been using henna, indigo and
amla from hennaforhair.com. They test their
Henna and indigo for purity I am super sensitive
to synthetic chemicals and haven’t had any issues
I am careful of what I put on my hair, scalp because
I want to limit toxins I absorb and I want to protect my
eyesight — many chemical ingredients in haircare products
and dyes can wreck havoc on our tender eyes.
Take care
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Kimmy,
Thanks for the love and info! I so appreciate it!
Juliet from Canada says
Hi Dawn, thank you for sharing your experience (and thank you for your quick response; I really appreciate it!) I also tried the Nupur + Indigo for the very first time on Friday. I’ve been reading about henna for the last month or so before I tried it. I mixed mine with coconut milk, too, left it overnight, then added some almond oil just before I applied it. I slept with it, and my hair was quite dry when I rinsed it the next morning. I let it dry a little, applied the indigo (mixed with water only), left it for 3 hours, rinsed, then nearly cried because my 3″ of hair that I’m trying to get healthy felt like straw that was left out in the sun for a month 🙁 I gently cowashed 3 times, dc’d, fed it every bit of moisture I could find, and it is now quietly recovering in some 2-strand twists. Ironically, I had a headache, too, about an hour after I applied the indigo…..hmmmm…but it is now Sunday night and I stll have it 🙁 I may try henna again, but sans the indigo, and I will add some Amla and/or Brahmi. Keep those articles coming; I absolutely LOVE your sight!!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Juliet from Canada,
Thanks for the love and I’m glad I could be helpful to you! I am definitely thinking that the headache from indigo is attributed to not using a truly pure from of indigo. Many of the ladies here have recommended using an organic pure form of indigo and haven’t had problems. Best wishes on your next henna treatment!
Marita says
I love the color! I tried heat for the first time sine Nov. 2013 with the water only method. Grapeseed oil as a heat protectant made my hair too oil and I could see beaded oil on the curling wand. My curls did come back after washing though. I then tried a rhassoul herbal wash and the sebum did not move much…it was so stiff. So I had to was again with diluted castille soap and jojoba oil to restore it to a somewhat normal balance. My hair is so fluffy and thick in appearance. I ended up using a heat protectant that was mostly natural and organic with one undesirable ingredient…I decided not to fight it since it is only going on my scalp directly. There is an oil that NikkiMae2003 on YT recommends but I think it is mainly oil (and I couldn’t find exact ingredients) so I didn’t want to sizzle my hair again.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Marita,
One thing that I do to lessen the amount of sebum on my hair is apply wheat germ oil to emulsify it and to rinse it away. No other oil really compares. I mention this here if you want to read more on it. It has been better than using other natural cleansers for me. Finding what works best for you is important though. Thanks for sharing.
Annath says
Hello. I personally don’t think your indigo had chemicals mixed in it. I too use 100% pure indigo to dye my hair black and it gives me bad headaches every time and rarely even makes me feel nauseous. I only dye my hair 3-4 times a year so I still think it’s worth dying my hair black naturally since I just love the color, you’re lucky your hair is already dark. 🙂 Also getting rid of the smell of indigo or covering it with something more pleasant like an essential oil usually helps me.
Annath says
Oh, and I almost forgot. 2 hours are enough for indigo since it loses its dyeing properties after that amount of time. I only added coconut milk to my indigo once and my hair wasn’t so dark and the indigo washed out rather quickly, it’s better not to use anything oily. I mix my indigo with black tea (warm, not hot else you might damage indigo) and a teaspoon of salt because alkaline environment helps the dye, I don’t add any henna either.
I hope that helps, good luck with your next try. 😉
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Annath,
Thanks so much for this info! I greatly appreciate it!
Marita says
Thanks Dawn. I have a sensitivity to wheat. So I will look into hemp oil (do you mean hemp seed oil?) So far my hair likes jojoba and grapeseed oil. I’m open to suggestions that you may have. Thanks again. Your blog has made these past few months less stressful and more fun.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Marita,
Yes I do mean hemp seed oil. I have been enjoying this oil for my hair for a few years now. When I mentioned that I use wheat germ oil to emulsify my hair’s natural oils/sebum, I was simply referring to the fact that when I have excess sebum on my strands from water only hair washing, when I apply specifically wheat germ oil to my dry hair before rinsing, the oil literally foams a bit on my dry hair and emulsifies with my sebum which rinses the some of the sebum off of my hair. Crazy but true! <3
Marita says
Oh may you go into more detail about how you emulsify the oils? Do you do it on wet or dry hair…Thanks 🙂
Marita says
Last one for now…lol! I found out that there is 100% Pure store here in IL at Woodfield Mall…YAY!
Marita says
Cool. Bought some Hemp Oil today…looking forward to using it…skin, hair, supplement, recipes! Is there an email that I can use to send you wedding day photos? It is next week!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Marita,
I am so excited for you and your hubby-to-be! Congratulations again! I wish you both the very best and I hope you enjoy the hemp seed oil too! If you’re on the Minimalist Beauty Facebook page you can send me a photo there as a message if you like. Love to see it!! <3
Juliet says
Taking a deep breath and trying henna again today, sans Indigo. My wanna-be kitchen scientist side is coming out and I mixed it last night with green tea & a little ACV 🙂 Going to add a little Amla & apply tonight, and hopefully will have some better results than last week.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Juliet,
I’ve never used the henna mix you described but wishing you a wonderful experience. I’ve found that using sugar with henna helps with the rinsing process if you don’t use coconut milk.
Juliet from Canada says
Hi Dawn Michelle, okay so hennaing is over for another week. I brewed 1 green tea bag in about 400ml of water, added about 4 tbsp of acv, mixed and left it overnight. Friday night I applied it (no Amla) and rinsed this morning. Several cowashes after, I conditioned and left it capped for a couple of hours while I puttered around. After rinsing, my hair felt……dry, yet strong (cannot explain it). I also have these neat little red tints where my grays were. I’m still trying to find a solution to my dry, low porosity hair, but I’m not ready to give up on henna yet. Maybe Cassia next. Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Juliet from Canada,
I love the strength that henna provides hair. Also I’ve had amazing experiences using herbal hair treatments compared to commercial products and earlier this year I used diluted apple cider vinegar as shampoo and a DIY banana conditioner with incredible results. Sometimes the ingredients in commercial hair care can build up on hair not allowing moisture to properly enter hair strands. To be completely honest I surpassed having dry hair completely when I started water only hair washing. I did transition with herbal hair treatments before going this route, and there is a 4 week transitioning period, yet my hair is always soft ever since. I wrote about it here.
Best Wishes!
Thetruthisoutthere says
Dear Dawn Michelle: I’m sorry your indigo adventure was not the best but I’d like to say you are not alone. I get headaches from using henna, and I use organic henna also. I believe my headaches were caused by having that heavy mass on my head for so long. I wrap my hennaed hair with saran wrap, and cover with turban, scarf or beanie. I think it’s the weight of the product combined with the tight head wrap.
I use a two-step method, because I have grey hair at my hairline. I mix my henna with coconut milk and apply immediately; or mix henna with a conditioner (GVP Conditioning balm) and apply it immediately.
After the henna has ‘marinated’ on my hair for an hour or so, I smoosh the henna from my hairline and apply a paste of indigo (mixed in coconut milk or conditioner, like the henna). I now have henna in my hair and indigo on my hairline for the remainder of the treatment.
Once I rinse both out my hairline is as dark as the rest of my hair, and I’ve saved time by combining the processes.
Short and sweet!
HTH
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Thetruthisoutthere,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Another reader mentioned that indigo’s dye release is only good for two hours therefore you only need to leave it in for that length of time. That’s good to know for those who may be sensitive to it. <3
Thetruthisoutthere says
ps. I meant to say I get headaches from the INDIGO! I can’t keep it on my hair for more than 4 hours…
Regine says
I have successfully used Indigo and Henna together and without ever having a headache. I use Ancient Sunrise® Henna from Mehandi.com ).
I use your formula of 150 grams Nupur Henna with 1 can of coconut milk which I let sit overnight, then add 1/4 cup evoo or evco. I then take half of my henna mixture to which I add my indigo. My indigo formula is 100 grams indigo plus ½ cup warm water (if too thick add another ½ cup) + 1 tsp salt. You want the consistency of thick yogurt. So my my formula is basically 75 grams henna/100 grams indigo. This gives me brownish hair with some red tint. But next time, to get darker hair, I will use only 1/3 of my henna paste and mix it with the indigo (which is the equivalent of 50 grams henna/100 grams indigo)
I let this sit in my hair for 6 hours.
Regine says
Correction to prior post. The link I wrote down is wrong. It refers to Henna already mixed with indigo. I do not use that one . I instead use pure indigo to which I add my own Henna (per prior post).
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Regine,
Thanks so much for sharing your henna/indigo process! I am definitely going to try it again. <3
Regine says
The link I wrote down is wrong. It refers to Henna already mixed with indigo. I do not use that one . I instead use pure indigo to which I add my own Henna (per prior post).
Juliet from Canada says
Awww shucks! I’m at a loss for sure now. I actually tried your dc and blended 1 banana with coconut milk (smooth) to use before I did my henna and my hair was actually really dry 🙁 I think I’m going to take the next few weeks and detox my hair from regular products so I can remove the buildup because you may be right in what you said. I really want to get to herbal rinses only, and then onto water washes (sooooo intrigued by your recipes, your results and also the “water hairwash only” YT videos!) will report back in a month. Be blessed!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Juliet from Canada,
I find it helps to deep condition the hair after doing a henna treatment versus prior to. Also it is so true that if you have product build up especially from commercial products that your hair won’t behave well. A good hair detox really helps. <3
Norma says
Hi Dawn,
Dark black hair suits you very well, you look elegant in these pictures.
I do hennae and indigo my hair toO in order to keep it black as it tends to be brown. When I was a little girl my hair was very light brownish, like dark blond hair, and I don’t know why but I hate it, with my freakles I had the impression to look like a girl call in French “Fifi brin d’acier”, lol. I do hennae first, I apply it for about 4 hours, then I rinse and apply the indigo. The only thing that I would like to change is the fact that in order to remove all the hennae I always need to use a commercial conditioner, otherwise I will have bits in my hair and it will itch my scalp. After each deep natural conditioner I tend to wash with conditioner as well as otherwise I feel that my hair is too greasy. I would prefer to use only natural products but my hair is just not having it lol. Have a nice evening.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Norma,
Thanks for sharing this! I actually love dark hair yet wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I will definitely need to do another treatment soon. Enjoy your day!
ryuuko says
Hi Dawn,
Its been awhile since I last visited. Being summer and all, I’d like to add some color to my hair. I’d like to ombre my dark brown hair. Have you ever ombred your hair naturally? I’m considering using the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda method. I’m aware that it will cause damage, but I’d like for the ombre to have light brown and honey blond colors. Will coconut oil be enough to mini ize the damage and what can I use after dyeing to moisturizemy hair?
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Ryuuko,
I have not ombréd my hair before but wrote about lightening your hair with honey here. I think it is a gradual process yet worth a try. Coconut oil is great for strengthening and moisturizing hair so it would only add benefits if you hair and skin like coconut oil. Let me know what works out for you. Enjoy your summer!
Sandra C says
How much coconut milk do you mix with 150g of Nupur9 Henna? In one of your recipes it said a can, but there are 2 sizes – one is about 5 oz and the other is about 13 oz. Thank you for your help. I am looking for highlights and conditioning.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Sandra C,
I use a the traditional size of canned coconut milk which is around 13-14 oz. My henna mix is usually 100 grams of henna to 1 full can of coconut milk. You can read more about it here. <3
Patty says
How you prepare your hair for henna ? My hair is fragile, still the coconut milk the best? what kind of oil ?? I heard grape seed or camellia are better for that!! Thanks.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Patty,
I share in this article exactly how I do my henna treatments. I no longer add oil to my henna mix which I share here yet if you are new to henna or have very dry dehydrated hair definitely add oil to your mix. All the details you are looking for you can find in those two linked articles. If you have another question let me know.
Deppi says
I have medium brown hair with red highlights and a lot of gray. I have chemically dyed my hair for years and finally decided to try henna and indigo. I mixed the henna the night before with water and a little lemon juice and the indigo with water just before application. I washed my hair with soap to remove all traces of oil. I left the mixture on for two hours only, because it was dripping everywhere, even through the plastic wrap (maybe I used too much water?). Rinsing out was extremely difficult and messy and I ended up using a commercial organic shampoo because I couldnt get it out of my hair, although I only use herbal shampoos these days (one of your recipes). Nevertheless despite all this trouble, it was totally worth it since my hair is now extremely soft and shiny especially the roots which were not chemically dyed and the gray is covered pretty well. Do you have any suggestions to facilitate rinsing and washing? By the way I absolutely love your blog, it is inspiring, very well researched and the best I have ever seen in relation to hair care. Thank you so much for sharing all this information!!!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Deppi,
My 2nd time using indigo I mixed in yogurt which you can read about in detail here. It was very easy to rinse. I’m so glad that you loved the results using henna/indigo! Also thank you so much for the compliment on my blog!
Rozie says
Your hair looks absolutely amazing.
Dawn Michelle says
Thank you so much Rozie!