Setup

• 1). Prepare henna mixture at least 12 hours before you intend to color your hair.
  
  
• 2). Pour the correct amount of henna powder into your bowl and stir in lemon juice or apple cider vinegar a little at a time. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes the consistency of mashed potatoes.
  
  
• 3). Cover henna mixture with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to cure overnight.
  
  

Henna

• 1). Wash and dry hair the next morning and prepare your working area by laying several sheets of newspaper on the floor and covering all work surfaces with paper towels.
  
  
• 2). Cover your hands with surgical gloves and, if necessary, stir enough water into the cured henna mixture to return it to mashed potato consistency. Protect shoulders with hairdresser’s cape and section hair into quarters, fastening each section off with hair clips.
  
  
• 3). Apply petroleum jelly to the ears, neck and around the hairline to prevent staining skin. Create a 1-inch segment of hair from the base of the first section and generously apply henna paste from roots to ends. Work henna into hair, using copious amounts of the mixture.
  
  
• 4). Continue sectioning and saturating hair in this manner until the head is thickly covered with henna paste. Wipe any residual henna from the face, neck and ears before wrapping the hennaed hair with plastic wrap. Keep mixture on your hair for at least three hours.
  
  
• 5). Rinse hair thoroughly. This may take as long as 20 minutes, since henna paste is quite thick. Your hair will be strawberry blonde at this stage in the process.
  
  

Indigo

• 1). Towel dry the hair and prepare a second application by combining the correct amount of indigo powder with enough water to create the consistency of yogurt.
  
  
• 2). Apply indigo mixture to the hair in the same manner as you applied the henna, wiping excess indigo from the face, neck and ears before wrapping hair in plastic wrap.
  
  
• 3). Leave the indigo mixture in the hair for at least two hours before rinsing thoroughly. The color will take two days after rinsing to fully develop its final shade of black.