A greenish or moss-green appearance immediately after the indigo stage can occur on very white or grey hair. It should not automatically be treated as the final colour.
This is one of the more alarming moments for someone using a natural henna-and-indigo system for the first time. You are trying to make white hair darker, yet some strands can initially appear green.
The intermediate colour is not necessarily the finished colour
The useful practical lesson is to avoid judging the result too early.
On very white hair, the appearance immediately after the indigo stage can be moss green. After the subsequent wash, that appearance changes and a much darker grey result emerges.
So the green stage does not necessarily mean that the colour has failed or that the hair is going to remain green.
What colour should very white hair ultimately be expected to reach?
The natural system discussed here should not be expected to create the artificial appearance of jet-black thread on predominantly white hair. The expected result is described instead as a dark grey that can look close to black.
That distinction is useful when setting expectations. A natural dark result does not have to look like an intensely artificial jet black to have worked.
Why expectations matter
People often evaluate a hair colour at the moment they rinse or remove a stage of the treatment. With indigo on white hair, that can be misleading because the visible colour is still changing. The practical takeaway is therefore not to panic at the moss-green intermediate appearance. With this natural colouring system, the colour immediately after the indigo stage is not necessarily the colour you should use to judge the final result.
Related Herbal Hair Dye Guides
- Why Are Henna and Indigo Used as a Two-Step Natural Hair Colour?
- Can Herbal Hair Dye Make Black Hair Brown or Burgundy?
- Why Do Herbal Hair Dye Ingredients Have Different Roles?
Main guide: Herbal Hair Dye Explained: Natural Colour, Grey Coverage, Ingredients and Common Problems
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