I have been asked many times about the options to cover grey hair. Many of us go for chemical color treatments and we all know how damaging it is to our hair. A hair-friendly option is to apply henna, but some of us do not like the red color it gives. People who are looking for a natural way to color grey hair into black, indigo powder is the solution.

Indigo powder is made from the leaves of Indigofera Tinctoria plant. Indigo possesses a natural blue dye in its leaves. Indigo powder looks green in color like henna powder. It is used with henna to get different range of colors from reddish brown, light Brown, Brown, dark Brown and black. The final hue depends on the proportion of indigo and henna used in the mixture.

There are two method of applying henna and indigo. Whatever method you follow, it is always a good idea to wash your hair with a shampoo and dry it before applying the mix.

Two-step process: 
This process involves first applying the henna and then indigo. This turns your grey hair into black color.
In this method first henna is applied. Keep the henna for 2-4 hrs. Longer the better to cover greys. Rinse the henna out of hair. Towel dry your hair and then apply indigo mix and keep it for 1-2 hrs. After that wash your hair.

One-step process:
This process is quick and takes less time. In this one you mix your henna paste into indigo paste and apply it at the same time. This method turns your grey hair into the dark brown to black shades.
Pre-mix your henna first and keep it overnight so that its color is released. Once you are ready to apply it then mix indigo with water and make a paste. Finally add henna and indigo paste together and apply it on hair. Keep the paste for 2-4hrs and then rinse it off.

How to mix henna powder: 
Use pure henna powder and mix it with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Acidic solution helps to release the color of henna. Make a thick paste like a stirred yogurt. If you feel lemon juice is harsh on your skin then you can use half water. Keep the paste at least overnight or upto 24hrs so that color is released from henna properly.

How to mix indigo powder: 
Buy pure organic indigo powder. Add water to the indigo and make a thick paste. No need to pre-mix it beforehand. Always mix your indigo only when you are ready to apply it. And do not add lemon juice to it like henna. If your hair is resistant to color, then you can add 1 teaspoon of salt in the indigo mix before applying or mixing it with henna paste.

Proportion of Indigo and Henna to be used:
If you are planning to pre-mix your henna and indigo then here are the proportions you can use to achieve different shades of brown to black. You can buy organic indigo powder on amazon and flipkart. Make sure to buy pure henna powder as impure one can contain some metallic compound which can react badly with your chemically dyed hair.
Sometime you can see little bit greenish tinge after applying indigo and henna but do not fret. It settles down to the proper color in 2-3 days.

Results:
I do not have grey hair so I asked a friend to try it. She used 2/3 indigo and 1/3 henna mix and followed the one-step method. The final color is dark brown to black. Here are the before and after pics. The light is not proper in the ‘after’ pics because of the cloudy weather. The grey coverage lasts her 2-3 weeks. She did not even notice any green tinge after the application.

Before