Light Mountain Henna Hair Color & Conditioner, Color the Gray - Dark Brown Hair Dye for Men/Women, 2-Step Chemical-Free, Semi-Permanent Hair Color for White, Gray, and Blonde Hair, 7 Oz (Pack of 2)

I started using this product over 4 years ago and have used it and only it routinely. I started with hair that was dark brunette and a bit of gray - perhaps 15%. The results were that my bangs had some orange remain in them and the color ended up being light to dark medium brown. **Use organic ground ginger (spice) instead of fresh ginger to shorten steps.** Then I started really reformulating my process, and finally I have it down to a science. I'm posting an update here to say, that I believe the color is darker and holds longer if you put in on your head with a shortened cure process, not letting it sit to cure for several hours beforehand. Right before you rinse off package 1, make the mixture for package 2. Then by the time you are done rinsing out package one, you can put package 2 mixture on. I think the window is maybe to try and get it on within 15-30 minutes of it after mixing it. I read on a henna website one time that color would be more vivid if it was on your hair while the processing was taking place. The key is getting it applied well, and by blending, it is very creamy while applying. In fact, now I just dip my hands in the bowl and spread it on like I am applying shampoo. I don't even use the hair color brush. I just smear it in and through the hair because it is so creamy. Seriously, this has shaved off at least 30 minutes of application time. My hair is long, about 5 inches below bra strap on back ((hair is now to waist, and 1 box covers it all.)) I will come back and try and condense this review into easy to follow steps. Here is the 2nd time I used this product and how I prepared it: I let both the pack 1 and the pack 2 cure for 3 hours each before starting. I made them both at the same time. For pack 2, I made it with this: 2 cups total liquid as: 1 cup distilled water, 3/4 cup of Folgers Black Silk Coffee (made fresh an hour earlier with distilled water) and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Remaining ingredients included: a piece of fresh ginger about 2" long, 3 tablespoons honey and 3 drops of extra virgin olive oil. To start, I chopped the ginger and put in the blender and blended with 1 cup of distilled water. Then I moved it into a glass bowl, poured in the coffee, the distilled water, and the evoo. After it cured for 3 hours, I then added in the honey. I blended again with the hand held blender stick and let sit. While sitting the bowls were covered in saran wrap. I left the color from pack on 3 hours. I noticed that pack 1 left my hair a vibrant bright orange, which did not happen when I colored three months earlier. I think leaving this pack on 45 minutes was key. I was worried that I would miss a vibrant orange strand coloring but I got them all. My hair color turned out a very deep dark color -- not quite black, but darker than chocolate brown. In fact, it's the color of dark chocolate. The gray turned dark, but not as dark as the rest of the hair, but that seems to be par for the course for henna, and actually looks natural, rather than a sea of black. To help with the mess, I bought a pack of 10 towels for only $6.49 (total for the pack) at a beauty supply store. I also wore a cape that I got there. The plastic cap that was included with the color, I cut a slice in it to be able to tie it securely on my head, and I cut a tiny hole in the top of it to allow heat to escape. I read that sometimes you get the red hot spots on top of the crown from the hotter area of the head there, so the hole helps regulate the heat. I also used the apple cider vinegar (acv) this time because after researching how to apply henna, I came across several posts of how the acv helps unlock the color. It sure did, I was pleasantly surprised. The mixture was also easy to work with for pack 2. I believe the evoo and the honey did this. It was so easy to put on, that it was actually dripping a little. But even though that was a slight nuisance, it was far better than working with the consistency of mud. All in all, this stuff is a pain to work with, and took 8 hours, and that was with my husband helping. But it was quicker than the first time, and probably if you don't wait so long between times it might be easier. Especially for me, as the first time had to cover more of the gray. This time only had to cover what had grown out over three months. Oh a very important thing. This time there was no foul smell. I believe adding the ginger must have done that, and I'm so thankful. Last time I smelled like a hay stack for a week later. Even at the gym, I would start sweating and smell like hay. This time, no after smell at all. **UPDATE Jan 25, 2014 -- Here I go again! This will be my 4th time using the product. I'm not waiting for so much gray to accumulate before recoloring, so maybe that will help the time. I usually have to spend half a day running around to get supplies. I'm trying to stock up. This is additional supplies of what you need: Since it is a 2-step process, it's best if you can have 2 plastic bags for the head. What I do is cut a 2 inch slit in the front of it and use those 2 ends to tie into a know - this makes the bag fit tight, avoid leaks and not slip around. Instead of using the official coloring cape from the beauty store, I now use a 13 gallon size garbage bag. I cut a hole on each side for my arms. I like the beg better because it's a little lighter and easier to work with and I can alter the size very easily by folding it up to look like a mini shawl. Put 2 plastic bags on the bathroom floor - that way drips can just be thrown away - cuts clean up dramatically. The ginger root is definitely what is make the smell non-existent. With ginger root there is very little hay smell, maybe only like 5% the first few days. After you are all done, the next day when you take a shower - don't shampoo yet. Use only conditioner. And the day after that, don't shampoo, only conditioner. This helps the color set in before you have your first shampoo. So today is Saturday, I'll condition on Sunday and Monday, and shampoo and condition on Wednesday - back to normal routine. I also tried the step 2 a bit differently, which I like better. After step one is done, right before you wash it out, make the stuff for step 2. Then about 15 minutes later when step 1 is all rinsed out go ahead and put step 2 on. I did read from someone else that it's best to put this on your right after mixing, so I started doing that. It makes sense - let it start developing on you for a deeper longer lasting color. That's what I'm doing again today. Ok ladies - good luck! It's a lovely finish - just a bit of a nuisance until you figure out a good routine for you. I always have to reprint my review here to see what I did and I follow my own steps each time. LOL Go be fabulous!

First off, set aside a few hours to use the product the first time out. You definitely need to do the color swatch and check to see if you might have an allergic reaction to this product. This is a plant product and may cause dermatitis. I, luckily, did not. Secondly, it's messy and time consuming. On the positive side, the color comes out beautifully and your hair feels so incredibly good. Also it smells like henna. I love that smell. I bought the double pack and it's been almost 4 weeks and I've still got good coverage. I'm definitely going to do my hair again. If you like quick and convenient this product is not for you, that is why I gave it four stars. However, it is far safer and cheaper than most home hair coloring products. If you are looking to save a bundle on hair coloring and want a safe and natural way to cover the gray, this is a great product. I think the second time I use this product it will be easier and a little quicker as I know how long to keep the product on my hair.

Update: Aug 9, 2022: I am now 72 years old and have very stubborn gray roots. I have been using this product for 4 years. When I first started using it, I could leave Step 2 on my hair for 1.5 hours and it covered beautifully. Since I now have much more gray hair, I leave the Light Mountain package #2 on my hair for 3 hours. It covers the gray roots completely, and it turns my hair a warm brown color. When I go for haircuts now, my hairdresser remarks how becoming the color is. Coloring my hair with this product is a big time commitment, but so worth it for health and saving money. I am so glad I found this product for covering my gray hair. Here is how I use it: 1. To save money I weigh and divide both packages into thirds because I have shoulder-length hair. (I describe how I divide it below...) Don't bother going to this much trouble the first time you use it. Try out the product first using the entire box to see if you like it. 2. Mix up Step 1. Then, while I am waiting the 30 minutes for Step 1 to process, I mix up Step 2. 3. Apply Step 1. Use gloves! I apply the product with one of those wide brushes hairdressers use which makes parting the hair and applying the messy product to my roots so much easier. (I bought the Framer Family brushes on Amazon.) 4. Wait 15 minutes. Rinse out. Makes my scalp and roots a scary bright red color. 5. Apply Step 2. Cover head with plastic wrap or the provided cap. Wait 1 1/2 - 3 hours depending on amount of gray. Rinse. Step 2 covers the scary red with a lovely natural-looking brown color. 6. Take a bath with a cup or two of vinegar. (see vinegar explanation below) Run fingers through hair to remove all product residue. 7. Turn on shower. Rinse. Apply conditioner. Rinse. Pros: * Covers my stubborn gray hair * Wonderful color * Safe, non carcinogenic ingredients (EWG recommends) * Super inexpensive compared to having the hairdresser dye my hair * I am not allergic to it, but I was allergic to the salon color. * As long as I use the vinegar rinse, my scalp does not feel dry, and the strong henna smell is nearly gone. Cons * horribly messy * takes a lot of time In spite of the mess and the time it takes, I highly recommend this product. I use tap water. I find the product to be pretty forgiving when I make mistakes on timing or water amounts so I don't worry too much about getting the liquid amounts and the curing times exact. Gloves are definitely needed. I have shoulder-length hair so, to economize, before using the product, I weigh each package, divide the powder in thirds, and package the piles separately in labeled sandwich bags. I divide the water amounts into thirds and write the amounts on the bags too. I find the powder can accept more water than the recommended amounts so I don't worry too much about getting partial ounces exact. I included a photo of the two bags I use for one application. I highly recommend rinsing with vinegar. The vinegar keeps my hair and scalp from feeling dry and it almost completely eliminates the strong smell of henna. The vinegar removes the product so well that I can use a white towel to dry my hair. To cut down on the time and aggravation the process takes, I weigh and measure out the powders one day, get everything ready a different day, mix up and apply the products a third day. Note: in spite of getting stuff ready ahead of time, the whole thing is still aggravating and takes many hours. But the product does such nice things to the texture and color of my hair that I keep using it. I do wait 24 hours to wash my hair after I apply the product.

This has to be the worst hair color product ever! I've used some bad ones that really did a number on my hair but this product is by far the worst one yet. Let's start with the instructions. Who has 4 hours to do a skin test to see if you are allergic to it? You have to walk around with this paste dried to your skin for 4 hours, uncovered mind you, so that anything that touches it becomes permanently stained. Then wash it off and wait 24 hours before you dye. You also have to do a multiple step strand test to see how your hair is going to react to it. Step 1 add boiling water to the powder and let stand for 10-30 minutes to cure. Not so bad. Apply to hair and leave on for 15 minutes. After that 15 minutes I looked like an Oompah Loompah and my grays were still very visible. Step 2 add boiling water to powder and let cure for 10-30 minutes. Apply to hair and leave on for 45 minutes to 4 hours. What? 4 hours? Are you completely out of your mind. I left mine on for an hour. I still had a few grays visible but they weren't bad. What was bad is the smell. Both of the powders have the most god awful smell to them. The only thing I can liken the smell to is rotting lawn clippings. Basically my hair now smells like rotten cut grass. It's so bad that I have a headache from smelling it. I even added a few drops of essential oil per the website to help with the bad smell. Didn't help. The only way to not have the smell is to not use the product. Now we are done and my hair doesn't look that bad but it feels like straw. The same texture as one of the bad chemical type colors would do to my hair. No amount of conditioner made it feel any better. I also rinsed my hair for 10 minutes trying to get the gritty powder out. It just never seemed to end. My husband even helped me rinse and stuff was still on my scalp. So now my hair stinks, I have a headache, may hair feels terrible and now I have to deal with everything my hair touches seems to get stained. I covered my head before going to bed, like I would do after coloring my hair with a box of color, to keep from staining my pillows and sheets. Well I woke up to huge blue/green stains all over my pillows. And this stain is permanent. Thanks a lot! I waited the recommended 24 hours to wash my hair. After apply the shampoo and working it through the hair, the whole inside of my shower became covered in blue/green dye. Not what I was expecting. I conditioned with the hopes that the smell would be covered by the conditioner. Nope! As soon as I stepped out of the shower I was hit with the nauseating smell of decaying grass cuttings. My husband is grossed out by the smell and in all honesty, the color isn't that great. Now I'm all for being natural and Eco conscious, but come on. This is the best you could do? So disappointed and disgusted and smelling awful. Do yourself a favor, find a different color product. I know I am. Two thumbs down, zero stars.

This product is SO worth it. It's time consuming, but so is going to the hairdresser to get your hair dyed, and with Light Mountain you know that the product is nontoxic, which is great, plus it costs so much less than what you would pay at a salon. In addition, because you do it at home, you can use the waiting time to do things around the house. And the color looks great, and lasts well. Also my hair feels so soft and healthy (I've been using it now for a couple of years), as opposed to dried out and fragile the way it gets from the chemicals at a salon. The down sides: the henna smells a little funky/earthy, though I find that if I run conditioner through my hair with a comb in the shower when I finish rinsing out the second part, that cuts down on the smell. Also, the process is messy, but I just wipe down the bathtub after I'm done and I've never had stains. Be patient--the first time you do it, you're going to be like: Oh my god, this is so complicated and it takes forever. But if you do it more than once you'll develop systems for making it go more smoothly. My few tips: *Read the instructions and gather all your materials before getting started--glass or plastic bowls, plastic or wood stirrers, etc. *I save disposable unused chopsticks from Chinese restaurants and use them for stirrers. I use Pyrex glass storage containers/bowls to mix the henna. *Do put vaseline on your face around your hairline (as suggested) before you use it to keep the henna off your skin *Something really useful I learned from another poster here: Instead of dealing with having to apply heat over a period of 30 minutes with blow dryer (which feels so tiresome and boring) just put a wool stocking cap over the bathing cap and your body's natural heat will be enough. That way you are not chained to the bathroom during the time the henna needs to set. I tend to work at my computer, but you could also watch tv or do other things. To minimize dripping you can fold a towel over the stocking cap. *I'm not sure that it's necessary to use distilled water. I've done it a couple of times when all I had was tap water, and it worked just fine *I have trouble putting the henna on my hair when wearing plastic gloves. I find it so much easier with bare hands. I do end up with dye on my hands for a day or two afterward, which is not ideal. Basically if your gray is driving you crazy and you are motivated to do something about it, then this is a great product for you. If you just have a few gray hairs, you may feel like it's too much bother.

I bought the Light Mountain Henna Hair Color & Conditioner for my wife, hoping it would cover her gray hairs naturally, since it’s a chemical-free dye. The color turned out nice, a medium brown that looked good on her hair. However, after using it, we noticed that it didn’t fully cover the gray hairs as we had hoped. Some were still visible, especially around the roots, which was a bit disappointing. The application process was relatively easy, and we liked that it was a chemical-free dye, making it gentler on the hair. Additionally, its texture was nice and didn’t leave the hair dry or damaged. Overall, while it’s a natural and easy-to-use product, it didn’t meet our expectations for complete gray coverage. It’s a good dye for those looking for something gentle, but if you're after full gray coverage, this might not be the best option.

I cannot stop touching my soft, shiny hair! I am beyond pleased with my first henna-indigo experience! I spent days researching, watching videos, reading reviews and I have to say that I was more than a little apprehensive about diving into this project. My fine (strands) but thick (lots of it!), long curly medium'ish brown with gray roots, chemically colored 51 y/o hair was in need of some overdue TLC. I was done with the toxic chemicals but not ready to give in to the "Granny Gray". Totally frustrated, I finally decided to try this. The reviews were so scary, so I purchased an arsenal of protective gear, non-metallic utensils, and lots of distilled water. I prepared the step 1 henna (used two boxes - long thick hair), covered it with plastic wrap, and let it cure for an hour while I prepared my bathroom for what I thought was going to be a mud-splattered disaster area... disposable drop cloths, lots of brown towels, rolls of paper towels, etc. Then I took a shower and shampooed my hair (no conditioner). Towel dried and combed through my hair. I added a little plain yogurt to the henna mixture, scooped some into a squeeze bottle to henna my roots first, then proceeded to cover the rest of my hair using gloved hands (use gloves through the whole process). I used plastic wrap to cover my hair, wiped off any henna that was on my skin, and then blow dried my head for about 15 minutes. Then I covered the plastic wrapped hair with a big towel, cleaned up the henna bowl and squeeze bottle, mixed up the step 2 indigo and covered it with plastic wrap. I then got in the tub and rinsed out the henna under the tub faucet... I closed the drain a few times to soak my hair in the water so it would rinse out faster. For fear of ending up with green hair, the last rinse was with distilled water. None of this thus far had been that traumatic... Oh the horror story reviews! I basically repeated the same steps with the indigo but left it on my hair for almost two hours. After rinsing out most of the indigo, I covered my hair with conditioner which rinsed out the remaining dye. There was no grit in my hair when I combed it out, just really nice smooth hair. The color is a warm dark chocolate brown with no red at all right now. From what I have read, however, the color should change a bit over the next few days. It is so soft and shiny! I have never had such wonderful results from any other hair dye! Is it a long process? Yes, but worth every second. Is it messy? Not any more messy than applying box color in my opinion... just be careful and go slowly. Does it stink? No, to me it smells like hay and it is not unpleasant at all. If you are on the fence about converting to henna-indigo... don't let the scary reviews stop you. Be prepared with all your supplies and make a spa Saturday just for you every month! I wish I had done this years ago. Thank you Light Mountain for making it so easy and beautiful to go chemical-free!

I have skin allergies so I'm very mindful of what I put on my scalp. This henna die I've been using for years and it has never disappointed me. It dies the hair exactly as described. It's a somewhat long process at first to find one's way of applying this henna the most efficiently possible - took me a couple of trials and errors. I have very long hair, so henna dying takes a while! I wouldn't change it for the world though - it's the best way I've found to dye my hair without harmful chemicals, ammoniacs and no allergic reactions!

I was very delighted with this product..........I had always used Henna to cover my greys, and for some stupid reason I decided to change to Chemical dyes because I could go back to my natural dark brown colour....!!Big mistake!! I've had nothing but problems with chemical dyes, inflammation of the forehead, unbearable rash on scalp, swollen eyes etc. With the henna/Iodine I can enjoy safe hair dyeing with brilliant results. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has the patience to apply this product which although might be a bit messy and takes longer to apply, BUT IT IS WORTH IT.

a good product for covering naturally gray hair, no chemicals and no heavy metals...

This is the first henna that works perfectly for my hair. The mixture wasn't gritty at all, and was easy to apply. Covers pretty quickly and gives volume to the hair. I will keep using it, as I'm very happy that I found the right natural product for me.

Rubbish product! Don't buy it...does not do what it says on it.