NightBlooming offers five herbal hair colors in the gold to red range, and while one of the amazing things about herbal hair colors is how they work with your own hair color to produce a color unique to you, many people want a little more security. (Very wise given the insane permanency of henna!) A generous customer donated some of her virgin ash-blonde hair (also called ‘the color everyone dyes over’) and I’m happy to show these herbal hair color strand tests.

Control indirect sunlight

Control indoors
Control and Methodology
Each lock of hair was sectioned to be approximately the same length and thickness. Each of the herbal hair colors were mixed up with steaming distilled water, left to dye release for two hours, and the locks left to soak in the dye for 3 hours (as per the included instructions). After that, they were all rinsed and were allowed to oxidize for 3 days before these pictures were taken.
The Play of Light
I then photographed each lock in different types of light. As this image, taken from Coloring Hair Naturally with Henna & Other Herbs, shows, herbal colors, but especially those containing henna, vary wildly just depending in on the type of light that they’re in. The same head of hair can go from burgundy in the shade, to brownish under fluorescent light, to fiery copper in the sun. This is an important consideration when looking at pictures of hennaed hair. It’s very tempting to say, “I want this color in this photo. What mix do I need?” That same head of hair might look very different in another photo taken just a few seconds later because a cloud passed overhead.

All colors indirect sunlight
All Color Swatches
Moving left to right is Control, Eilistraee Colorless Herbal Conditioner, Sarenrae Blonde / Colorless, Rusalki Strawberry Blonde, Fire Genasi Copper, Kitsune Fox Fire Red, and Enyo War Goddess Ruby Red.

All swatches shade

All swatches indirect sunlight
Eilistree Colorless Herbal Conditioner
Eilistraee is a blend of sedr and other herbs that gives conditioning and volume without coloring even the palest of hair colors. In these photos you can see the control lock and Eilistraee lock: there’s no difference.
Ingredients: Certified Organic Zizyphus Spina Christi (Sedr) , Organic Aloe Vera Powder, Nettle, Wheatgrass.
Control and Eilistraee:

Control lock outdoors

Eilistraee lock outdoors
Sarenrae Blonde Herbal Hair Color & Conditioner
Sarenrae is a blend of herbs that gives rich golden tones and deep, long-lasting conditioning well beyond what cassia obovata manages on its own.
Ingredients: Cassia (Senna italica), Senna (Senna alexandrea), Chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita), Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale), Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Burdock Root (Arctium lappa), Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis), Aloe Leaf (Aloe Vera), Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis), and Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)
Sarenrae indirect sunlight

Sarenrae direct sunlight

Sarenrae indoors
Rusalki Strawberry Blonde Herbal Hair Color
Rusalki uses a blend of senna, henna, and other herbs to give a stunning, natural strawberry-blonde color to light hair and a smidge of warmth and a lot of conditioning to dark hair.
Ingredients: Cassia (Senna italica), Henna (Lawsonia Inermis), Chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita), Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale), Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Burdock Root (Arctium lappa), Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis), Aloe Leaf (Aloe Vera), Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis), and Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)

Rusalki indirect sunlight

Rusalki direct sunlight

Rusalki indoors
Fire Gensai Copper Herbal Hair Color
A vibrant blend of henna, senna, and other herbs, Genasi mimics naturally ginger hair, making it not only convincing, but a great refresher for natural redheads whose color has faded.
Ingredients: Henna (Lawsonia Inermis), Cassia (Senna italica), Chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita), Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale), Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Burdock Root (Arctium lappa), Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis), Aloe Leaf (Aloe Vera), Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis), and Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)

Genasi indirect sunlight

Genasi direct sunlight

Genasi indoors
Kitsune Fox Fire Red Herbal Hair Color
Kitsune is a rich red that flares orange in the sun. The addition of conditioning herbs both help cut the grassy henna smell that some dislike, and also add additional softness and shine.
Ingredients: Henna (Lawsonia Inermis), Chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita), Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale), Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Burdock Root (Arctium lappa), Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis), Aloe Leaf (Aloe Vera), Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis), and Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)

Kitsune indirect sunlight

Kitsune Direct Sunlight

Kitsune indoors
Enyo War Goddess Ruby Red Herbal Hair Color
Enyo is a deep red that ranges from ruby to auburn on even light hair. It uses a unique blend of henna, indigo, and red-staining herbs to achieve this elusive and brilliant shade.
Ingredients: Henna- Rajastani (Lawsonia Inermis), Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), Elder Berry (Sambucus canadensis), Beet Root (Beta vulgaris), Triphala powder (amalaki, bibhitaki and haritaki)

Enyo indirect sunlight

Enyo direct sunlight
Enyo indoors
Comparison Photos
Control, Eilistraee, Sarenrae

Left to right: Control, Eilistraee, Sarenrae in direct sunlight

Left to right: Control, Eilistraee, Sarenrae in indirect sunlight
Sarenrae, Rusalki, Genasi
Left to right: Sarenrae, Rusalki, Genasi indirect sunlight
Genasi, Kitsune, Enyo

Left to right: Genasi, Kitsune, Enyo indirect sunlight

Left to right: Genasi, Kitsune, Enyo indoors

Left to right: Genasi, Kitsune, Enyo direct sunlight

Left to right: Genasi, Kitsune, Enyo dappled sunlight
Rualki, Genasi, Enyo

Rusalki (lightest), Genasi (middle), Enyo (darkest) indirect sunlight

Rusalki (lightest), Genasi (middle), Enyo (darkest) direct sunlight

Rusalki (lightest), Genasi (middle), Enyo (darkest) indoors

Rusalki (lightest), Genasi (middle), Enyo (darkest) indoors
Want even more swatches?
One of our customers did her own strand tests with all of our red herbal hair colors. Her results are amazing!
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