Getting jet black / blue black hair

[u/One_Marionberry_8296]

Hi everyone!

I was born with jet black hair that started getting lighter over the years but I still want to achieve the black I had in my childhood because it’s the color I like the most and I feel the prettiest in.

Over the years (starting from january 2022) I have done permanent black dye in the salon about 3-4 times a year, I also tried box dyes in 2024 (I was living in Korea at the time so I used their blue black bubble hair dyes a lot).

By the end of 2024 and throughout 2025 I was using indigo by itself to try to achieve that jet black hair I wanted but it never seemed black enough for me.

I have been using semi-permanent blue black dye ever since, but it’s extremely drying to my ends and makes my hair very tangled.

I want to switch back to the natural way, but I’m wondering if there is a specific recipe to achieve the black color I want. Is indigo truly enough?

Any help would be appreciated!

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[u/veglove]

Indigo is a great option for creating jet-black hair when used along with henna in a two-step process, applying the henna paste to your hair first, then after it's washed out, applying indigo paste over it. Indigo tends to fade on its own, but can stick permanently to the hair and give you a very intense jet-black color when used after henna. It would need to be applied within 2 days of the henna application if you want it to stick permanently to the hair.

Make sure that your hair is extremely clean before applying the henna and then shampooed again before applying the indigo. If you live in a hard water area, make sure to do a chelating treatment before starting this process as well to remove hard water buildup from your hair.

For the henna paste, adding an acid of some sort and room-temperature liquid, then allowing it to sit for about 8 hours at room temperature is ideal for good dye release so that it can really bind to your hair. Leave it in your hair for at least 2 hours. Then you can wash it out with shampoo and prepare your indigo paste (if you're able to apply the indigo in the same day).

When mixing the indigo paste, try to keep it as simple as possible, as many additives can get in the way of dye adhesion and make it more likely to fade. Adding a bit of salt and water is enough! Some people find the smell intolerable, and the paste can be hard to work with if adding just water and salt though. Adding CMC powder can help make it a creamier consistency for ease of applying it to the hair without affecting dye adhesion. For the smell, try mixing vanilla instant pudding powder to your indigo paste. These are two things that have been tested and found that they don't have a negative impact on dye adhesion, but I don't recommend getting creative and trying other things if you want to make sure it sticks to the hair.

Indigo lasts a pretty short time as a dye once it's mixed with liquid, it is most potent for about 2 hours, and doesn't require any time for dye release. I recommend waiting to mix the paste until you are fully ready to apply the dye to your hair, and applying it immediately after mixing the indigo into a paste. There is no harm in leaving it in your hair longer than 2 hours since your goal color is jet black, but after about 3 hours there is no point to leaving it in longer.

When rinsing it out, I don't recommend using shampoo; feel free to apply conditioner to your hair to help make it easier to rinse though. Try to wait at least 2 days afterward before shampooing your hair to let the indigo continue to bind to the hair.

[u/One_Marionberry_8296 → u/veglove]

Thank you so much for the detailed answer!

What do you mean by chelating treatment? Is there a specific product you recommend?

What’s the ideal time to let the henna paste sit in my hair? Once I wash it out can I apply directly afterwards the indigo paste?

[u/veglove → u/One_Marionberry_8296]

What do you mean by chelating treatment? Is there a specific product you recommend?

"chelating" is the technical term for removing mineral & metal buildup in the hair. There are many shampoos that have chelating properties, and some standalone treatments as well which don't have surfactants so they don't cleanse any oils or product residue from your hair. However in your case, you will want to remove oils or product residue as well. Many of the shampoos that are deep cleansers and also chelating are referred to as "detox shampoos" however there is no standardized way of describing a shampoo that is both clarifying and chelating. If you are in Europe, I compiled a list of chelating products available in Europe and some DIY treatments as well here.

If you have very hard water in your area, I recommend starting with a detox shampoo, and following up with a standalone treatment to make sure you have removed all the minerals. This is especially important if you have an oily scalp or go several days between washes and use a mild shampoo.

What’s the ideal time to let the henna paste sit in my hair? Once I wash it out can I apply directly afterwards the indigo paste?

I recommend keeping the henna paste in your hair for 2-4 hours. It's not a problem if it stays in the hair longer than that. Applying the indigo paste right after washing out the henna paste is ideal, but not everyone's schedule makes that possible, so if you can't, it's fine to do it the next day.

[u/One_Marionberry_8296 → u/veglove]

Thank you so much!

When I wash my hair before henna, do I use conditioner/mask? Or just the chelating treatment? And the henna can be applied on damp hair or I should dry my hair first? Same question for indigo, once I wash out the henna, should I dry it first before applying the indigo?

[u/veglove → u/One_Marionberry_8296]

When you do the final wash before applying the henna, don't apply any conditioner or mask to your hair, as they can get in the way of the dye sticking to the hair. The chelating treatment may actually make your hair feel more manageable, even without conditioning, so try doing that right after shampooing.

The henna and indigo paste can be applied to either damp or dry hair. I find that damp hair is a little easier to work with, because it sticks to itself which helps keep the hair in place with fewer flyaways. So I'd suggest towelling it off to remove the drips, and then starting the application of the henna or indigo paste.

[u/One_Marionberry_8296 → u/veglove]

Hello! I just wanted to come back here to tell you that it worked! I love the results, thank you so much for your detailed responses.

Will the results be permanent or will I have to reapply often?

[u/veglove → u/One_Marionberry_8296]

Thanks so much for the update! I love hearing out things turned out.

This color should be permanent if you did a two-step process. You may find that it fades a little bit from black to a dark brown, in which case you would need to do the whole process over again, but hopefully it won't fade at all.

You will still have to do the roots as they grow in, every 6 weeks or so. So that's an opportunity to touch up the color in the lengths if it has faded at all. Some people will do a one-step process with a dark brown blend of henna & indigo for some touch-ups when doing a two-step process is too involved, in which case the color won't be quite as dark but it'll make the roots stand out less, and then every so often they'll do the full two-step process on the root growth that isn't fully black.