Hi!  I've used this site for all its information for a while now, and finally decided to make a username to receive some individualized help.  My natural hair color is a dark blond, light brown/dirty blond.  However, I had been dying it with chemical hair dyes (store bought and salon done) since I was thirteen.  Three years ago (after seven years of chemical dyes) I decided I wanted to get away from chemical hair dyes due to the health risks.  I did a lot of research, and finally decided to allow my hair a good, long break from chemical dyes.  I did some natural soaks and applications (using egg, yogurt, oil, etc.), to boost the overall health of my hair while helping to get out the majority of chemical hair dye.  After about four or five months of not using chemical hair dyes, I decided to try henna.  I first used Lush's henna bars, which worked pretty good and made my hair very healthy feeling.  I did two applications of that, when I noticed my roots showing up.  I wanted dark red, auburn hair.  After those two applications, I waited a while longer (perhaps two months since the second application) and tried some BAC henna (Mehndi, I think?).  That made my hair very brittle and coarse.  I did some research, and decided to stick with it and added some different things to the mix to help moisturize my hair (it's been a while, so I'm not sure exactly what I used, but at that point I was using advice from this website).  Still no luck.  My hair was very dry and broke easily, and I couldn't use any heat on it because it was so sensitive.  I wasn't a fan of the color, either--I was starting to realize darker looked best, and decided what I really wanted was black hair.  I tried a mixture of henna and coffee, and then did two applications of indigo (one the same day and one the next day), and tried using a good leave in conditioner after the applications (one that I found was relatively good with hennaed hair).  That seemed to help my hair, but it still snarled and broke off easily.  I liked the color, but it the indigo faded after a month and my hair had more red in it that I wanted after.  After that, I waited almost half a year before doing my hair.  I used a quick, relatively safe (for chemical hair dye) temporary dye to even the color out for my wedding, and at this point the indigo had faded quite a bit and my hair was a dark to medium brownish red.  After that washed out, I tried leaving my hair alone for a while.  My husband and I were saving up for our delayed honeymoon, so we didn't have money to throw away anyways.  Right before the honeymoon, though, I decided I needed to do something about my hair (I wanted it to look nice in the pictures on the trip!), so I purchased a box of Light Mountain Henna Black.  I had done my research, and felt they were safe as far as metallic salts go, but knew ahead of time that they weren't a high quality henna/indigo mix.  I didn't really care too much about that, because my top priority with choosing a hair color is the health risk involved, not the hair risk.  It came out pretty good, the color was dark (though pretty flat with little to no shine), but it still dried out my hair.  I have since bought some good, natural hair treatments to help moisturize and bring shine to my hair, but I haven't noticed much of a difference.  The LMH has since faded--it's been about a month since my last application (I applied LMH twice). 

I'm coming to this forum because I'm out of ideas.  I have heard people say that BAC henna makes your hair healthier with each application, but for me it seems as if it dries my hair out more with each treatment.  I also don't honestly have the money to buy BAC henna and indigo pure every time I need to do my hair/touch my roots up.  I'd also prefer my hair as dark as possible, and henna/indigo doesn't seem to do that for me long term.  I'm a bit out of ideas here, and was hoping perhaps someone could give me some pointers?  I have heard of Naturtint, Herbatint, and Naturcolor (along with a similarly named one, I believe, that I have seen at my local Whole Foods).  Does anyone have any knowledge/experience with them?  I don't mind so much if they aren't the best for my hair, but am more concerned with the chemicals they do have being harmful to my health.  What do you think?  If anyone has any suggestions about henna and indigio, that would be helpful as well.  I have heard that indigo can't be used alone, but what is the reasoning for that?  Thank you for any help/knowledge you can give!  I aplogize if this is a bit lengthy too!