"natural" hair dye

[rachie]

I'm singing for 10 Christmas programs this year (not kidding) and was going to get my hair done just before (like next week) but now that I know I'm in EARLY pregnancy - about 7 weeks - I want to be sure I don't use any harsh chemicals or breath them in for a long period of time. I have highlights in my hair that have grown out so something needs to be done - I'm not sure what.

I've seen some hair dyes and even a highlighting kit at the health/food store that are less harsh - no amonia. I think they use peroxide instead. Not sure how much safer these are or how the results will look compared to the salon products.

[Kidzaplenty]

[FloridaBorn]

Honestly, if you're used to using good ol' Miss Clairol no. 9 on your head and like your hair to look like that, a 'natural' hair dye kit isn't going to cut it. If you are used to going to a salon... then forget it! Unfortunately you'll end up disappointed.

I battled for *years* to get the blonde streaks out of my hair after I let a hairdresser friend highlight it for me. I went super-blonde and loved it, but unless I washed my hair every day and blew it dry I looked like I just came out of the trailer park. I'm really low maintenance, btw.

Finally I had *another* hairdresser friend put some low-lights in. We went to Sally's together and picked out the perfect hair color for me. That was about 9 months ago and I haven't had to color my hair since then. I'm really thankful to have my natural color back and to not feel obligated to use chemicals to maintain that look.

Headbands are your friend.

[rachie]

Originally Posted by FloridaBorn

Honestly, if you're used to using good ol' Miss Clairol no. 9 on your head and like your hair to look like that, a 'natural' hair dye kit isn't going to cut it. If you are used to going to a salon... then forget it! Unfortunately you'll end up disappointed.

I battled for *years* to get the blonde streaks out of my hair after I let a hairdresser friend highlight it for me. I went super-blonde and loved it, but unless I washed my hair every day and blew it dry I looked like I just came out of the trailer park. I'm really low maintenance, btw.

Finally I had *another* hairdresser friend put some low-lights in. We went to Sally's together and picked out the perfect hair color for me. That was about 9 months ago and I haven't had to color my hair since then. I'm really thankful to have my natural color back and to not feel obligated to use chemicals to maintain that look.

Headbands are your friend.

I'm trying to track down a salon that I heard of in my area that uses less chemical hair dyes in their salon. I just have to remember which friend of mine was talking about them. My "everyday" look is ok for now and I'm sure I would not care to change it until after the first trimester or even in the third except that I'll be singing in front of thousands of people in a ball gown - head band won't exactly cut it - . I hope I can figure out something.

[FloridaBorn]

Try and find an Aveda salon... they tend to use more natural products


Sorry about the headband suggestion... I've been rockin' the headband since 1991 LOL

[tessie]

There is no evidence that hair dyes do any harm. Unless you drink them, of course.

I have heard that if you are worried then you should have high/low lights as the dye doesn't touch the scalp, as with full head colours.

[Kidzaplenty]

Originally Posted by tessie

There is no evidence that hair dyes do any harm. Unless you drink them, of course.

Well, lack of evidence does not mean it does not. My Mom has colored and permed her hair for years (since before I can remember) and now her hair is so thin that her scalp is very visable from any angle. I totally believe it is from the chemical dyes and perm solutions that have damaged her scalp. (There is no hereditary explanations in our family.)

[tessie]

Originally Posted by Kidzaplenty

Well, lack of evidence does not mean it does not. My Mom has colored and permed her hair for years (since before I can remember) and now her hair is so thin that her scalp is very visable from any angle. I totally believe it is from the chemical dyes and perm solutions that have damaged her scalp. (There is no hereditary explanations in our family.)

Sorry, I should have clarified that with 'to your pregnancy'. Obviously it's well known that over perming or over bleaching can damage hair.

[luv-my-boys]

there are henna based hair dye products, not sure how "pregnancy safe" they are but seems like they would be less questionable than tradional chemical dyes.

I had one years ago (done at a salon pre chemical hair dye days) and it was nice. I added a hint of color wash to it. From my experience they are not meant to change like brown to blonde, but to add more depth in color,kwim? They are available online as well. I am considering going back to them since im really trying not to avoid as many chemicals on me pre-pregnancy.

[rachie]

thanks :)

I will look into some of these suggestions.

My cousin highlighted my hair during the beginning of my first pregnancy and I miscarried. I don't know if it played any role at all (could have been any number or combination of things) but just don't want to chance it this time. I waited until I was nearly 14 weeks with my last pregnancy and did only a couple "peek a boo" highlights where nothing touched my scalp. The problem is that I can't wait until I'm 14 weeks to figure something out for these Christmas shows. I'm hoping to find a solution to this. Maybe I can find that type of salon. I'm afraid to try Hena - heard horror stories.

[Kidzaplenty]

Originally Posted by tessie

Sorry, I should have clarified that with 'to your pregnancy'. Obviously it's well known that over perming or over bleaching can damage hair.

Sorry, I should have thought that is what you meant.

I have never dyed my hair. But I have done a lot of research and such and am interested in checking out henna for hair. It is supposed to be really good and healthy for hair, pregnant or not. Not that I really know, since I have no experience. And I know it will not lighten hair. So, I guess it depends on what outcome you are wanting to achieve as to whether or not it would actually work for you.

[millefleur]

Herbatint

I use Herbatint because I am as grey as can be and am allergic to other hair dye. I think it works great. You can just Google it, but I buy it from www.vitacost.com because it's half the price it would be at the health food store. I even brought it to my hairsylist when I was going to get my hair cut and she applied it for me for $20 extra. She was impressed that it worked so well! There is also one called Naturtint but I have never tried it. Good luck!

[mntnmom]

Natural henna is great! Most of the horror stories I've heard are "black henna", which is really a petroleum product!!! Or ladies who's hair has ended up orange. Being plant based, it's a little inconsistent. But only consider it if you're going for a "red" color. There are lots of "henna -based" things, and I don't know how they work. I think a headband or nice scarf is probably your best bet.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by tessie

There is no evidence that hair dyes do any harm. Unless you drink them, of course.

Really? So then breathing in paint fumes during pregnancy is probably fine then too, right? Because they smell about the same to me. (Excluding natural products like henna, of course.)

[Terrilein]

If you've been dying your hair chemically all along, then I would avoid any henna products unless you do a few strand tests first to make sure your hair doesn't turn green. And for blond hair try different mixes as recommended here (hope it's ok to post this link, dear mods). Otherwise, I think your best bet is really the highlight/lowlight concept.

[cloudgazer]

Check out cosmeticsdatabase.com - there are very few hair color dyes that are low on their hazard scores.

If you go the henna route - find out if its a reliable source. Just because its plant-based doesn't mean its without harm (it can contain metals and whatever is in the ground).

See the wikipedia page for henna: "The health risks involved in pre-mixed paste can be significant. The FDA considers these to be adulterants and therefore illegal for use on skin.[10] Some pastes have been found to include: silver nitrate, carmine, pyrogallol, disperse orange dye, and chromium.[20]"

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you - I'm still trying to figure this out for myself.

[leila1213]

Originally Posted by cloudgazer

Check out cosmeticsdatabase.com - there are very few hair color dyes that are low on their hazard scores.

If you go the henna route - find out if its a reliable source. Just because its plant-based doesn't mean its without harm (it can contain metals and whatever is in the ground).

See the wikipedia page for henna: "The health risks involved in pre-mixed paste can be significant. The FDA considers these to be adulterants and therefore illegal for use on skin.[10] Some pastes have been found to include: silver nitrate, carmine, pyrogallol, disperse orange dye, and chromium.[20]"

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you - I'm still trying to figure this out for myself.

Oh crap! This is the one I picked out and used just recently: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/pro...ream_Burgundy/ A 6 out of 10 hazard level.

I was rocking bandanas for quite a while and finally bit the bullet because I couldn't stand how gray I was. This one guaranteed to cover the gray but looked pretty natural (as well as being very cheap and looking like it would be easy to apply). It worked well, but now I'm upset I didn't go with plain henna. Of course, I was pretty far along in the pregnancy already, so hopefully no harm done.

[leila1213]

FYI, I have used this one in the past: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/pro..._Medium_Brown/ It was at the HFS, so there is hope! Maybe I'll go back to it next time. Just couldn't find the Color the Gray! formula when I looked this time. Should have asked someone to help me. Sheesh.

This one looks very promising as well: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/pro...al_Dark_Brown/

[FloridaBorn]

Ack! Please don't knock henna, people! I'm a professional henna artist. Henna is dried henna leaves that have been crushed into a baby fine powder. When I apply it to skin, I mix it with lemon juice, sugar, and a little bit of eucalyptus oil. THAT'S IT. I know that it's all natural because I mix it myself and buy my henna from a consistently reliable company in Pakistan.

Anything pre-mixed is dubious in origin because henna will only stay good for about a week without something in it to preserve it. There is no such thing as black henna... companies will add black hair dye to natural henna to turn it black and it is very toxic to use on your skin. Natural henna will stain hair, skin, nails, fabric, wood, and leather a natural red, orange, brown, caramel, mahogany color.

Blondes shouldn't use natural henna products unless you want to go red!

All that being said, my best friend had good results with a henna hair dye product from Lush.

If you need information on henna and hair, please check out http://www.hennapage.com

[Kidzaplenty]

What company do you buy your henna from? I have been looking into trying it, but could not figure out where to get it from that was reliable.