TTC and hair dyes

[SilverMoon010]

We're actively TTC and I am currently 3 dpo.  I need to color my roots.  I have really dark hair and have some stupid white hairs coming in (I'm only 34, so it's the price we pay for dark hair)

Anyway, I reguarly color my hair to cover these roots and just use Root Touch-Up or something similar.  However, since we are TTC and it is confirmed I am 3 dpo, any ideas as to the best natural brands of hair color out there without all of those chemicals that I could use right now before a confirmed pregnancy or even implantation? I have a Whole Foods nearby so if you know of any that WF sells that are natural and work well to cover grays, I would appreciate it!

My second question is that if there is an all-natural hair dye out there, for example henna, would it be safe to color my roots in the first trimester? Just curious. Even still, knowing how I am, I probably wouldn't do it and would get one of those mascara wand things to cover the grays.

TIA!

[enigo]

I have the same problem, only I have a lot of gray (My mom's side of the family goes gray young)
I used this a while back http://www.actnaturals.com/ and thought it was a good product.

[Jaimee]

I personally would only use a natural dye on my hair while ttc and pregnant.  I know several people have mentioned Herbatint, but it's full of stuff, scoring between 7-9 on Skin Deep.  Here's a list of hair colors by Skin Deep rank so that you can choose one lower on the list.  I went for Light Mountain Henna.  It works really well!  They have two options- one for hair with little to no grey and one for grey hair.  There are a variety of shades to choose from (with varying levels of henna vs indigo) and the henna process is not nearly as complicated as you might first think.  I mix it up in the  morning, let it sit for a few hours while I eat breakfast and take care of other tasks, then I take a shower when the baby goes down for a nap, put on some grubby clothes, cake the henna into my hair, put on a shower cap, let it sit for a couple hours while periodically applying heat with a hair dryer (when I remember to), rinse out- all done!  You do need to be careful to clean up any globs that fall on the floor and you'll need to rinse down the shower when you're done, but seriously the applying and clean up time is about 40 minutes total (in two 20 minute segments).  And it's only about $5 a box!!

Here is a picture of my hair the first time I dyed it with Light Mountain (medium brown): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaimeeandbrian/5280677974/

Whenever I use this product I always get comments right away from people asking if I did something to my hair because it looks great.  What I love about that is that people don't immediately assume you've dyed your hair- it just looks nice, shiny, and healthy.  Next time I'm trying their black!

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I personally would only use a natural dye on my hair while ttc and pregnant.  I know several people have mentioned Herbatint, but it's full of stuff, scoring between 7-9 on Skin Deep.  Here's a list of hair colors by Skin Deep rank so that you can choose one lower on the list.  I went for Light Mountain Henna.  It works really well!  They have two options- one for hair with little to no grey and one for grey hair.  There are a variety of shades to choose from (with varying levels of henna vs indigo) and the henna process is not nearly as complicated as you might first think.  I mix it up in the  morning, let it sit for a few hours while I eat breakfast and take care of other tasks, then I take a shower when the baby goes down for a nap, put on some grubby clothes, cake the henna into my hair, put on a shower cap, let it sit for a couple hours while periodically applying heat with a hair dryer (when I remember to), rinse out- all done!  You do need to be careful to clean up any globs that fall on the floor and you'll need to rinse down the shower when you're done, but seriously the applying and clean up time is about 40 minutes total (in two 20 minute segments).  And it's only about $5 a box!!

Here is a picture of my hair the first time I dyed it with Light Mountain (medium brown): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaimeeandbrian/5280677974/

Whenever I use this product I always get comments right away from people asking if I did something to my hair because it looks great.  What I love about that is that people don't immediately assume you've dyed your hair- it just looks nice, shiny, and healthy.  Next time I'm trying their black!

Nice and shiny! I love it!

I'll have to check it out. Just wish Whole Foods sold it as I don't know if I can wait for shipping but it looks like a good product. Is it safe to use that one throughout your entire pregnancy, even in the first trimester?

Edited by SilverMoon010 - 5/20/11 at 7:13am

[Jaimee]

They sell it on Amazon so if you have any other things to order from them it would get to you in a few days.  But I understand not wanting to wait!  I bought mine through a local buying club that runs the Frontier Natural Products Co-op- even cheaper that way!

[enigo]

Most Whole foods do sell light mountain henna

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by enigo 

Most Whole foods do sell light mountain henna

Unfortunately, mine doesn't. I called there a little while ago and they have only like three brands, two are henna, the Surya Brasil brand and Rainbow. The Surya Brasil is rated kinda high on Skin Deep, I think it was a 2-4.  I read about the Rainbow one and I think that one involves coffee and all kinds of other things and read the Light Mountain got much better reviews.  I wound up ordering he Light Mountain and just paid extra for 2-day shipping so I can ensure it's here pretty quick

[Stevi]

I bleach my hair, which requires some pretty strong chemicals, so I only do it while on my period. Then I know my body has 2 weeks to rid itself of any chemicals. I also only do my hair about every 3-6 months, I like how the dark roots look. But at a certain point, the grey can be seen, and that's when it's time to bleach again! LOL

I figure when I get pregnant I'll just wear hats and scarves. LOL

[Jaimee]

Yeah, my Whole Foods doesn't have it either, just the Rainbow.  SilverMoon, will you post a pic of your hair afterward? 

[BubbleMa]

If you decide to do Henna, make sure it's pure Henna (body quality).  Otherwise the additives in it will react badly with your previously dyed hair.  Typically if it's any color other than red it will have additives in it. 

[Jaimee]

Light Mountain has a mix of indigo and henna, that's how they get different colors.

[Jaimee]

What color did you choose?  I just used the black dye and I must say it requires more precautions than the others I've tried (including dark brown) and I imagine it would be true of the cover the grey variety too.  In the past I've just stood in the tub and cleaned up any globs that fall afterwards, maybe scrubbing a bit to get the stain off.  But the black dye is largely indigo and man does it stain and quickly!  I ended up with a blue bathtub that did not scrub totally clean.  It's soaking now in (cringe) bleach b/c I cannot have a blue bathtub since we're trying to sell the house!  So my recommendation is to apply it while sitting in the tub with a few inches of water so that it doesn't just sit on your tub, staining it.  Washing it out of my hair was not a problem at all, no staining b/c there was plenty of water, but some did come off on the towel (fortunately I used a grubby towel) and I imagine some will rub off on my pillow case, so I'll use an old one tonight and tomorrow. 

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

What color did you choose?  I just used the black dye and I must say it requires more precautions than the others I've tried (including dark brown) and I imagine it would be true of the cover the grey variety too.  In the past I've just stood in the tub and cleaned up any globs that fall afterwards, maybe scrubbing a bit to get the stain off.  But the black dye is largely indigo and man does it stain and quickly!  I ended up with a blue bathtub that did not scrub totally clean.  It's soaking now in (cringe) bleach b/c I cannot have a blue bathtub since we're trying to sell the house!  So my recommendation is to apply it while sitting in the tub with a few inches of water so that it doesn't just sit on your tub, staining it.  Washing it out of my hair was not a problem at all, no staining b/c there was plenty of water, but some did come off on the towel (fortunately I used a grubby towel) and I imagine some will rub off on my pillow case, so I'll use an old one tonight and tomorrow. 

Wow, that sounds messy! Thanks for the heads up! I got the dark brown (how is that mess-wise?). How did the black turn out? Do you like it?  Regarding the PP, I have used different hair color in the past. Will the LM react badly with my hair since I have color on color on color? 

[Jaimee]

I didn't have any issues with the medium or dark browns regarding tub staining or towel/pillow case staining.  But if you want to be safe, do the application while in water. 

This is what the instructions say regarding dying on chemically treated hair:

Chemical residues in your hair can react with Light Mountain Natural resulting in unusual shades or brassy tones.  Unwanted color variations can even happen with chlorine build-up from swimming, possibly causing a green cast.  Chemically treated hair is often damaged and more porous causing unwanted color variations.  Prior to coloring consider bringing your hair up to condition with Light Mountain Natural-Neutral, well known for its conditioning effect.

IIRC, when I read reviews on Amazon, several people said they had no issues dying over chemically dyed hair.  But I would do a strand test to be sure!  And maybe well condition your hair when you wash it prior to applying the dye so that the hair is not so porous.

Oh, and the dye comes with gloves and a shower cap, but they are cheap and not terribly helpful.  I recommend buying a nicer shower cap at least- one with elastic so that all your hair stays nicely inside while it's sitting for a few hours.

My hair is still wet from rinsing it out, so I'm not sure how it looks yet, but it's not super black (not that I expected it to be).  I'll post a pic when it dries!

[enigo]

I used the light mountain henna brown once (the gray covering variety). The color was fantastic! The mess was....not. The walls the tub, the floor, my neck, forhead. I swore I would never use it again after the massacre that was my bathroom, but when my hair dried, I couldn't believe how good it looked. I would totally use it again, but in the back yard next time.
Also I had chemically dyed hair that I put t he henna right over and it turned out fine. I had been afraid to use it for years since I had chemical dye in my hair.

[Jaimee]

Okay, here's Light Mountain black...

  

What I noticed most is that the shine (in the sun) is not red, but sort of grey or silver and in the shade the hair looks darker than the dark brown for sure.  But I've also noticed it looks a bit duller than with the other dyes and was not worth the extra hassle of the super staining indigo.  I will stick with the other colors... maybe I'll try chestnut next time.  :)

[SilverMoon010]

Jaimee -- I like the black on you.  I can't really tell the silver or gray too much in the pics but when you say that, that scares me because I am trying to get rid of my gray and silver - LOL! Maybe I should stay away from the black!

What did you think of the dark brown when you used it? What has been your favorite color so far in the LM?  I just got an email that my order shipped so I should be getting it soon. I can't wait to try it out (will certainly do a test strand first though) I wonder if you can just do your roots with the henna  for gray coverage. Do you have to color the whole head every time you do it if you plan to stick with the same color?

[Jaimee]

Thanks!  In the left pic (above) you can see the sun shining off the top of my head and you'll notice the color is sort of silverish?  What it is actually is the blueish of the indigo, but it doesn't look blue.  In the other pictures when I dyed with medium brown the shine is all red/golden. 

Certainly with the black my hair does NOT look blue, green, silver or anything like that, but the red does not stick out like it did with the browns.  I think so far, I've liked the medium brown best, but I'd like to try the chestnut.

I believe that you can color just your roots, but I don't have roots so I'm not sure.  I have strands of grey hair.  I haven't used the cover the grey LM before so I can't really speak for it.  I do know that you first color with the indigo (which will turn it a bit blue) and then you color with the henna, turning it brown/red.  The lighter colored strands take on the red/golden tones more while the rest of the hair gets the brown boost,  if that makes sense.  This is what I like so much about henna- its multi-tone coloring instead of just one block of color. 

[FrannieM]

I go to an Aveda salon, and I feel comfortable using those dyes on my hair, pg or not.

 

[SilverMoon010]

Jaimee,

I used the LM today.  It turned out nice. I'm happy with how it covered my gray and the color looks good.  The only thing is that it is messy and tough to work with, probably because I need two steps with the gray coverage.  It also smells funny and is tough to wash out because of the grittiness.  Since you can only use conditioner, or baking soda, to wash it out initially how do you get rid of the smell for the first day? I may have to use shampoo next time around, even though it's not recommended.  The conditioner or hair styling products did nothing for the smell. It's not a strong smell, but I can get a wiff of it every now and then.  Any ideas?