Natural hair dyes

[WWofford]

Does anyone know anything about the natural hair dyes out there? I'm a long-time hair dyer, but haven't colored in a long while. And I've never used any of the natural products. I cut off all my hair and just let it grow out naturally. But it's not totally gray yet, so it just doesn't look right. So any help would be appreciated. I don't want to go back to the chemicals.

Thanks!

[William's Mom]

I don't have much time to reply right now, so I'll say it in one word - Henna!!

[WWofford]

That seems like a very long process, so I don't know. I was thinking about the already boxed stuff. Anybody have any experience with that?

[WWofford]

Anybody? Nobody? Really? Nobody has used Herbatint or anything like that?

[RockStarMom]

I'm also interested in recommendations...

[pixiewytch]

Hi there, I used to be a longtime hair dye junkie myself before I cut off my dreads last year. I think my hair has literally been every color imaginable.

Anyway, as it was growing out this past year I really enjoyed the more maintenance free and cheaper products from not dyeing my hair. Like you, I considered those natural dyes from the health food store. I even bought a box of herbatint I do believe or something comparable to that. After looking at the long list of ingredients I really thought that calling it "natural" was a stretch. I think if you look closely at those labels you will find that natural simply means that they don't use ammonia or a lot of chemicals conventional hair dyes do.

In fact you could probably find the same type of ingredients for cheaper in Clairol's herbal instincts, which has some nice color ranges.

Now I don't know this for a fact per se, but it is worth nothing that the only way I could lighten my medium brown hair is to bleach the hell out of it...so if you are looking to lighten hair that is dark, I think you can assume that those "natural" dyes aren't going to do that effectively.

Ah yes, on to henna. What I did was returned my so called natural hair dye and went for the real deal, a block of henna from Lush. Again, this all depends on what color you are going for but the Lush henna offers three different shades...a rouge which I use and is a more vibrant red, a brun which is more of a rich chestnut brown, or a noir which is an almost indigo black. I'm really happy with it. It is a bit messy and pain in the ass. You have to grate or chop the block of henna, then mix it with hot water from the stove, and leave it on your head all day before rinsing it out. To me, it's almost worth it though to have my head smelling like fresh hay instead of chemicals.

Now I know henna has a bad reputation so there are a few things to remember. The lighter your hair is the crazier your color could be. It is typically not recommended for blonde hair because it could turn out very orange. Since my hair is naturally a medium brown, the red comes out more as highlights than crazy carrot top color. It is pretty subtle in my opinion.

There are other hennas out there. I just can't attest to them since I haven't used them before. Lush is more expensive at about $20 a block, but the block can be divided into several different sittings so it comes out costing the same or less than other henna from the health food store. It also smells fresher to me than old dried up henna powder.

Anyway, there's my two cents which got way too long. I can't wait until the cooler weather and I'm going to try the indigo shade myself.

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by William's Mom

I don't have much time to reply right now, so I'll say it in one word - Henna!!

And remember, henna comes in colors other than red!

I don't dye my hair anymore (I gave it up in the interest of saving money) but if I started up again, I would probably switch to henna. That boxed stuff burned my scalp if I scratched it the few days before dying.

[Belleweather]

www.hennaforhair.com will tell you everything there is to know about henna, various "colored hennas" (which aren't always henna at all, but are other plants that will dye your hair) and how to get the color you want.

Yeah, Henna takes longer than the scary chemical dyes. But it is the ONLY thing that is natural and green as far as hair color and it is so, so, so good for your hair. I think of it as forcing myself to spend at least an hour every 3 months pampering myself -- I usually make DH take the kid-duty and give myself a facial and a pedicure at the same time.

[WWofford]

Yes, I've had my hair every color imaginable, also. I've been dying my hair since I was 10, and I am now 30. I haven't colored my hair in probably atleast a year. It's been nice not worrying about my roots growing out, but, at 30, I'm starting to feel a little old for having grayish hair. Not totally gray, but that would be better if I just wanted to go blonde! : ) It's not salt and pepper, either. It looks kind of frosted (what all the older ladies say) in the sunlight. What scares me about henna is this: After awhile, whatever color I dye my hair turns red anyway. I'm afraid henna will just dye it red. I looked at the website, though, and it looks like I could do it without it going red. Maybe. I wish I didn't have a real job now, and I could just go for the Manic Panic! : ) Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it.

[pixiewytch]

You sound a lot like me. I'm 32 and used to love the manic panic. When I had my son and was able to stay home for the first time I immediately went out and bleached my hair so I could dye it pink, let's put it that way.

That was about seven years ago and I guess I'm getting old cause I'm kind of past the really wild colors now. Of course really wild for me is pink or purple so I still love the bold reds. Now that I know you are like me I will tell you that I was a bit disappointed with the Lush henna in the fact that the red wasn't quite as bright as I had hoped it would be...but that makes sense since my natural hair color is darker. Then again, you said you didn't want to go red. What color are you wanting? If it is blonde, I feel your pain and am sad to say that no natural color is going to do that, not to mention how expensive and high maintenance. I have a very soft spot in my heart for blonde hair to the point where I firmly believe that being a blonde improves my appearance by about 50%, haha, but it is by far the highest maintenance, most chemical laden, and expensive so I have given it up I'm afraid.

[bbrandonsmom]

Are any of these safe for just hi lights and while nursing? I have just what I'm feeling as "blah brown hair that always looks the same" and thought maybe some hi lights would help? When I walked past the dye boxes I think it was clairol that had a no ammonia and no something else, but didn't think that was exactly natural or safe for nursing maybe. Thanks.

[pixiewytch]

I think that will depend on who you ask. I've been nursing for almost two years and although I haven't dyed my hair, it never occurred to me that there would be a problem with that and nursing.

Now I'm sure there is no risk at all with henna but since you are mentioning the store bought dyes I don't have a definitive on that one. If it were me, I don't think I would worry about it at all. I think chemicals in the food I eat would be worse for breastmilk than what I put on my head but that's just me.

[Garden~Lover]

what about for covering grey?

[mk12]

Originally Posted by WWofford

Yes, I've had my hair every color imaginable, also. I've been dying my hair since I was 10, and I am now 30. I haven't colored my hair in probably atleast a year. It's been nice not worrying about my roots growing out, but, at 30, I'm starting to feel a little old for having grayish hair. Not totally gray, but that would be better if I just wanted to go blonde! : ) It's not salt and pepper, either. It looks kind of frosted (what all the older ladies say) in the sunlight. What scares me about henna is this: After awhile, whatever color I dye my hair turns red anyway. I'm afraid henna will just dye it red. I looked at the website, though, and it looks like I could do it without it going red. Maybe. I wish I didn't have a real job now, and I could just go for the Manic Panic! : ) Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it.

I have a tiny bit of gray, and I use Cassia (an herb often referred to as neutral henna though it's not actually henna) and Chamomile tea to condition my hair and make my grays a golden color that blends in. I leave it on my wet hair for 2-3 hours though (wrapped up) and so it's kind of a pain to do... but I love what it does for my hair.

The cassia thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...read.php?t=406

Another option is a Henna/Indigo gloss that you can read about on the hennaforhair forum. I've never tried it, but it's supposed to make your grays golden and the rest of your hair a nice shade of brown, while conditioning your hair. It's also supposed to be a lot quicker and easier - you mix a tiny amount of henna and indigo with conditioner and leave it on for (I think) about 30 minutes, then wash it out. You can do a Henna gloss the same way if you want a subtle red, just leave out the indigo.

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

Are any of these safe for just hi lights and while nursing? I have just what I'm feeling as "blah brown hair that always looks the same" and thought maybe some hi lights would help? When I walked past the dye boxes I think it was clairol that had a no ammonia and no something else, but didn't think that was exactly natural or safe for nursing maybe. Thanks.

I have read about people getting some nice but subtle highlights from honey, over on the longhaircommunity forum. You have to have your hair wet, add the honey and then leave it on for several hours. If you apply the honey all over, it will probably just lighten it a bit all over though... so that may not be what you're looking for.


Some people really like this product, but I don't think it's completely natural either: http://www.makeupalley.com/product/s...nd&Hair_Color=

Someone posted a totally natural hair color product here a few months back. I've never tried it, but I was hoping someone had. I will see if I can find out what it was. I emailed the company and got the complete ingredient list.

There is something in most commercial haircoloring products that is quite toxic. You can read more about it at http://ecocolors.net/ They sell a product that is not natural, but it's supposed to be non-toxic, or at least less toxic than commercial brands.

[CatherineEL]

I've heard a rosemary rinse will darken hair to cover gray.

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