Question: Kind of a random question, have you ever written anything about natural hair dye? I searched your blog and on BlogHer, but didn’t find anything. As I approach my 39th b-day the gray hairs are coming in like crazy and I’m not digging them. Tried a coffee rinse, but it didn’t work. Would love to see a post on my options, and you know BlogHer readers would love it! B.
Answer: Because gray hairs are not coming in like crazy for me yet, I can’t say I’ve written much about hair dye. But from the little I know, I know this: 1) Henna’s really the only natural hair dye, and 2) Henna isn’t all that great at covering grays.
As for the rest of the hair dyes out there: Many call themselves natural, but these are more accurately called “somewhat more natural” than the conventional stuff. In fact, a trip to a regular drug store will make clear that even v. conventional hair color companies are coming out with “green” lines — but that those lines’ eco-features are v. v. difficult to pin down.
To make things even more confusing, every so-called natural hair color has its own “natural” standard. For ex, Susan Henry’s “eco” line used at Shades Hair Studio contains parabens but no ammonia, while EcoColors used at Nori’s EcoSalon contains ammonia but no parabens. Those with sensitivities to one or the other need to make their choices accordingly.
I’ve been to Shades Hair Studio, and can honestly say that older women who got their hair done looked fantastic, and that the place doesn’t have the gross, artificial smell you get at regular salons — which makes me think the stuff’s gotta be markedly better than the conventional stuff while working quite well. I haven’t been to Nori’s, so I don’t know if EcoColors does the same.
I hope that at least points you in the right direction. Readers: Have you researched and/or tried “natural” hair color? Share your knowledge in the comments.
Henna is a safe wonderful and healthy alternative to chemical hair dyes. It covers grey hair completely actually. It also only dyes hair red. Red, did I mention RED! You can get get browner tones when you mix it with other natural dyes like indigo or amla. You just need to use 100% body art quality henna, not henna that is cut with additiveslike most commercially sold henna. I buy henna from http://www.hennaforhair.com – The BEST henna site ever! I use henna from Pakistan and Yemen mixed with cammomile tea for a red that completely covers my very grey hair, that makes my hair unbelievably strong and shiny.
Readers, I’d be happy to advise anyone about henna mixes. I’ve been using henna for 30 years!
Carey
Comment by Carey — July 20, 2008 @ 10:44 am
I’ve been going to Susan Henry for my color for over 4 years. When I started with her, I had painful blisters from the ammonia color my former stylist had been using on me and my hair was fried and brittle and broken off at the ends. My hair is now long & silky, the color and highlights are perfect and I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to color their hair naturally. See my post on her at: http://designnomad.blogspot.com/2008/03/green-day.html.
Comment by Design Nomad — July 20, 2008 @ 10:47 am
I tried switching to a natural hair color to cover the grey and it did not last – I found I needed to have it done about every 3 weeks. I finally decided to take a different approach – I kept seeing women who embraced the grey and looked great! So now I am letting the grey come in and add low lights (dark streaks) every 4 or 5 months. I have to say I love it! Now I am actually looking forward to having more grey come in.
Comment by Sherri — July 20, 2008 @ 11:44 am
There was a good article a month or two ago about it on eco-chick.com, you might want to search their site.
Comment by Leslie @ the oko box — July 21, 2008 @ 3:46 am
To cover my gray roots, I stay away from chemical dyes. I’ve used henna and indigo from hennaforhair.com and I’ve also used Lustrous Henna from sababotanical.com. Both are totally natural pure henna. The difference with Lustrous Henna is that it is pure henna with indigo and other pure botanical extracts that condition my hair too.
Lustrous Henna is a quicker application and dye release. It is NOT like those other so-called natural dyes that contain chemicals. Check out their blog: http://www.LustrousHenna.com
nylatinjazz
Comment by nylatinjazz — October 14, 2010 @ 1:19 pm