Say No To Chemicals! Try These Natural Ingredients To Color Your Hair

by Ruth Russell · March 23, 2019

A woman changes her hairstyle about a 100 times throughout her lifetime, suggests a recent report. In most of these changes, dying is a part of the process. Is it necessary though? Absolutely not. People nowadays are flaunting their natural hair color and staying far far away from chemical colorants realizing the havoc the latter wreaks on their hair quality.

But wanting to experiment with color isn’t wrong either. In fact, since the ‘50s, there has been a seven per cent rise in women changing their hair color.

So how does one accommodate both desires/needs: wanting to alter your hair color and having flawless healthy tresses? There is a way to go about that, and today’s post will tell you everything you need to know about it.

Why the traditional hair dyes are a concern

One obvious reason that we have already mentioned is the harmful chemicals that traditional hair dyes are guilty of. These are known to cause hair fall, skin irritations, respiratory problems, a weakened immune system, and even cancer.

The NCI or The National Cancer Institute’s report suggests that more than 5000 different chemicals are a part of hair dye products. And many of these are carcinogenic in animals. Though over the years, the manufactures have tried and eliminated some of these chemicals, there still remain many that can severely harm you.

Let us have a look at the chemicals that are present in hair dyes:

Quaternium-15, which can release formaldehyde, a known carcinogen
Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), which may be hormone disruptors
Phenylenediamine (PPD), which is a skin and respiratory irritant and has been classified in the European Union as toxic and dangerous to the environment

According to the NCI, stylists and hair dressers run the risk of bladder cancer mainly because of the chemicals in hair dyes. Use of these colorants also increases the chances of developing leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

So what is the alternative? We will discuss that in the next section.

Can you color your hair naturally?

The answer is YES! There is a myriad of natural ingredient, most of which are sitting right now in your kitchen cabinet, to color your hair a different hue. Is there a con hidden somewhere? Yes, there is one little thing though. Since natural hair colors do not contain chemicals, they will not last as long as the article hair dyes.

You will also have to spend some time with these ingredients and check out various mixes to find what works for you. But that just makes the whole process fun. Also, it increases the probability of you discovering an exclusive color for your hair!

Here are a few things to keep in mind. One, if you are not very sure about experimenting with an ingredient on your hair, try cut a few locks, and then dying them to see what color develops and whether you like it or not.

To make the color last longer than usual, use diluted apple cider vinegar to wash out the color. To create the solution, add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. If you don’t want to use this to rinse out your hair, pour the solution into a spray bottle and apply it on your colored hair.

How to color your hair naturally

When considering how to color your hair naturally, you will need one of the following ingredients.

Coffee

For those who want to color their hair dark, or cover their gray tresses, or even add some layers to their already dark hair, coffee works best. All you go to do, is to brew a strong coffee, may be an espresso. Once it cools, add to the coffee a cup of leave-in condition and four teaspoons of ground coffee.

Clean your hair, and then apply this dye to it. Leave it on for a little more than an hour. Use the apple cider vinegar to rinse out the color for the color to last longer. For more noticeable results, try this a couple of times.

Tea

Another brew that you can try for your hair is black tea. It will help give your hair dimension and also cover the gray ones. For those with lighter hair, a variety of teas can be used. One such example is chamomile. After applying it, stay in the sun for a while. This is particularly recommended o redheads.

One thing to be certain of when using tea as a dye, is to know which brew works the best with your natural hair color. Don’t trying turning your blonde hair into dark brown hair. That is not how natural hair colors work. Natural hair dyes only help enhance the natural color by giving it depth.

Beet and carrot juice

Both these juices have a red tint, and can work best for people with natural red hair. You can either use them separately, or you can try to blend them together and see what hue appears. If you want a deeper reddish color, then go for beetroot. If what you are looking for is an auburn tinge, then carrot juice is your friend.

To do this yourself, take a cup of juice and apply it on your clean hair. You can even add a few tablespoons of coconut oil so that your hair gets conditioned at the same time. Leave the dye on for an hour or so. The juice may stain your clothes or sheets, so be careful. Now rinse out the color with water, and then apply the diluted apple cider vinegar to lock in the color. If you want a darker tinge than what is achieved, repeat the step the next day.

Henna

Though Henna is multipurpose, it is best suited as a treatment for hair, with a practically never-ending list of advantages. Aside from being a superb and safe alternative to chemical beauty products, it also has another pro over other hair products: As an exceptional conditioner, it is brilliant for hair growth.

Synthetic dyes damage your hair structure, whereas henna shields it. Henna coats your hair shaft, and by doing so, conditions and adds volume to your hair.

By applying henna, you are giving your hair the gift of health, beauty, body and bounce. Henna leaves your hair suppler, glossier and easier to manage.

Henna is also an efficient cleanser for your hair, and even your scalp. It is nothing like other shampoos because it protects the natural acid nature of your scalp, which is essential for the health of your hair.

Pro-tip: According to the Queen of herbal beauty therapy, Shehnaz Hussain,

“Henna paste, mixed with lemon juice, egg and yogurt, is probably one of the best known methods of cleansing and conditioning the hair. Regular use of this combination has been seen to promote hair growth and restore good health to the scalp.”

The most obvious effect of henna is its hair-coloring ability. A query that people always have on their lips when it comes to henna application is, whether it will, invariably, turn their hair, red. This is because very few people know that henna only turns blond hair red. For those with dark hair, henna leaves a brown tinge. Dark hair will, leaving out exceptions, not turn red. In its place, henna will give your hair a gorgeous coppery tinge. This works as a highlight, making your hair look all lustrous and gleaming.

Lime juice

This works best to get a few hair highlights. For this, squeeze a fresh lime and brush it through clean hair. You need to leave it on for several hours. To make the lightening more noticeable, sit in the sun. If you are blonde, then try mixing chamomile tea with the lime juice and experiment.

Walnut shells

For a rich brown color, go for this DIY dye. You will have to first crush some walnut shells. Then bring them to boil in water for about 30-odd minutes. Cool it and strain the water. Apply the water to your clean hair, and leave it on for an hour.

For more intense color, again bring the strained water to boil, and put it on simmer until it comes to one-fourth of the original volume. Place the mix in the fridge, and once it is cool, apply it on your hair.

You can use walnut powder in place of shells to save yourself from the hassle.

That is all we have on today’s post on how to color your hair naturally. Was this helpful? Will you be recommending it to others too? If you have makeup queries that you would like to share with us, then please do so in the comment section below. Our experts will get back to ASAP.

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Featured image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License

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