Hair is an important part of personal image and has a big impact on people’s confidence and self-esteem. Moreover, it is one more way of expressing the way of being of each person, so we generally take care of it and give it importance.
The use of natural dyes for personal image has been very common throughout history in many cultures around the world. In Japan, green tea has always been used to give shine and color to the hair, in India, henna, and in Africa, hibiscus.
This is precisely what I want to talk to you about today, why bet on the vegetable hair color and some simple ingredients that may interest us to care for and dye our hair in a way that respects the environment and our health.
Contents
Chemical dyes and their dangers
Dyeing your hair is not a decision without consequences, chemical dyes contain a large number of dangerous substances whose effects on the body are known to be very harmful. These types of dyes work by opening the cuticles of the hair so that the product reaches the hair’s medullary canal and changes the natural color, leaving it brittle, dry and dull if done regularly.
They contain, among other things, paraffin (from petroleum), ammonia (causes allergies, irritation, eczema, etc.), quaternary ammoniums (irritant and non-biodegradable), butoxyethanol (carcinogenic), denatured alcohol (irritant, endocrine disruptor, carcinogen). , P-phenylenediamine (with dangerous heavy metals), formaldehyde (irritant, carcinogen), etc.
With all this mixture of substances, it is not surprising that they cause irritation, dandruff, hair loss, dryness, redness, damage the hair fiber, etc. And for this reason, more and more people decide to switch to vegetable coloring.
What is natural plant coloring?
Vegetable hair coloring is a way to dye hair without using chemicals that are harmful to our health and that of the planet. It is made by means of poultices or infusions with mixtures of herbs, fruits, roots and other natural ingredients, thus forming the dyes. These recipes, in addition to serving as dyes, generally provide other benefits to the hair such as strengthening, elimination of dandruff, shine, etc. which will help us achieve optimal hair health more easily. Yes, IThe results are much softer and more natural than with a chemical dye.
What to know to start?
First of all, you have to keep in mind that natural dyes are “tone on tone” colorswhich means that although it is possible to lighten the natural base color a little, it cannot be brought back to a much lighter color.
It is also important to know that if you want to start with natural vegetable coloring but have been using chemical dye for years, you must first do a treatment to detoxify and regenerate your hair and leave it rest for a while between chemical coloring and natural coloring (at least a month).
It should also be noted that If you’re looking to completely cover gray hair or use techniques like straightening and perms, this isn’t your method.
Here are some examples of natural dyes by color:
Brown hair
- indigo (Indigofera Tinctoria): It is used on brown, brown or red hair. The dye comes from the leaves of the plant. It is generally used in combination with other plants to obtain colors ranging from brown to black.
- Grenade: The skin of the fruit is used, crushed and used together with henna to obtain a dark brown.
- Walnuts and walnut leaves: Ruezno is the green shell of the nut. Once dried and ground, it is used to create a paste that slightly darkens the hair. It is advisable to use it with henna or katam to fix the color.
Red hair
- the blonde (rubia tinctorum), also known as granza: The crushed root of this plant is used to prepare a mask and obtain a mahogany red. Be careful, if your base is blonde it will be a very striking red, if you have a chestnut base you will get mahogany reflections.
- henna (Lawsonia Inermis): The crushed leaves are used to obtain the coloring powder. This is used as a base mixed with other plants for many colors, but by itself it stains reddish or mahogany. You can also find neutral henna (Cassia Obovata) which does not dye, but which also serves as a base for many mixtures for its nourishing and detoxifying power for the scalp and hair. Eye! always look for henna to be pure and free of additives such as PPD (paraphenylenediamine) or metal salts. If you want to know how to prepare it at home, take a look at this video where I explain it to you in detail.
Brown hair
- Coffee: You can use it in grains or ground. It is usually combined with black tea, oak, henna… To prepare it, place four tablespoons of coffee with henna and add hot water, leave to infuse for a few minutes before applying it on the hair. Leave on for three hours before rinsing.
- Wise: By preparing an infusion and letting it rest for an hour, you will obtain water to lighten the hair after washing which will tend to darken the hair, do not rinse with water.
- Rosemary: It has no coloring properties as such, but its continued use darkens the hair. Prepare an infusion with the plant and let stand for 15 minutes, filter and let cool. After washing your hair and rinsing, do a final rinse with this infusion, without rinsing afterwards.
blond hair
- Cinnamon: It is used to lighten the hair by one tone and even give it a brassy tone. Prepare a paste with it, which you can spread on the desired area, wrap your hair in a towel and leave for several hours before washing it.
- Chamomile: Used as an infusion as a last rinse, it illuminates and brightens the hair if used often, especially on blond hair which accentuates its natural color. Ground can also be used with henna or neutral henna, depending on the color you want to achieve.
- Turmeric (Turmeric longa): From this root, once crushed, we obtain a yellow powder which, mixed with neutral henna, gives blond reflections. You can use turmeric powder directly, but it is also advisable to prepare the mixture with turmeric infusion.
As you can see, there are many plants that we can use to treat our hair, not only to dye it, but also to treat conditions and keep it beautiful. Here I leave you with only a small sample, but I encourage you to seek information to treat any hair problem naturally.
If you want to know more about dyeing your hair with natural dye and solve any doubts that may arise, I encourage you to watch the videos about it that I have on my channel.
Jess – bGaïa
You can follow her on: Instagram – YouTube
Other articles you might be interested in: