Vegetable or chemical: here are the natural hair dyes

On the market today there are really many products for coloring hair , from the most natural, to those gradually added with chemicals.

In any case, we start from the assumption of dividing the colors into two types : the permanent ones and the semi-permanent ones.

The former , more aggressive for the skin, scalp and hair, use a chemical oxidation process to color and cover the first white hair.

The latter , on the other hand, are temporary and have the advantage of fixing the color in a non-permanent and natural way, which lasts up to five or six washes in general. 

Within this second group of colors, we can find many products on the market, sold as natural hair dyes , but here too it is important to know the variety.

Unlike chemical dyes, vegetable dyes do not penetrate the hair structure, but envelop it, forming a film.

However, we must be careful and learn to read the Inci index well and to buy the product according to personal needs of time, practicality, but also and above all the health of your hair.

Natural hair colors

First of all, these are generally powder or gel mixtures that have the name “eco-bio” or “natural” or “plant-based”.

If on the one hand these colors make use of natural and vegetable pigments –  free of nickel , ammonia, peroxide or hydrogen peroxide, resorcinol, for example – on the other hand they may not completely cover white hair or turn it towards metallic, unnatural and unpleasant, so it is necessary to understand how to use them and perhaps repeat the treatment at shorter times.

It can be said that even natural dyes have their advantages and disadvantages: let’s try to understand which natural dyes are the most effective and least aggressive . 

Vegetable lines for dyeing

The choice ranges from individual herbs to be mixed, to prepackaged products.

In the first case it is important to know the color that is really right for you – for example, to obtain a brown color, you can use a mix of cassia, lawsonia and indigo or katam , in variable percentages depending on the desired shade – knowing how to handle gloves and brushes and have a lot of patience before getting the desired result. 

In the case of ready-made products , excellent terms are those that include a long list of “without” : to be natural, these colors should be without fragrances, without petrolatum, without parabens, without silicones, without dyes, without gluten.

Between the lines of the Inci index, only the names of plants and natural extracts should be read – for example lawsonia, cassia, indigo, katam, chamomile , walnut husk, rhubarb, coffee, blueberry, madder, turmeric or hibiscus -, and substances nutrients – like wheat protein or nutrients like jojoba oil or amla powder , pollen, millet extract – but that’s not always the case. 

So when you are going to buy your natural herbal hair color, whether it be gel or powder, check:

> The powder : if it is  fine and thin and has the  consistency of a talc, it will be easier to handle and apply, becoming a creamy compound that adheres better to the hair;

> The presence of a  nourishing substance :  as seen, wheat proteins, amla or jojoba oil are excellent;

> The consistency : the best are those products that also contain alginate, a derivative of algae ;

You have to be patient : with herbs the final result can be seen after a couple of days, when the color is well absorbed by the hair;

Generally you do not lighten your hair with dyeing herbs , you can have golden reflections  with cassia or chamomile or turmeric, as they do not contain any lightening agents. Indeed, more often it happens that they tend to darken or become more and more intense: this effect can be avoided by dyeing only the roots each time;

Also consider that the hair has distinct porosities , so if for some the henna “takes” already after an hour of application (and then lasts a very long time!), For others there may not be enough four.

The book: ” Henna and other dyeing herbs … ” ed. Del Baldo 

Finally, here is a useful video to explain the use and functionality of dyeing herbs.