Hair dye without synthetic ingredients and unnecessary chemicals is becoming more and more popular. It's even possible to color gray hair with organic herbal hair dyes. Depending on your hair quality and hair color, some smart tricks might be required to get good results. In this post, we answer the most common questions about coloring your hair naturally.
Contents:
Why should I color with organic hair dye?
As age takes its toll, it's not just gray hairs that appear. Hair follicles shrink, hair grows more slowly, and hair growth decreases (hair loss). Some people also experience thinner hair strands and poorer hair quality. That's why it's especially important not to color your hair with chemicals that damage your hair and irritate your scalp.
Natural and organic hair dyes:
consist of herbs and are plant-based.
contain no chemicals that damage or irritate hair and scalp.
coat around the hair strands as a protective layer.
strengthen the hair and add shine.
are biodegradable and don't burden our environment.
Color as often as you want
Since organic hair dyes don't alter the hair's natural pigmentation, they don't damage your hair. You can therefore color your hair as often as you want. Your hair will only become stronger and shinier. Think of each coloring session as a hair treatment! It's about daring to take the step and try it. Always do a test strand first (for example at the nape of your neck).
Why is white or gray hair more difficult to color with organic hair dye?
The plant pigments in organic hair dyes coat around the hair strands by binding to the hair's natural pigment. Since gray hair has little pigment and white hair completely lacks pigment, the plant pigments get poor or no grip at all.
How do I color gray hair with organic herbal hair dyes?
Generally, plant pigments adhere poorly to hair with little pigment, except for red henna which is an exception. The red color pigment is small and can get a good grip even in white hair. This gives us the advantage of being able to add pigment to hair with little pigment. This way, it's possible to apply another color on top of the red pigments if you want a color other than red.
Simple coloring
There are a few lucky souls with gray (not white) hair who get excellent results without coloring their hair in two steps. Usually, it's those who have fine hair strands and not too slippery hair who can achieve good results with just one coloring. This can range from blondes to brunettes. Feel free to try if you think you belong to this minority. Darker hair with white is nearly impossible to get good results with using just one coloring. In that case, 2-step coloring is a must.
2-step coloring with blonde herbal hair dye
2-step coloring with blonde herbal hair dye is for you who:
are light-haired and want to color to a blonde or light brown shade
Step 1: Blonde herbal hair dye
When you want a light end result, 100% red henna becomes far too red and dark for you to transition through. The intense red color will shine through your light hair color, which isn't always desirable. You should therefore first add red plant pigments with a blonde shade. Yes! Blonde colors contain more or less red (double-check the ingredients list for Lawsonia Inermis). The color result won't be intense, but the gray hair strands get a little extra pigment, just enough for the color in step 2 to adhere.
Step 2: Blonde to light brown herbal hair dye
You can color with your second and final herbal hair dye immediately after rinsing out the color from step 1 or the next day. The longer you let the color sit, the better it covers the color from step 1.
2-step coloring with red herbal hair dye
2-step coloring with red hair dye or 100% red henna is for you who:
want to color to a brown or dark shade.
Step 1: Red herbal hair dye
Choose a hair dye with a lot or 100% henna (Lawsonia Inermis). This gives your hair (even white strands) an intense red shade. The more gray or white hair you have, the more red is needed in this step. The hair then gets a lot of extra pigment that adheres well, which is needed for step 2. Brown and dark shades usually have a lot of blue in them. Blue color pigments are large (compared to red pigments, for example) and therefore need more pigmented hair to get a good grip. The advantage of red henna is that it's permanent. Even if the color washes out somewhat over time, the pigmentation is sufficient so that next time you only need to color the regrowth, which saves both time and money.
Step 2: Brown to dark herbal hair dye
You complete the final step with your dark herbal hair dye in the same way as step 1 but using a brown herbal hair dye. You can color immediately after the red dye or the next day.
What should I consider when choosing hair dye?
There are five important things to keep in mind when choosing a color:
It's not possible to get a lighter hair color than your natural one as there are no bleaching agents in organic hair dyes. However, you can create the illusion of lighter hair. For example, dark brown hair can get lighter highlights from a brown-red color mixture.
You can achieve the same or darker color than your natural hair color.
If you choose a hair color that is much darker than your natural color, 2-step coloring is required whether you have gray hair or not. If you were to color directly with a dark color, you would most likely get greenish-blue discoloration in your hair. This also applies to those with naturally cool hair colors without any red in them, such as ash blonde.
Red henna gives permanent color results. Herbal hair dyes with red in them usually last longer. Plant-based dyes without red henna wash out faster. The red henna is called Lawsonia Inermis in the ingredients list.
Powder dyes are perishable and give more intense results compared to the pre-mixed cream dyes in tubes.
How long does the color last?
Warm and red herbal hair dyes last longer, as red has an easier time adhering to hair strands. Red henna gives a permanent result. Hair dyes with some red henna in them range from semi-permanent to non-permanent. It simply depends on how red the color is. When a herbal hair dye is not permanent, the color lasts as long as a toner. The color result then lasts for about 4 weeks before washing out completely.
Things to consider when coloring with organic hair dyes
Organic hair dyes or herbal hair dyes differ from chemical-based hair dyes. For beginners, there are certain things that are good to know.
Preparations
Clean hair – Your hair doesn't need to be freshly washed. The important thing is that it should be free from styling products, dirt, oil, etc. Otherwise, the herbal hair dye may have difficulty adhering to the hair. Herbal hair dyes also adhere poorly to chemically treated hair. Preferably wait 2 months before coloring with herbal hair dye if you have recently colored or treated your hair chemically.
Dry/damp hair – It works equally well to color dry or damp (freshly washed) hair.
Metals – Herbal hair dye can react with metals. Therefore, don't mix your herbal hair dye in a metal bowl or with a metal fork. Also don't use metal hair clips when coloring your hair.
Dry skin – If you have dry skin, it's a good idea to moisturize your face with an oil or richer cream. If your skin still gets colored, it can be easily removed with oil or soap and water.
Test first – Always do a test strand! Despite herbal hair dyes being free from allergy-causing chemicals, you can still react to natural plants. A test strand also works as a check where you can see the result and know what processing time you need.
Coloring
Green plant dye – Regardless of which shade you choose, the color paste will be green, as it consists of finely ground plants.
Color systematically – color in sections, strand by strand.
White/gray hair – requires extra herbal hair dye paste. The white or gray strands should be completely covered with the color mixture (no gray strands should stick out).
Color brush – forget back brushes and other substitutes. Invest in a herbal hair dye brush, so you can easily color strand by strand. It also makes it easy to apply an even and perfect amount of color mixture that covers the strands. The brush can make a big difference and save a lot of time. It will last for many years.
Processing time – Longer processing time makes your color last longer and can also give more intense/darker results (compared to shorter processing time). Let the color sit for 2 hours or longer for maximum color results.
After coloring
Shampoo – don't shampoo for 24 hours so that the color has a chance to adhere properly. This will make the color result intense and long-lasting. This is especially important if you're coloring hair with little pigment. Organic conditioner without soap agents is fine.
Oxidation – the color result can oxidize and darken. Therefore wait 24 hours before deciding to color your hair darker.
Leftover dye – the mixed paste cannot be saved, but you can save the powder itself. Put a bread clip on the bag, store in a cool and dark place, and it will last for several months.
Bleaching hair – bleaching your hair after using a herbal hair dye is a bad idea. The hair often gets discoloration (especially if the hairdresser isn't familiar with plant-based dyes). That's why it's always important to do a test strand to avoid surprises.
Common questions about herbal hair dyes
Here we've gathered common questions and answers about herbal hair dyes. Missing a question? Feel free to comment on this post and we'll answer your question.
Why am I not getting any color result?
The reasons can be many, such as:
your hair wasn't clean from dirt, oils, styling products, various leave-in products, chemical residues.
you let the hair dye process for too short a time.
the color mixture was too diluted and runny (too much water).
the color mixture was too dry (too little water), crumbly and difficult to apply.
you applied too little hair dye to your hair.
you have chosen a color that is lighter than or too close to your natural hair color.
you have too much pigment-poor hair (gray, white hair or cool hair color that doesn't have any red in it). You need to color your hair in two steps or mix some red into your color mixture.
What do I do if it turned out too dark?
You can shampoo your hair if the color result was too dark or not at all what you had in mind. This way you'll get a weaker or more subdued color result. Wash out the color with shampoo once or repeatedly immediately after coloring. The longer you wait to shampoo, the harder it will be to wash out the color.
Why didn't the color result look like the picture on the package?
Since natural herbal hair dye sits on top of your own color, the result becomes individual and completely unique. If you have variations in your natural hair color (which most people do), there will be color variations in the dyed hair as well. Additionally, some hair types absorb red pigments more easily and have difficulty absorbing blue pigments. The same hair dye can therefore give different results on different hair. Always do a test strand to avoid unwanted results. If the result wasn't quite what you wanted, you can color again with a different color or mix your powder dye with another shade.
Why does my hair get redder with each coloring?
Most herbal hair dyes contain more or less red in them. Some of the red pigments probably remain and intensify with the next coloring. Instead, color with a less red dye (if you have a blonde shade, choose a lighter blonde).
Can I mix herbal hair dyes?
The major advantage of herbal hair dye in powder form is that you can mix them for a customized color. Mix the powder dyes first before adding water.
Why am I not getting any color result in the first step of a 2-step coloring process?
Try increasing or maximizing the processing time. If that doesn't help, you simply need more red color pigments in your first coloring step.
Try adding a tablespoon of red henna with the first coloring using a blonde shade.
If you colored step 1 with a brown-red hair dye, you should instead color with 100% pure henna.
Wondering about something else regarding coloring your hair with herbal hair dye, or do you have good tips to share with the rest of us? Please leave a comment!