Natural Hair Dye for grey hair

sarah_2-2
sarah_2-2 Posts: 174 Forumite
edited 2 February 2010 at 8:02PM in Green & ethical MoneySaving
My mum currently dyes her hair every 3 weeks or so to cover grey roots, but she's recently become very aware of all the ammonia and nasty chemicals that are in them. She's not ready to go 'au natural' yet so I've been enlisted to help! I've tried googling, but it seems like most natural hair dyes just arent strong enough to cover grey hairs- does anyone here have any suggestions or recommendations on a product? Thanks :D

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  • Henna.

    It naturally gives hair a Red through Auburn to Deep Brown colour but you can mix it with other herbs to give other colours (indigo is quite popular/common - gives hair a black/blue tint).

    You can also buy it already made up some with additives (natural or not depending on brand) that can give hair a deep brown or black/blue tint and a few other colours.

    It's one of the few things that covers grey hair succesfully. Unlike chemical hair dyes the colour builds up and deepens over time too - if you dye it a few times a year it will get deeper and richer each time.

    A
    ॐ Signature Removed by Someones Mum. ॐ
  • tanith
    tanith Posts: 8,091
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    Sarah I had this dilemma earlier in the year and after much debate with my daughters , who both said "DON'T DO IT MUM", I decided that I would let my old blonde head go natural...its hard letting it grow out as its been pretending to be blonde for 30 odd yrs but I am getting there..... I was persuaded by a certain advert with an 'older' model with very long beautiful silver hair and by seeing several 'older' ladies with a beautiful shiny head of silver hair.. it just looks quite sophisticated..:rotfl: Well thats what I am telling myself :T

    Wish me luck , but I still fear that one day I will look in the mirror horrified to see a little old grey haired lady staring back:rotfl: and run for the dye pot
    #6 of the SKI-ers Club :j

    "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke
  • I have a similar dilemma. My hair is starting to show grey streaks. One of my pupils put very well - your hair is all shiney - and she wasn't referring to the wonderful condition my hair is in:o

    I have tried to avoid all hair products because I try to minimise the amount of chemicals I use and I also remember my dear old mum who had totally wrecked her hair by the time she was my age with perms and dyes. We never knew what colour her real hair was untill she was unable to dye it any more.

    I also, because of entreaties from my daughter, still have waist length hair and it would cost a fortune to die it. I wear it up most of the time. I have to admit I am beginning to be tempted by henna but am very worried that I will go from being hazel with grey streaks to bright red. How do you control the strength? Can you change it if you don't like it? How long does it last/take to fade?
    True wealth lies in contentment - not cash. Dollydaydream 2006
  • sandieb
    sandieb Posts: 728 Forumite
    I can thoroughly recommend Daniel Field Natural Colours - Watercolour. This is non-peroxide, non ammonia hair colour. I've been using it for several years now.

    The lovely thing about it is that it doesn't smell!

    http://www.danielfieldmailorder.co.uk/

    I normally phone to order mine and the service is friendly and VERY efficient.
  • lush sell the hair dye in blocks, for all types of ahri blond thorugh to black/blue, where does the black/b;lue come from?
  • Herbatint (http://www.herbatint.co.uk/) hairdye is available in most healthfood shops and doesn't contain ammonia although it does still contain some chemicals. I have had more success with this than the daniel field range which didn't have enough product in one bottle to cover all my quite thick shoulder length hair.
  • mirry
    mirry Posts: 1,570 Forumite
    i am looking for hair dyes and shampoos that dont contain parabens
    (a chemical). Ive notised in town alot of shampoos claim to be ORGANIC yet are full of parabens !
    Simple range is full of parabens too.

    It makes me so mad, they treat us like we are stupid.

    Polyparaben,methyparaben,buthlyparaben are all preservatives and are dangerous.....I gave them up 5 months ago and my skin problems have all
    gone,
    and my hair is shiney.

    The Daniel Field web site doesnt mention exactly what is in their products ?
    I tried to email them but it didnt work ?
    Kindness costs nothing :)
  • Cat72
    Cat72 Posts: 2,398 Forumite
    I have been recommended the www.sensitiveskincareco.com site who sell shampoos. The ingredients in them are -
    Ingredients:
    water, aqua cocomidopropylbetaine, (coconut foaming agent) hydroxyethyl, (cellulose vegetable wax), methyldibromoglutaronitrile & plenoxyyethanol (mineral preservative), organic rosemary essential oil, organic lavender essential oil

    You could also make your own shampoo using soapnuts.Boil 6 or 7 soapnuts in a suacepan to infuse and make your own shampoo.
    Daniel field products and the highily recommended watercolurs dyes are also available from honestycosmetics here which also give you details about the products.
    Water Colour is a breakthrough in hair colouring. This is the world's first non-peroxide colour that colours grey hair like a permanent peroxide based tint. Water colour contains no ammonia. It has no smell, no fumes and no damaging effect at all - however often it is used. It is a most effective re-conditioning treatment.
  • There was a booklet in saturday's Guardian and one of the sections was on green cosmetics.
    Companies who do hairdyes and all sorts of organic cosmetics are:
    Avea Organic (avea.co.uk) and Barefoot Botanicals (barefoot-botanicals.com). Also The Organic Pharmacy (theorganicpharmacy.com), Beauty Naturals (beautynaturals.com).

    I've got phone numbers too, so just ask if you need more info.
  • I've been using the Herbatint range the last three times I dyed my hair rather than having it done at the hairdresser every 4/5 weeks partly because of wanting something less harsh but also cost!! I noticed when I had it done at the hairdresser my scalp would feel like it was burning (not badly but noticeable) until they dye was washed off - don't get this with the Herbatint dye. The only problem I find with Herbatint is it struggles to cover the grey hairs at the temples - no idea why as it's the bit I do first, anyone got any ideas why that should be? The rest of it is fine. I find with both the hairdresser's dye and the Herbatint my hair lightens fairly quickly in the sun so no real difference there. Only other observation is that my scalp does feel quite itchy but again that could just be me. As I have short hair I find I can get two uses from the Herbatint one so even though it costs £7.99 in my local health shop it only works out £4 a go - much cheaper than what I was paying at the hairdresser!!

    HTH
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