natural hair dyes

[duckie1978]

Has anyone ever tried the all natural hair dyes? Do they work well?

I always see them at the co-ops and keep meaning to see if they are vegan. I really want to dye my hair again but I am hesitant to try them because I don't want to have crappy looking hair.

[reb_granger]

Hi duckie,

Have you tried henna? My fiance's mom uses it all the time (she's Indian), and she's got beautiful, lustrous hair. She has never used commercial chemical hair dyes.

I don't dye my hair, so I haven't myself tried using henna, though.

Rebecca

[duckie1978]

I have tried it before when it was added to a shampoo and it worked great and I was assuming that the all natural hair dyes used the henna (I want red hair, I just love the look and am stuck with mousey brown) I just wasn't sure if they work well because I have tried some chemical ones and they look like crap. I am not really concerned with chemicals just the animal byproducts in the dyes. I guess I should be concerned with the chemicals but I don't even rinse off my produce when I buy it. (I know I am so bad) I am going to try and go to the co-op tonight and pick some up and try it. What's the worse that can happen? It looks bad and I have to wear a hat :0)

[alexis]

Duckie, i hope you decided to use henna...i use it, but i buy my henna from the little dark indian shops in boxes with labels i can't read but i know it's henna...the type used for hair dyes and henna tattoos...it turns my hair from black to reddish brown so i'm sure there'll be more dramatic results with your hair...it's animal and crap free but i do have a complaint...it STINKS!!! i sit in the sun with henna paste smeared over my hair for five hours at a stretch to get the red color...sweet huh??? Someone suggested henna mixed with egg and milk...no thank you!!! The stink factor is enough of a deterrent...:cool:

[Christa]

I may be the only one, but henna absolutely does not work in my hair. I tried it a few times in college & it matted my hair to my head & turned it to straw! I have difficult hair, so it may just be my weird hair - my hair is reddish blond, very course, curly & porous; it's got a mind of its own!

I have never tried any of the other "natural hair dyes", so I can't speak to their efficacy. Duckie1978, I hope that your hair turned out well!

[duckie1978]

I didn't use the henna on my hair but ended up giving myself a few henna "tattoos" instead. You are right, it stinks but it came out cool. I still haven't tried it on my hair b/c I decided to grow out my hair and am still concerned about keeping my hair healthy. It used to be so dry and brittle before I became vegan and it has taken a lot to keep it healthy with all the chemical dying I have done in the past. I really don't have time to keep the henna in my hair for hours (we don't even get much sun here). I had fun with the henna though and plan on experimenting with it once summer comes around.

Alexis--what do you mix the henna powder with? My co-op sells the powdered henna and I wasn't sure what to mix it up with. (my henna tattoo stuff came all mixed-I know it was vegan but can't remember what they used to mix it up with) Lemon juice? Water?

[alexis]

I used henna powder that indian women use for basically everything...not the kind that are specially formulated for hair dyes. Christa funny you should say that, i got horrible hair and after using henna, it actually sort of tamed down and started to look good.

Duckie, just use warm water. The idea is that, the warmer it is the more effective it'll be...well, mix it up, put it on your hair and sit by the radiator...it's a little like hair mask... ;)

[sophie]

hi!
I used to henna my hair all the time as a teenager. I used to get the powder from health-food shops, and mix it with water until a sort of mud-like consistency, then massage into your hair, spread it all over and cover with a shower-cap or a plastic bag or a cloth or something, and leave about an hour (the longer you leave it the more it will set). Make sure you wear gloves or your hands will go red, and also your scalp will be red at first but it'll wash out. There are different hues of henna too, I think the standard henna is bright red but I used to use a darker red which used to give my hair, which is nearly black, reddish highlights. it used to make my hair really healthy. In fact, now I think about it, i might even give it a go myself.

[VOW]

When I was a teen (a zillion years ago), henna was one of the first hair preps my friends and I ever tried. It was a powder, and you mixed it with water to make "mud" which you slathered on your hair and let it sit. The longer you kept it on your hair, the more color you would get. It came in two "colors," a reddish blond, and an auburn. Of course, it also depends upon your original hair color as to the resultant shade of the finished product.

Henna is an all-natural, vegetable dye, and it conditions hair beautifully. Don't bother with any chemical preparation which says it "contains henna." You want the honest-to-goodness, original stuff. I think it comes from Egypt.

Make SURE you use either an old towel, or a very DARK towel to dry your hair afterwards!


~VOW

[orangebird]

Anyone know if there is henna that i can use to dye my hair black? or is all it does shades of red?

[alexis]

i don't think there's any henna that can color hair black...the natural color of henna is reddish blond...maybe you should try those natural hair dyes instead...

[Jenica]

If you're curious about so-called "Black Henna," check this (http://reverndbunny.sphosting.com/ppdburns.html) out. Nasty stuff. While I'm not sure that anybody selling "black henna" for your hair would use the same chemicals, or even if they'd have the same effect on your scalp as they can elsewhere on your body, I wouldn't want to find out the hard way. There is no such thing as black henna. The henna plant itself, Lawsonia Inermis, will always produce a reddish, brownish, or orangish stain. Anything else and it is adulterated.

[xmysticprincessx]

Just a warning to everyone: depending on what other chemicals you previously used on your hair, you may have a nasty chemical reaction if you use henna (or any of the other natural dyes).
I was telling a friend of mine who used to be a hair dresser about how I wanted to try this all natural hair color from the health food store. (I think it either was henna or contained henna.) She mentioned something about the ammonia from previous colorings/perms/etc that would react with some kind of salts in the henna dye. She said that even if you used the ammonia coloring last year that the ammonia is still in your hair. She saw a woman who had her hair permed a year before with ammonia whose hair literally burned off where the amonia was after they put the henna (or whatever it was with those salts in it) onto her hair.
This was about a month and a half ago that my friend told me this, so I forgot all the details she said. If you haven't put any chemicals in the hair that is sticking out of your head, then you should be fine with the henna/natural stuff. If not or if you are unsure what it is, you should probably talk to your hair dresser about the situation and ask for more info on the ammonia/salts reaction.

[alexis]

Salts? What salts? Since when did henna powder ever contain salts? I had my hair colored with henna two years ago then when there wasn't any effect i used a hair dye about a week after i used the henna but there wasn't any problem...my hair still stayed around and actually looked better....hmmm...weird...must find out more...

[Jenica]

For more information on henna-ing your hair from a lady who knows much more about it than I do, try here (http://reverndbunny.sphosting.com/hair.htm). On that page she includes specific information about the potential reactions between hair dye and henna.

In my experience as a henna artist working with her recommendations, she is always right on the money, so I'd expect her to be about henna-ing your hair also. If you're interested in a natural alternative to black hair dye, she also has information on her site regarding indigo, a plant you can use to get a fabulous shade of black. Hope it's ok for me to pitch her site here. I don't know her personally but have found the information there invaluable.