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If you are really afraid that chemicals can damage your hair and health, then a natural hair dye is just the right compromise for you if you want to change your hair color. Nobody says that you can’t have a beautifully colored hair by using nature’s gift but most importantly, its chemical free (guilt free also!) and instead of damaging your hair, some can help even heal and strengthen it.

Although natural methods are often more time consuming to do, but for the sake of your health and hair, I am pretty sure you will never regret choosing this route because in the long run, you will definitely reap the benefits.

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A Variety of Natural Choices

Choosing a natural hair dye does not mean that your hair color options are chopped down to only a handful of selection. Of course the color palate is more limited but with a little research, you can practically get the closest color that you want by mixing a few ingredients together.

Some of the most common natural hair dyes include

• Henna
• Indigo
• Lemon
• Walnut Husks
• Sage
• Rosemary

and many more! Now let’s take a look at some steps and ideas on how you can have fun coloring your hair with a natural hair dye.

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A Gift from the East

Let’s start with a no brainer. Do you want a natural hair dye that texturizes, conditions, soften and even removes dandruff OR a hair dye that damages, can potentially cause cancer and other health risks? I really think you already have the answer with you.

Henna among other herbs is the most belittled and least promoted natural hair dye that can do a good conditioning job for your hair. It has been used since the ancient Egyptian days for dyeing hair and also an important merchandise of Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries for centuries before it even reaches the US.

Pure henna is extracted from the plant lawsonia inermis, a marvelous little tree that thrives in hot and dry climates in certain areas in Asia and the Middle East. The leaves of the henna plant contain a dyeing molecule known as lawsonia, which gives your hair a natural amber and reddish color pigments. The leaf's paste itself is dirty green in color but when you apply the paste to your hair, tiny lawsonia molecules will seep and penetrate through your hair cuticle and gives your hair a vibrant and lovely shade of amber red color.

Initially especially with light colored hair, the dye’s contrast can be very striking but over a few days, it will darken and provide a very natural and lovely color that stays for months under regular conditions.

There is Only 1 Henna Color

There are many misconceptions that henna comes in a variety of color but in fact henna comes in only 1 kind of shade, which is a blend of amber and red. However, a lot of misleading manufacturers sell various products with a huge range of colors like black and market it as natural henna.

These kinds of products are known as compound hennas contained other coloring agents like lead acetate and chemicals like PPD mixed together with some low quality henna to give a different color. These products are unsafe and there are no different from conventional hair dyes.

In the US, it’s hard to obtain pure quality body art henna as there are only a handful of suppliers that directly import and sell pure henna. Most shops only sell low quality or compound henna so always make sure what you get is pure.

Pure body art quality henna is used for temporary tattoos so if it’s safe for your body, it’s definitely safe as a natural hair dye as well. Although henna is a great natural hair dye solution, it takes some skills to master to get the right shade that you want because everyone’s hair color and conditions are unique. You should test by applying to some hair salvaged from your home before trying it on your own hair to see whether the color suits your taste first.

I’ve managed to find a very informative website that specializes in hair dye henna and they have a very informative e-book with the relevant information about using henna and indigo for dyeing your hair. I find the book very informative and you are interested in experimenting henna, do have a look at this site here.

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Lighten Your Hair with Lemons!

Lemons are another miracle from nature that are good antiseptic agents and work wonders with dandruff and help clears off excessive scalp oil too. It’s a great source of vitamin C, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Oh, I forgot to mention lemons can help lighten your hair too! It’s easy to apply on your hair daily and gives your hair a very natural lightening effect.

Most hair colors can be lightened gradually by a few applications of lemon. Here is a simple way on how to get the lightening you want.

1. First you will need a simple lemon mixture. Mix one part warm water and 2 parts lemon juice together.
2. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
3. Spray the mixture generously to the areas you want to lighten.
4. Expose your hair to natural sunlight for around an hour or two.
5. Wash your hair and condition as normal and towel dry.

Apply it daily and you should see some lightening results in about a month. It will turn dark brown hair to light brown, dark red hair to dark blonde and blonde hair to light blonde! However, lightening with lemons might not be effective with black hair because of the original dark pigments. You might want to dye your hair with henna for a more prominent effect.

You might also need to constantly use a conditioner to moisturize your hair because lemons can dry out your hair drastically.

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Covering Gray Hair with Sage

Sage is a wonder herb and it was once recommended for treating all sorts of ailments. It's said sage contains great medicinal qualities that aids healing, has a very sweet aroma and help eases breathing. Another wonderful thing is it also helps returns your natural hair color.

Another viable natural hair dye besides using henna for covering your gray hair is to use a combination of sage and other herbs like rosemary for darker colored hair or chamomile for light colored hair. It doesn’t cover your gray hairs immediately but regular use can slowly bring back your hair’s original colors. Here’s an example on how you can use sage and rosemary to cover your hair.

1. Get some powdered sage and rosemary or chamomile. You can get it really cheap from markets and Chinatown.
2. Put in 4-5 tablespoons of sage into a pot of hot water.
3. Add in 2 tablespoons of rosemary powder for darker color or chamomile for light colored hair.
4. Simmer the mixture for around 30 minutes until the color turns like dark tea.
5. Strain the tea and the keep in a bottle spray and refrigerate until use.
6. Before washing your hair, spray the mixture from the scalp surface to the top of the gray hairs.
7. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then wash as per usual.

After a few weeks of daily application, you should notice that your gray hairs will slowly darken. Continue using until you get the right shade that you want.

This way, you can cover your gray hairs and also leave it smelling nice and good all day! Rosemary and Chamomile can also repair and condition your hair leaving it healthy and shiny.

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Darkening Brown Hair with Walnuts

You can use walnut husks as a natural hair dye as the husks can provide a very good dark brown shade that can help enhance brown hair or darken your blonde hair. There are many variations of walnuts shades ranging from very dark brown to reddish orange color.

If you want to try dyeing your hair with walnuts, there are some simple instructions to follow. First get around 500mg of walnuts (make sure the husks are still there!), gloves, old clothes and some old fabric for soaking the nuts.

1. Remove the husks by crushing them to small bits.
2. Place the husks over 500ml of water or just enough to cover the top of the husks.
3. Boil the husks for around half an hour.
4. Put on gloves and make sure you are wearing dispensable or old clothing as the dye can permanently stain your clothes.
5. Place the husks into a fabric and tie it up into a bag. The fabric will act as a strainer for the husks.
6. Strain the husks until the dye liquid oozes out into a container bottle.
7. Apply the liquid to your hair. Make sure you are using disposable clothing!
8. Allow it to dry before you wash your hair.

Depending on the color of the husks and the color of your hair, you might not get the tone you are searching for. So it’s also advisable that you salvage some hairs from your brush and dye on it first to see whether it’s the color you are seeking.

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Looking for More Alternatives?

Looking for more natural hair dye solutions? Search our Books Section in Solve It! Store and look for informative resources from experts and professionals on how to keep your hair lovely and as natural as it can be!

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