DIY Natural Hair Dyes

 As mentioned in our recent Hair Care blog, hair dyes are some of the most toxic beauty applications there are.

Many of us love having a new hair colour, especially if we have a few grey hairs.  There are very few of us today who choose to age naturally and never dye our hair.  The statistics on how many women have dyed their hair at least once during their life time is quite high.

We are advised to always do a test patch 48 hours before applying the hair dye which I would strongly recommend.  However, this doesn't guarantee you won't have an allergic reaction.

As was the case for Lois Queen who applied the allergy test patch 48 hours prior to dying her hair and still had a severe allergic reaction.
 
You may have dyed your hair a couple of months ago, or even a year ago and you may be thinking this means you are not allergic to ingredients in hair dye - since all was fine back then.  This doesn't mean you won't ever have an allergic reaction.  Who's to say the ingredients in hair dyes haven't changed since you last dyed your hair.

One way to avoid the potential for allergic reaction is to opt for natural hair dyes and rinses.  They may not give as good a coverage as commercial hair dyes, however, they will be kinder to your hair, skin and body as well as the environment.  Keep in mind too that ALL hair dyes are washed down the drain!

Brunettes and dark redheads:
Coffee hair rinse - 8 cups of warm brewed coffee.  Either instant or filtered peculated coffee (though peculated gives a stronger result).  Wash hair as normal, condition hair if necessary, then rinse your hair with the brewed coffee.  Do not wash the coffee out.  Leave in hair and style as normal.  Hair should be left with a rich deep shine.
You can also try 8 cups of strong brewed black tea.

Blond Highlights:
1 cup lemon juice
3 cups chamomile tea (brewed, cooled, filtered)
Mix juice and tea together and pour over damp hair.  Leave in hair for one hour before rinsing.

Red Highlights:
1/2 cup beetroot juice
1/2 cup carrot juice
Mix juices together and pour over damp hair.  Leave in hair for one hour before rinsing.

Covering Grey:
1/2 cup dried sage
2 cups water.
Simmer sage in water for 30mins (do not boil).  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Leave to sit for several hours before filtering the liquid.  Apply sage rinse to hair and leave to dry naturally.  Rinse hair with warm water and allow to dry.  Repeat weekly until desired shade is reached, then repeat monthly to maintain colour.

Disclaimer: Not all recipes have been tested by JOLI and results may vary from person to person.  Do a test patch before applying to hair fully, to test if the results will be suitable for your hair.
Of course if you apply these natural hair dyes and would love to share your results please leave us a COMMENT.