You can dye your hair for various reasons: to change the image, color gray hair, give shine. The choice of paints is wide, but the consequences of staining with chemical compounds are irreversible. Is it possible to combine coloring and health of hair? It is possible if you use natural hair dyes.
Natural paint: myth or reality
Advertising campaigns of perfumery manufacturers today are so aggressive that the beautiful half of humanity can no longer imagine themselves without hair dye. Young ladies in commercials and on product packaging boast luxurious hair and magical shades of healthy hair. As consumers of an advertising and perfumery product, we have little to do: choose a brand and a shade.
But manufacturers are often silent about the consequences of such stains and the degree of similarity with the advertising girls from the packaging.
In pursuit of fashion brands in the market for hair products, in special shades and saving our time, we forget about the health of our hair, sacrificing it to fashion and convenience.
Natural hair dyes are a reasonable alternative to chemical compounds. Yes, using them is a bit more difficult and longer, you need to know certain nuances, but healthy and shiny hair without a million specialized products will be a worthy reward for your work.
The battle of colors: natural vs chemical
In order to objectively compare the two types of hair dyeing, it is necessary to highlight the main quality criteria of coloring agents. Here we’ll go through them:
- Color. Here the advantage is on the side of industrial chemistry. The fact is that natural dyes have a very limited palette. Most often, you can only shade the natural color, radically changing it with gentle methods will not work. Paints purchased at the store offer a wide range of colors. It is not difficult to choose the desired tone, because for the convenience of customers, special palettes have been created, where the expected coloring result is shown on small pieces of hair.
- Durability. Hair dye manufacturers promise lasting results up to 4 weeks. However, most often, by this time, the color becomes dull, the existing gray hair appears, and the overgrown roots noticeably “peep out”. The next staining procedure becomes necessary and a real vicious circle begins. Reviews of natural hair dye indicate that the pigment smoothly “eats” into the hair structure, because of which the border of the grown roots is “blurred” and the period of the next dyeing can be slightly delayed, since the color difference will not be so flashy. The brightness of the color is also washed out over time, however, natural pigments adhere more firmly to the hair, which often complicates the following staining in a different color.
- Convenience. Here, industrial paints also benefit. Continuous improvement of tube designs, the addition of aromatic components and thickeners make it possible to make the coloring process comfortable and quick even for an inexperienced person in these matters. Vegetable paints require careful preparation, are often accompanied by contamination of the bathtub, things and utensils, the composition can spread, and it must be maintained for a long time.
- Health. No matter how expensive and professional the paint may be, it contains aggressive components that “etch” the native pigment from the hair and replace it with artificial. Such chemistry is also very harmful to the scalp and can affect not only the structure of the hair, but also the process of their growth. Natural hair dyes are not aggressive to the scalp and have a strengthening effect. The regular use of such dyes will minimize the problem of split ends, dull hair, and the density of hair will increase markedly.
- Price. In this regard, the advantage is on the side of natural substances. Buying any chemical paint, even from the mass market, the buyer pays not only for the paint composition, but also for advertising and beautiful packaging. Therefore, the high price does not always guarantee an excellent and lasting staining result.
If the above arguments still persuaded you to try on yourself natural coloring compounds, the following information will be very useful to you.
Getting ready for the procedure: what you need to know before staining
Before the first procedure of natural dyeing, at least two weeks should not be used on the hair any chemical compounds: dyes, permanent, keratin - leave it for another time or even permanently.
The herbal composition is applied to clean, damp hair. The exposure time is usually long - even if the package says that one hour is enough, experienced users of natural hair colors at home will increase this period by 3-5 times.
Be prepared for the fact that the procedure will have to be repeated every 2-3 weeks, especially if you have gray hair.
Prepare the necessary materials in advance: disposable gloves, plastic dishes, a plastic cap or bag, and a warming cap. These attributes are used in any natural dyeing procedure.
Get a dark color
It is worth recognizing that people begin to resort to staining most often in the case of the appearance of gray hairs. And in order to successfully disguise them, choose darker colors.
Natural colors for gray hair that every woman knows are basma and henna. The combination of these two vegetable dyes in certain proportions will allow you to get different shades of chestnut color and successfully hide gray hair without harming your hair.
Contrary to the promises of manufacturers, using basma in its pure form will not give the crow's effect and will not paint you in a charcoal black tone. On the contrary, you can get blue and even green hair color. Therefore, it is better to use it in combination with henna.
The proportion looks simple: the darker the shade of hair is needed, the less henna should be in the coloring composition. For example, one part of henna and two parts of basma will dye your hair dark brown. By changing this ratio, you can get various shades of chestnut color - up to mahogany.
The serial procedure that paints gray hair is also successfully used by experienced users. Natural hair dye is applied in two stages - first the hair is completely dyed with pure henna, and after rinsing and drying - with pure basma. This procedure is not very convenient and quite lengthy, but it has a large number of followers.
Bright shades in the colors of nature
With the help of plant compounds, you can give your image personality and brightness, without giving your hair the appearance of a wire from chemical compounds.
Owners of light curls are easiest to make their hair bright. But even brunettes can achieve an unusual, beautiful ebb with the help of plant components.
It is easy to get a copper tint with henna, a mixture of henna and strong brewed coffee or tea will give your hair a chestnut-copper color - just use this drink instead of water to prepare a coloring composition.
By mixing henna and red wine, you can get a beautiful red tint, which will be much brighter if the original hair color is light.
Golden blond with natural ingredients
It is not possible to radically lighten hair with the help of plant compounds, only strong chemical components can do this. But to give the natural light-colored hair a golden shine, to lighten the overall shade by several tones - natural hair dyes can quite cope with this.
Aromatic cinnamon will help to add shine and a lighter tone. By mixing in a water bath a little less than 100 grams of honey and 30 grams of cinnamon, as well as 50 ml of water, you can get an excellent hair mask with a brightening effect. It is enough to leave the resulting composition on the hair for 1 hour, and then rinse with warm water.
They will help to give a golden shine to rinsing with a strong broth of chamomile. During the procedure, you need to try so that the broth contacts the hair as long as possible. After the procedure, do not rinse the chamomile from the hair and blow dry it with a hairdryer.
A similar remedy is a strong decoction of linden. The only difference in the use of chamomile and linden is that after the last hair should be rinsed with warm water.
Nature provides us with a wide selection of coloring agents that will not only visually improve the appearance of the hair, but also make them more healthy. Do not rush to buy paint in the store, looking at the beautiful packaging. First of all, think about the health of your hair, and it will be silky and shiny for many years.
Reviews
Judging by the reviews, henna and basma hair coloring has its pros and cons. Most of all, women do not like the process itself, as it is somewhat more complicated. The disadvantages of this method include hair dyeing, which had previously been exposed to chemicals (paint, curling). To get the desired result from henna and basma, you should wait until the hair grows back.
Natural paint can last for several months, but over time, the shade dims, acquires a reddish or blue-violet tone. To prevent this, you need to regularly tint your hair.
Also, supporters of the use of natural remedies note a positive result of such staining. Hair acquires a healthy look, thanks to the beneficial substances contained in such a paint. Henna has not only a coloring property. It strengthens hair and restores its structure. With the frequent use of this natural remedy, there is an increase in hair growth, the elimination of dandruff, the appearance of a natural shine. Henna also prevents the harmful effects of sunlight, wind and frost.