In the current cosmetic world, it’s hard to avoid using harsh chemicals. The development of the chemistry allows producers to add even more artificial ingredients in order to achieve faster, more sustainable results. There are many articles about the damaging effects of chemical hair dyes such as this interesting one: Does hair dye cause cancer?

In the hair dyes for e.g. there is a range of ingredients, that are synthesized substances. These are linked with skin and respiratory irritation, a suppressed immune system, and even cancer. It sounds scary, and the consequences are even scarier. So what are the options to avoid using hair dyes?

There are a few natural ingredients, that can give color and especially are good for hair care.

 1. HENNA

Henna is one of the most popular natural hair dye alternative, that is extracted from the leaves of a Henna plant. It comes in a powder form and can be combined with different ingredients for maximum hair care. You can add vegetable or essential oils and replace the water with a floral water, to give your hair not even color, moisturize and protect it as well.   

Natural Henna, on its own, creates a red-orange color so be careful with choosing the right Henna consistency for the desirable results.

2. COFFEE

Coffee can enhance the brown color of the hair making it darker as wood. The effect of dyeing with coffee vanished in a short period of time so adding vinegar will help the color last longer. You may need to repeat the process a couple of times to see noticeable results.

3. TEA

If you are fighting against natural gray hairs, you would want to try tea as an alternative for hair dye. Be careful with choosing the right tea plant for the color of your hair. Choose Chamomile if you are a blondie and Rooibos if you are a redhead. Black tea can do the trick for brunets.

Keep in mind that the natural ingredients won’t work if you are trying to achieve drastic hair color changes. Coffee or tea won’t turn your blond hair into black, but avoiding the chemical from the traditional hair dyes and preventing your body from hard diseases sure is beneficial and worth trying any of the alternatives.

According to representatives from the Good Housekeeping Institute's Health, Beauty and Environmental Sciences Lab, there isn’t any commercially available hair dye, that don’t use chemical actives for them to work. So why don’t you choose an alternative and go as natural as possible?