The last ten years have seen a bigger push for natural hair dye and other organic beauty products
Many consumers or customers are under this impression that components found in natural hair products like natural hair dye, make them safe.
Unfortunately this is not that simple, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
In fact, not only is natural hair dye not necessarily safer than synthetic hair dye, organic or natural hair dye simply doesn’t even exist.
Other than natural henna, any commercially available hair dye which is store-bought for home use or mostly found in salons, uses chemical actives for them to work.
Even when the product packaging claims to be all-natural, organic or total chemical-free , which is impossible because everything,
including organic components, are made of chemicals, so that could basically be an outright lie.
Also Read : Natural Blonde Hair, Awesome Facts You Didn’t Know
This happens because because the FDA can’t do anything about the use of these so called organic terms regarding cosmetics.
The FDA regulates the cosmetics via the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and usinf the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, neither of which define the term “Natural.”
In other words, if you find hair dye that isn’t henna and it claims to be natural or organic,
it’s mostly still employing synthetic ingredients for it to work.
The good news is: Hair dye doesn’t have to be always natural in order to be safe,
and there are many other ways to be both health-conscious and eco-conscious when it comes to coloring your hair.
Below are the most important things to know.
Avoid harsh chemicals in Natural Hair Dye
As previously mentioned in this article, everything is made of chemicals. Water, for example, is a chemical compound.
So get this thing out of your mind that chemicals aren’t safe just because they’re chemicals.
However, there are many potentially toxic chemicals in some beauty products,
and while there has been growing movement in the industry to remove or minimize the use of these ingredients –
hair dye is one of the worst offenders when it comes to including some harsh and unnecessary chemicals.
“There are definitely some movement happening where women are choosing beauty products based on ingredients,” says Chelsea Smith.
She is a master colorist for Madison Reed, which makes at home hair dye that’s touted as the first “six free” formula.
This six free formula means it doesn’t include what considered to be six questionable ingredients commonly found in hair-color formulas:
ammonia, parabens, phthalates, PPD, resorcinol and gluten.
Go as Much Natural as Possible
[yop_poll id=”1″]
If someone prefers natural ingredients regardless of much unproven safety benefits, they may want to look to a trusted brand like Aveda.
Aveda promises a mostly natural hair color formula.
“Ninety six percent of the formula is made of ingredients derived from nature,
such as the viscosity builders, conditioners, solvents and antioxidants,”
says Justina Mejia-Montane, the Vice President, Global Product Development of Aveda.
Keep in your mind that even a brand which is committed to natural formulas must rely on some synthetic ingredients.
It uses synthetic ingredients in order for the hair color used in its salons to work.
3 Hair Color Tricks for Dyeing Your Hair at Home
Take the strand test.
If you’re trying for a new shade, test it only on a few trimmed hairs or hidden pieces first, and look at the result before you commit.
Invest in a color brush.
Squirting the dye out and spreading it all over your hair may be easy and fun, but this method can be messy. Mix color in a bowl and paint on using a color brush.
Start from the top.
Since roots need the most color (and processing time), apply dye there first, then comb through the rest of the hair to distribute the dye. Work in four to six sections to ensure full coverage.
