http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/hair_coloring.rss http://www.earthclinic.com/template_img/logo.jpg http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/hair_coloring.rss Natural Hair Coloring Recipes on Earth Clinic -- your site for home remedies! Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:31:04 EST en-us http://www.earthclinic.com/Redirect.php?pageLink=/Remedies/hair_coloring.html&name=HI_24138 /Remedies/hair_coloring.rss1 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT [YEA] Amber from Portland, Oregon writes: "Many people (including myself) use natural plants to color thier hair, such as Henna (for Orange/Red color, and adds brilliant shine to hair), Henna with Indigo (to achieve brunette to black colors), and Cassia; a plant that can be used to add shine or add a bit of golden color to very pale blond or white hair. There are other plants and spices that can enhance tone as well. (for more on this, read on) About the results: I am a dark blonde who used to lighten my hair. I have colored my hair all types of ways, and most recently I decided to 'go dark'. Well, I can tell you that nothing colors and strengthens my hair like the henna. And I now use the henna + indigo mix to achieve a very exotic dark color, that fully saturates (dyes used to wash out easily), shines, and is actually healthy for my hair! The shine you can achieve with the use of henna is head-turning and like no other. Henna binds with your hair, so it is much different than a dye. You can also use chemical lighteners or dyes over it, or apply it over chemically dyed/lightened hair, and as long as you are using PURE henna, you will get nice results. The horror stories you may have heard only relate to people using 'compound' hennas, again, like you would buy in the store, mixed with other ingredients. How it basically works: Henna can be combined with an acid (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar) and left to sit for 12 hours to release the dye. It can then be added to color the hair (usually for 2 hours) or it can be diluted and/or applied for a lesser duration, to add just a touch of tint and gloss to the hair. Indigo can be mixed with water and mixed into the Henna, or applied seperately after a Henna treatment. Cassia can be applied alone, or added to the aforementioned mixes. These plants should be purchased in a pure form (not in mixes from the beauty supply). Where you can find out more: You can find a wealth of information at this website: www.hennaforhair.com about how to color your hair with these plants, and a very interesting history. There are also personal mixes, techniques, forums where you can ask questions about your specific hair type/goals, and order the products. You can also order small samples very inexpensively so that you can experiment on 'brush harvested' hair. I can't say enough great things about the women who run this website. If you are curious, and check it out, they offer all the info and help you need to become confident about trying this. I have also since read on many natural health and hair sites that Honey can be used as a natural lightener. So if you are a blonde, perhaps that will work for you, as well as lemon juice. One could also use the cassia to get the brilliant shine that henna gives, without turning into a redhead! If I ever grow my natural hair out again, this is what I will do! One last thing I want to say, is that it feels very good to get off of the chemical-dye train, to find natural plant dyes that achieve colors and results so beauteous that nature could only provide. It may seem time-consuming at first, but after learning and becoming experienced with the use of these dyes (and it doesn't take long!) it has become a nice beauty ritual; it feels more natural and personal...and has become something I look forward to doing, taking time to relax while the mix does it's magic, and the hair is always more beautiful each time! It has been about 2 years that I have been using these plant dyes, and I am glad to be able to share this info on earth clinic, so that perhaps others can start using this too." http://www.earthclinic.com/Redirect.php?pageLink=/Remedies/hair_coloring.html&name=GINGERMUSTARD_4363 /Remedies/hair_coloring.rss2 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Jackie from Grand Rapids, Minnesota writes: "since introduced to this site, i have eliminated chemicals wherever possible. first, i stopped all anti-aging products on face and got rid of fluoride toothpaste. i cleanse with bkg soda and use jaboba oil or vegetable gycerine with drop of essential oil for moisturizer sometimes castor oil around the eyes.use minimal amt of non animal tested pressed powder blush and eyeliner. i indeed look younger and soft and my eyesight has improved. i think the antiaging products might be absorbed into the eye itself or into the blood vessels. any thoughts on this? my skin is much better. next i found this website, black hair media hair forum. gives recipes for coloring hair using herbs. i wish i had known about this from teenage years. i invented my own recipe that works very well and is very easy to do. i have chin length white hair with darker grey at the neckline. 1 tsp ground ginger, i tsp dry mustard, 1 tsp curry powder and a pinch of tumeric. (be careful with tumeric, hair can turn clown yellow if you use too much. all of these ingredients are spices that can be bought in any grocery store. i put the spices in a bowl, pour one cup of boiling water over them, cover tightly and let cool. next strain saving the liquid. pour over washed and dried hair about 5-6 times. i use a basin in the sink or tub to catch the mixture then pour back into the cup and repeat 5-6 times. don\'t rinse,squeeze out excess water cover with shower cap and leave on about 30 minutes. rinse with cool water lastly i add a dash of vinegar to cup of cool water and pour over and leave in. acts like a conditioner and keeps the color in better. the mixture doesn\'t stain my skin,sink or hands. there is some dripping under the shower cap so have a towel handy. this gives me a natural light golden blonde hair color, and my darker hair blends in nicely.it washes out with each shampoo so has to be done each time. the gray is comletely covered using this method, even better than hair dye which often won\'t cover the temples or the sides. the spices and the vinegar condition it and idon\'t have to use a conditioner.it\'s recommended to a patch test with herbs and spices first. 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