what hair dyes are best for natural hair?

there is not one specific brand of hair color that is “best” for natural hair, but when it comes to choosing a hair color you should proceed with caution.

it is important to understand the various types of hair dyes in order to choose the right one for your hair. since most dyes contain chemicals that can damage the hair if used improperly, choosing the right dye is extremely important. yo ensure the least amount of hair damage, it is best to choose a color that blends well with your natural color; the lighter in color you choose to dye your hair, the greater chance you will incur severe hair damage.

because of the ingredients in traditional hair dyes, i advise you to proceed with caution if you want to color your hair.

most hair dyes contain a bushel of ingredients with known health risks, including resorcinol and PPD, or p-phenylenediamine, both of which rank in the “high hazard” category on the nonprofit environmental working group’s skin deep cosmetic-safety database, cosmeticsdatabase.com.

“P-phenylenediamine is nasty stuff,” says sean gray, a senior analyst with EWG, based in washington, D.C. “it scores a 10 on our toxicity score, which is the top of the scale. resorcinol also has a long list of concerns.”

natural hair-dye companies have long sought to reduce levels of these chemicals by using less harmful replacements or botanicals that work in conjunction with synthetic or petroleum-based colorants, and a new company has launched a product that does away with all the major problem ingredients and uses only botanical dyes. to understand the challenges of formulating a natural hair dye, it’s important to understand how traditional hair dyes work.

hair colors contain a lightener, generally hydrogen peroxide, to bleach the hair, providing what’s called “lift.” They also contain an ingredient to change the hair’s pH, typically ammonia, which opens the hair shaft so dye can penetrate. finally, they contain a base and coupler which, when mixed together, produce an oxidation dye. PPD and resorcinol are components of the dye, whose large molecules then enter the hair shaft.

i’ll be the first to tell you that i’m the biggest aveda pimp around. so, again, though i cannot say there is one or two “best” hair dyes, i will say that i personally prefer natural hair colors. i will pimp aveda hair color out to anyone. why? because unlike traditional hair dyes, their colors contain no ammonia and ammonia is very alkaline! alkaline products can strip the cuticle of your hair or open it so wide that it will not want to close again which will cause that dry and brittle feeling after getting your hair colored. and cuticles that won’t close means that you cannot keep moisture in your hair not matter how much sealing and conditioning you do. that would be a no bueno! and no moisture means severe dryness which will lead to breakage.

i cannot speak on traditional hair colors because i have not used them on my natural hair and when i did use them on my relaxed hair my hair broke off. though because i didn’t know what healthy hair was at the time, i cannot say that the color broke my hair off versus it being my poor moisture routine that broke my hair off after the color.

when i decided to get my natural hair colored i decided i wanted to get my hair colored at aveda because their permanent hair color is 98% plant based. aveda also ranks a 6 on cosmeticdatabase.com which means it yeilds a moderate hazard.

if you are a do-it-yourself kind of gal, you can still get your hands on “natural” hair color at home. hair color less ammonia or not still has it’s risks, but naturtint is a popular brand you can try that contains less harsh ingredients than traditional colors and ranks “just as good as aveda” according to some online reviews i’ve read from those that have used it.

salon brands of hair dye are almost all 100 percent synthetic and petroleum-based. the dyes are usually the controversial oxidative dyes. Aveda uses oxidative dyes like the rest of the industry (albeit in a small percentage), because so far there are no plant formulas that can provide consistent, long-lasting dyes. Oxidative dyes make up the 1 to 3 percent synthetic ingredients of the aveda formulations. for an overview of the cancer risks, and controversy associated with synthetic permanent dyes for dark hair, click here.

oxidative dyes have no pre-existing colors until they are combined and joined with oxidizing ingredients. most dyes use a synthetic to do this, but aveda did research into essential oils and plant extracts, and have found and patented a process to oxidize the dye using green tea extract. not only is the end process less petroleum-based, but the result is more natural looking. the common base formulas for dyes are petrochemical solvents, and in this process aveda has substituted protective and lubricating plant oils in the formula so that it is significantly less drying to the hair than the solvents normally used.

permanent hair colors are the harshest for hair, and pose the most potential health risk. for more on this, here is a glossary offering the choices and safety of the different hair dyes—permanent, demi-permanent, and semi-permanent.

keep in mind that even though “natural/plant based” hair colors are less harsh, they still can damage your hair if you go too light, so proceed with caution with any light colors in the blonde family because you can still experience texture change and damage if you go too light or process your hair too long.

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Tagged as: hair color, hair dye, henna, natural hair