Natural Hair Dye And Remedies

What are the different types of natural hair dye and what shades can you achieve with natural hair colours? All the answers you need to know about colouring your hair the natural way...right here!

Why Should You Colour Hair Naturally?

Dying your hair with all-natural ingredients is a growing phenomenon. Increasingly, people are choosing natural approaches when it comes to colouring their hair, whether out of preference for natural ingredients (avoiding chemicals), a fear of being sensitive to manmade formulae, or simply due to a desire to try something different.

What’s Changed For Natural Hair Dye?

Just a few years ago, natural hair colours were limited. There were few options on the market, and a limited range of shades. Plus, the end colour result was often unpredictable, didn’t last for long, and didn’t always entirely blend existing greys. 
Now, that’s all changed! The natural hair dye market has boomed, with both 100% natural and hybrid options available. There is also a far more extensive range of colours on offer that provide even blending and don’t fade immediately.

What Ingredients Are In Natural Hair Colour?

Natural ingredients can vary depending on the brand. L’Oréal Professionnel all-natural hair dye, Botanea, for example, contains the following ingredients:

Indigo: used for brown and dark bases, gives cool violet undertones.

Henna: provides a warm copper shade, perfect for a variety of tones, from golden blonde to deep auburn.

Cassia: cassia produces a soft and neutral dye that’s ideal for blondes, light bases and overall brightening.

The only other ingredient you’ll find in the Botanea natural hair dye is 100% natural coconut oil, which encapsulates the natural  ingredients to allow ease of use. 

For example, with Botanea...

To create a natural light blond shade, your hair colourist would mix 90g of cassia with 10g of henna. For a brown copper colour, they’d use 75g of henna and 25g of indigo. The mixture is then added to hot water (temperature according to the recipe) and applied to towel-dried hair.

How Does It Work?

But how does natural hair colour actually work? There are two simple steps to the process.

1. Water activation
Water is used to dilute the herbal dyes and release their colouring properties. Hot water speeds up this process.

2. Colour anchoring
The herbal dyes anchor and hold to the surface of the hair shaft. The cuticles are not lifted (there is no oxidation) – therefore no change to the hair structure.

That’s all there is to it! The Botanea process is non-aggressive, leaving hair healthy, voluminous and shiny. Healthy hair holds its colour for longer, and has more natural-looking body to it.

Colour AND Care (Not Just For Your Hair!)

Because the Botanea natural hair dye doesn’t lift or alter the inner cortex of the fibre, the hair remains undamaged, and is more likely to hold its new colour for longer. But this all-natural dye isn’t just good news for your hair, you’re also supporting the environment. 

How’s that? Not only are Botanea natural hair colours traceable from the field to the salon, but they are produced in refillable cube jars made of 50% PET recycled plastic, and refills are delivered to salons in airtight sachets made from FSC-certified paper from responsibly managed forests.You’ll also be helping support local communities by colouring your hair with Botanea: L’Oréal Professionnel has established a programme in India that helps promote the social economic situation of farmers with local cooperatives, and to improve and share good agricultural practices to create sustainable sources of income.

Looking After Naturally Dyed Hair

Once you have your beautiful new naturally coloured hair, it’s important your haircare routine is optimised to ensure it looks bright and glossy for as long as possible. The Source Essentielle haircare collection includes a Radiance Balm mask made using 99% naturally-derived ingredients including fig pulp, sunflower seed oil and soya bean oil. There are also a selection of shampoos tailored to your hair needs: Nourishing, Delicate and Daily.

Botanea also offers a neutralising  service, that helps remove any unwanted temporary tones to your coloured hair.

There’s now no reason not to try colouring your hair the natural way!