I have been highlighting my hair for nearly 20 years. I’ve been doing it so long that it became too blonde and I had to add low-lights. What is wrong with this picture? About a year and a half ago, I decided to stop the madness and go natural. Much to my surprise and delight, I didn’t have much gray. But it did take some getting used to, and while getting used to my image in the mirror, I did fantasize about naturally coloring my hair. I didn’t have the stomach for going back to toxic solutions so I did a little homework and here is what I learned.
Think about it, changing the color of your hair is an extreme thing to do. So it is difficult to find hair dyes that are not offensive in some way. You must look for natural hair dyes that contain less or no paraphenlyenediamine or PPA and that are completely free of ammonia. And remember how your hair takes to color change may depend on the kind of hair you have and it’s health.
For these home remedies you may have to repeat these steps and over time you will get the color you want. The good news is that the results will leave you with healthier hair and you won’t be exposing yourself to harmful chemicals.
More great reasons to ditch chemical hair dyes . . . click here!
4 Ways to Color Your Hair Naturally
For red tones: Make a brew of beet and carrot juice and soak your hair in that for an hour or so, it can bring out the reddish highlights in your hair.
For brown tones: Soak your hair in coffee for 15 minutes.
For gray hair: My older sister has the most beautiful gray/white hair, but she would like to bring out the low-lights. I found a recipe for boiling one-part dry organic Sage in four-parts water, strain and massage into hair, leave for 40 minutes then rinse. It should help the hair shine as well.
For blonde tones: I remember putting lemon juice in my hair and hanging out in the sun to get that sun streaked look that we now call highlighting. I just read that you can also mix lemon juice with chamomile tea and massage it into your hair and then head outside. And of course the more you do it, the more lightness you get.
To naturally lighten dyed hair (when a salon visit or home dye job goes wrong), check out these easy natural remedies by clicking here!
Here are 6 products you can purchase for any type of natural coloring
- Aubrey (about $9 Aubrey Products)
- Light Mountain (about $16 amazon.com)
- Lagona (about $19 amazon.com)
- Surya Henna (about $7 amazon.com)
- Rainbow Henna (about $8 amazon.com)
- Herbatint (about $10 amazon.com)
As you can see there are lots of Henna choices. Henna is a plant from South America that has been used for centuries to dye hair, skin, leather and wool.
FYI: I found a great blog entry about how to apply or remove Henna from your hair by Melinda Brianna Epler.
I love being free from the expense and toxins from coloring my hair.
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Ember
November 7, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Thank you so much for posting this blog! My mom actually recommended the lemon juice for me because I wanted my old blond highlights back that turned dark blond due to age. It really works, especially in the hot Arizona sun in the summer. 🙂 I’m very excited that more people know about this, I’ll have to let my friends know about the other dyes.
Michelle
February 5, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the tips! I stopped using hair color more than three years ago, but lately I’ve been thinking about covering up some of the gray that’s invaded. I’ve been reluctant to use anything out of a box, but am willing to try soaking my hair in coffee. Thanks again. Peace. 😉
green diva lisa
February 6, 2012 at 8:31 pm
I am so glad you enjoyed the post. Let me know how it goes with the coffee.
GD Lisa
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John Hopson
September 16, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Great article on natural hair color, I’m 62 and my wife hates to see the grays coming through, I’m more concern we the thiness (or as I call it see through hair style).
I work all over the world and hair color for men is not the easiest to get hold of, and going to a ladies salon cost a fortune if you compare it to the amount of hair I have.
Many thanks once again.
John
green diva lisa
September 18, 2012 at 10:55 am
Thanks John for the manly perspective. I love that you call thinning hair “the see through hair style.” May I use it?
Kaila Swearengen
February 17, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Thanks for the info, I have added a bookmark.
Cara Menghilangkan Lemak Diperut
September 17, 2013 at 11:21 am
What a tremendous job you guys are doing. Thanks
Skylar
November 20, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Hey I’m a 13 year old girl (I made the name a fake name for safety), and I would like to know how to do tints of red naturally or maybe a different way of doing blonde (ombre). I also have not dark but not light brown hair. I’ve dyed my hair: Blonde streaks, brown (again), a dark red, but now it’s all gone.
Pragyaa Bali
December 24, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Try using sun in it lightens our hair and if u spray it on the areas that a used to be red or blonde they might lighten up
Quinn
November 30, 2013 at 12:01 am
Tomorrow I am going to try dying my medium brown hair darker using coffee or black tea. Wish me luck!!
Pragyaa Bali
December 24, 2013 at 5:25 pm
I have a really dark brown tone hair color and I am trying to lighten it and is there any simple way to lighten it to brunette with out coffee an etc.
Anastastasia
January 18, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Hi, i have naturallly really dark brown almost black hair . an i got my hair chemicaly highlighted an i would like to go back to my natural hair color would the coffee work ?
Green Diva Meg
January 18, 2014 at 5:26 pm
@Anastastasia – Green Diva lisa says, “It is worth a try. Just know that it is not permanent and you’d have to repeat the treatment frequently until your natural color grew out.”
jane
January 24, 2014 at 12:24 am
Hey what would you recommend for a dirty blonde colour ?
Thanks
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lucita
February 7, 2014 at 8:53 am
Hi I have pure black hair and I’m worried thinking that the Color won’t be able to be seen 🙁 do u think my thoughts are right
Unknown
March 6, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Hi i am 13 year old girl i would love to know how to change my color to red
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Tunisia
June 27, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Hello!I have dark brown 3C/4A,hair.I would like to change it to a blonder color. At least a color 1 and 30.Im trying the bantu-knot out.But I want it with blonde highlights!Tried lemon juice, lime,juice and conditioner mix.Didnt work!I need help!At least brunette hair instead of dark brown hair!
Natural Hair
September 5, 2014 at 10:34 am
Hello there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects? Thanks a lot!
Simone
April 9, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Hi 🙂
Does I have to wash it out again if I e.g put beet and carrot juice in my hair?
And for how long does it lasts?
– Simone
luke hemmings
May 10, 2015 at 8:19 am
Thank you for sharing this information, im sure it will help
Delia Wilkinson
May 13, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Do you have to use organic coffe or could i use mccafe coffee
sara
May 15, 2015 at 11:29 am
hey! do I hav to apply the coffee on my hair everyday?
Benjamin
June 25, 2015 at 2:50 pm
Another natural dye for blonde and light brown hair is Organically Blonde, it’s an herbal rinse made of organic vegetable skins and flowers. It’s relatively cheap and comes in Golden and Strawberry shades. The owners make it by hand and grow many of the ingredients in their OG garden. I use it as a leave-in conditioner, it makes my hair more curly and adds highlights.
Jessica
July 25, 2015 at 6:08 am
Alls Sun In is, one part peroxide, two parts lemon juice, and I use a small amount of leave in conditioner. Mix in a spray bottle spritz hair lightly, I comb through to make sure its even and go enjoy the sun. I use it on all three of my daughters. Even my six year old. Just adds a bit of highlights. Looks natural.Have never had any problems.
Ingrid
August 27, 2015 at 2:37 am
I have long black hair which I have to colour every few weeks because the greys start to pop through. I would like to highlight my hair with lighter colour to not see the grey, what I can use instead of the salon stripping my hair to get it lighter or even lighten my whole head instead.
jm
August 27, 2015 at 9:43 am
Hi, thanks for the tips.
Just to make things a bit straight, Henna is original from India… remember all the henna paintings etc they traditionally do???!!! Nothing to do with South America.
Twotone
September 10, 2015 at 11:00 pm
I picked up what I thought was a semi perm hair product & it must not have been & now I am left with that horrible two tone thing going on. I have some questions about the coffee soaking.
How does one soak for an hour?
Are you actually bent over in a bucket or would you just rinse it in and let it dry for an hour?
SHERYL
November 6, 2015 at 11:17 am
Hi there! After years of “frosting” my hair 🙂 I took the plunge and decided to go darker. The salon did a great job with the color but it is way darker than I thought I was getting. Any way to lighten it just a little around the face without damaging my hair?
Thanks!!
Cassie
November 30, 2015 at 12:45 pm
How do I dye my hair red with food coloring ??
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Dilakshi
March 13, 2016 at 4:50 pm
Hi, i want to try the beet and carrot. But i have black hair will the colour be seen what should i do to it to be seen?
Thanks
Aayush Shastri
September 19, 2016 at 12:40 am
This generation has had a serious problem of getting grey hair at an early age and it is just increasing. All of this happens becasue of our lifestyle, eating habbits, stress and chemicals in the products we use. Getting your hair dyed is not healthy for your hair and since I am going through the same problem of having grey hair so early I decided to find a safe and healthy solution. I came across Kama Ayurveda’s organic henna powder and indigo powder and this combination has saved me! It is the organic way to go and dyes your hair black, I have been using these products for several months now and am so happy. Everyone who is having this same problem, I highly recommend to use such products rather than hair dye.
http://www.posherry.com/blog/kama-ayurveda-solves-white-hair-problems/
Aayush Shastri
September 19, 2016 at 6:01 am
This generation has had a serious problem of getting grey hair at an early age and it is just increasing. All of this happens because of our lifestyle, eating habits, stress and chemicals in the products we use. Getting your hair dyed is not healthy for your hair and since I am going through the same problem of having grey hair so early I decided to find a safe and healthy solution. I came across Kama Ayurveda’s organic henna powder and indigo powder and this combination has saved me! It is the organic way to go and dyes your hair black, I have been using these products for several months now and am so happy. Everyone who is having this same problem, I highly recommend to use such products rather than hair dye.
http://www.posherry.com/blog/kama-ayurveda-solves-white-hair-problems/
KarenHeinz
January 4, 2017 at 11:13 pm
You can apply honey directly onto your hair, like a mask. You may want to add a little water to loosen it up first though, as it can be difficult to spread. Apply onto damp hair, cover with a plastic shower cap and leave to sit for 30 to 40 minutes, before rinsing with warm water and a little shampoo.
Amanda
March 4, 2017 at 9:51 pm
Can you use a hair dryer instead of going outside to brighten up the lemon juice in your hair due to the cool weather?
Gracy
May 4, 2017 at 7:59 am
Neat ideas! Thanks for sharing!
sarah
October 29, 2017 at 11:16 am
Hello, I want to dye my hair naturally – I looked t the Naturtint and contacted them to see if they were 100% natural but they said they weren’t- does anyone know what chemicals they still include and if they are sally bad for you? I heard that natural hair dyes often exclude ammonia and then make up for this by adding other chemicals- is this true of Naturtint?
Also what other ways can I dye my hair a nice chocolate brown colour at home? I see you posted coffee for brown- is the an alternative to use?
Thanks
Sarah
Ginny
April 15, 2018 at 2:07 am
I colored my hair naturally and now I need to start using purple shampoo.