Safe, gentle dye to cover gray?
- Thread starter yodie
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danniegirl
Well-Known Member
have you heard of or ever tried henna
Pompous Blue
Well-Known Member
yodie I agree that trying to get the right mixture using henna/indigo for a dark reddish brown is tricky. You would have to do so many experiments that it's not worth it.
I had tried using katam and henna but my hair still turned out too reddish over time. So I use a couple TBSP indigo in my henna mix and it darkened my hair considerably. It's a dark/dark reddish brown now.
So, for what you want, it seems a commercial dye is best.
Crystal
Well-Known Member
Yes you have to mix it with a solution. You will not find anything on the market fresh out the market to cover grays 100% and not wear off. Demi's (they say) are the least damaging but who really knows. Semi's don't cover gray, at least not for longer than a day.
You can try Bigen, you mix that with water but Bigen gave me headaches.
You can try Bigen, you mix that with water but Bigen gave me headaches.
yodie
Well-Known Member
Pompous Blue, I would really prefer henna, but like you said, it's too much work trying to get the right shade.
Crystal, I'm scared to mix anything as it relates to dye and applying it to my hair. I bet it works great though and doesn't wash out. So, are most commercial dyes demi permanent?
Crystal, I'm scared to mix anything as it relates to dye and applying it to my hair. I bet it works great though and doesn't wash out. So, are most commercial dyes demi permanent?
faithVA
Well-Known Member
Semi-Permanents don't have to be mixed but they also wear off the fastest.
Demi-Permanents must be mixed. They last a bit longer.
Permanent must be mixed and last the longest.
Semi's tend to coat the outer strand which is why they wear off quickly.
I use Naturtint which is a permanent, as natural as you are going (outside of henna) to get color.
I don't do henna because it coats the surface of my hair and ends up blocking moisture causing my hair to be brittle.
erplexed
faithVA
Well-Known Member
My comments are based on my always using permanent color. This can't be compared to a rinse. Anything less than a demi is useless in my hair. It wears off the roots within 3 to 6 days.
So far is it working well for me. I have not used it long enough to tell you if there is long term breakage due to the color. I color my roots every 3 months and the color does not wear off ever as far as I can tell. I'm low porosity so my hair tends to be dry anyway. However, my hair is not dryer than when I did the 1.5 years with henna. My hair is actually starting to thrive.
When I had my komaza analysis there was no damage seen due to the color, only due to my combing practice.
On the ground you would have to buy it at a health food store or something like Whole Foods. On line you can get it from Vitacost or the Vitamin Shoppe.
I have tried several rinses. I tried bigen
I did 1.5 years of henna. I tried ION Demi (from Sally's). I tried Shea Moisture. And I am back to NaturaTint. My hair felt the best after using it.I big chopped last year so I haven't had hair long enough to tell you whether the color is going to impact my retention long term.
faithVA
Well-Known Member
Get some other user's feedback before you commit. Permanent color is just that Permanent. Maybe go on Amazon and read some reviews on different products.
I am more committed to not being gray than having long hair
msdeevee
Well-Known Member
I don't have a problem with Bigen. I know it's supposed to be bad for you but I only do my hairline with Bigen. Plus it lasts much longer than rinses and I don't want to use any hard chemical dyes all over my head because they dry my hair out badly. I don't mind my few grays within my hair but the gray at the hairline is horrendous (to me). That's the first thing people see when they look at you.
When I want to color all over no more than 2x a year I use the Lush henna caca brun. It comes out a nice rich shiny brown, no red at all . It's natural already mixed with cocoa butter and somewhat easy to do. It comes in a big bar, I don't do all that grating I just break off what I need and let it melt when I pour the hot water over it. There are plenty of vids on YT about it. When that's growing out I use those handy hair color mascaras to touch up the edges .
When I want to color all over no more than 2x a year I use the Lush henna caca brun. It comes out a nice rich shiny brown, no red at all . It's natural already mixed with cocoa butter and somewhat easy to do. It comes in a big bar, I don't do all that grating I just break off what I need and let it melt when I pour the hot water over it. There are plenty of vids on YT about it. When that's growing out I use those handy hair color mascaras to touch up the edges .
cheerrette
Well-Known Member
I plan to use Just 5 hair color. I can't find much info online about it, but I use it on a client of mine. She has been using it for over 4 years and has had no adverse effects. It covers the gray perfectly but I do have to do it each time I do her hair (every two weeks). I believe that it is just her new growth. Her hair grows super fast and I only do the new growth.
yodie
Well-Known Member
msdeevee, that henna sounds good. Where do you get it?
faithVA, what color Naturtint do you use and what did you think of Shea Moisture's brand of color?
cheerrette, I've never heard of Just 5. I'll look it up.
Thank you, ladies. I can't stand the grays and want them gone.
faithVA, what color Naturtint do you use and what did you think of Shea Moisture's brand of color?
cheerrette, I've never heard of Just 5. I'll look it up.
Thank you, ladies. I can't stand the grays and want them gone.
faithVA
Well-Known Member
I usually get a 2N, which is a dark brown. I liked the Shea Moisture but it didn't do any better than the Naturtint. It is harder to find and it is more expensive. I also like the way my hair felt better with the Naturtint once I rinsed out the conditioner. So I figured I would stick with it.
southerncharm
New Member
naturtint, I always get the (blk/brown), that's the ONLY brand of color that I can use on my scalp since I was told I have SD, all of the others that the hair dressers used caused scalp issues that's part of the reason for my SD.
I tried everything(that the hair dressers used), after the color my hair in the crown area would shed when I washed it, I was willing to try anything after, I was even considering coffee rinses, I read about some ladies using cocoa, I was gonna go that route also.
I came back here & snooped around some of the girls mentioned naturtint, so I ordered mine from luckyvitamin.com(Allstarhealth.com is cheaper), I had it here for about a month before I got up the nerve to use it, that's been about 5 or 6 months ago, & I've been going at every since, I LOVE IT, I even put it in myself with no problems what so ever, no scalp issues, it's easy, not messy.
of course I follow the directions when I use it, but when it's wash day every 7 days, I condition with carol's daughter's black vanilla hair smoothie, but it's great if I can use it & get good results I think ANYBODY can use it.(lol)
I tried everything(that the hair dressers used), after the color my hair in the crown area would shed when I washed it, I was willing to try anything after, I was even considering coffee rinses, I read about some ladies using cocoa, I was gonna go that route also.
I came back here & snooped around some of the girls mentioned naturtint, so I ordered mine from luckyvitamin.com(Allstarhealth.com is cheaper), I had it here for about a month before I got up the nerve to use it, that's been about 5 or 6 months ago, & I've been going at every since, I LOVE IT, I even put it in myself with no problems what so ever, no scalp issues, it's easy, not messy.
of course I follow the directions when I use it, but when it's wash day every 7 days, I condition with carol's daughter's black vanilla hair smoothie, but it's great if I can use it & get good results I think ANYBODY can use it.(lol)
bellashair
Well-Known Member
I use Shea Moisture's hair dye in Soft Black and my hair reacts very well to it.
FlowerHair
Reclaiming my time
Unfortunately, commercial dyes are never that gentle in the long run 
I've learned that the hard way, but for a few applications it will be okay.
If you plan to color your hair for years to come, I would recommend henna or indigo. I know exactly what you mean though by being too red or dark. Going grey is a hassle!
yodie
I've learned that the hard way, but for a few applications it will be okay.
If you plan to color your hair for years to come, I would recommend henna or indigo. I know exactly what you mean though by being too red or dark. Going grey is a hassle!
yodie
Transformer
Well-Known Member
Okay, I've been gray since age 19 and have tried virtually everything including raw henna and indigo. So here's my opinion:
- Say no to Raw Henna- I'm talking about the stuff from Henna-Sooq and such. It is too drying. Grey hair tends to be brittle and dry and using henna although I conditioned like double h-double hockey sticks...it wasn't good for my hair.
- Lush's Henna Bars were great because they contain oils and conditioners and were milder...however my grey just turned brassy brown and not red. I would use again.
- Demi-permanents are gentler and the ones from the online hair dye company that made custom orders were good (can't remember the name.)
- OLIA - I'm now using this stuff because although it's permanent it appears to be gentle. It does not have a bleach/peroxide smell but I don't know what they did to camouflage it.
- Say no to Raw Henna- I'm talking about the stuff from Henna-Sooq and such. It is too drying. Grey hair tends to be brittle and dry and using henna although I conditioned like double h-double hockey sticks...it wasn't good for my hair.
- Lush's Henna Bars were great because they contain oils and conditioners and were milder...however my grey just turned brassy brown and not red. I would use again.
- Demi-permanents are gentler and the ones from the online hair dye company that made custom orders were good (can't remember the name.)
- OLIA - I'm now using this stuff because although it's permanent it appears to be gentle. It does not have a bleach/peroxide smell but I don't know what they did to camouflage it.
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