How natural is Herbatint hair dye?

[ronalisa]

My mother and I use a semi-permanent hair color that you can buy from the health-food store called Herbatint. I've dyed my hair twice and I don't have a problem with dryness or texture but I was wondering: Just how natural is herbatint? For the dye to successfully turn my hair blondish red there has to be some chemicals right? Here's the way the company explains it:

"Consumers concerned about peroxide will be happy to learn that Herbatint contains the least amount of peroxide necessary to open the hair cuticle. Depending on the Herbatint shade selected, hydrogen peroxide levels will range from a very low 3-10% volume compared to commercial color products that will contain anywhere from 20, 30 or 40% volume levels. The product is completely free of ammonia, which is a known culprit in inhalation and odor concerns. Herbavita makes a point of limiting the types and concentrations of chemicals in their Herbatint line as much as possible."

For those interested here's the list of ingredients:

Herbatint Haircolor Gel Ingredients: laureth-5; propylene glycol; aqua/water, PEG-2 oleamine; ethanolamine; walnut extract; rhubarb extract; cinchona extract; aloe barbadensis extract; p-phenylenediamine; 2 aminophenol 4 sulfonic acid; resorcinol; peg-75 meadowfoam oil; echinacea angustifolia extract; betula alba leaf extract; hamamelis virginiana extract; sodium hydrosulfite; sodium ascorbate; tetrasodium EDTA; cetrimonium chloride; 2,4 diaminophenoxyethanol.
Glycol Developer Ingredients: aqua/water; hydrogen peroxide; eitdronic acid; cetrimonium chloride.

 

[Aviah]

I've used Herbatint in black and over time it turned a dirty reddish brown, as it rinsed out. For a "natural" hair dye it has p-phenylenediamine, which can be very toxic and causes some to have allergic reactions. It does state that it has peroxide, but presumably less than other commercial dyes. It has some good natural aspects like aloe, and plan extracts, but I think its not as "natural" as possible.

 

[ronalisa]

The hair-dye color definitely fades. I'm actually wondering if I darken my color overall and just get some streaks in the front instead if that will be healthier than my light color all over. Though I'm being cautious I don't want to do too much.