Is there a safe, non-chemical way to cover grays?

[Diya]

Hi Ladies

My mom recently suffered some major damage to her hair from trying to self-relax and self-dye. She's been doing this for years, and her hair is very resilient but the damage finally caught up to her and some sections of her hair broke off in clumps . She has decided to give up relaxers and transition to natural, but she is not yet ready to "embrace" her gray and is going to continue to dye her hair no matter what I try to tell her. I think she currently uses some semi-permanent black dye from L'oreal, but I want to recommend to her something milder, more safe and perhaps even all-natural that will help her keep her shiny black hair without all the chemical damage. I would appreciate any recommendations you all have! Thanks in advance

 

[mscocoface]

Henna it will give you a coloring not a complete covering.

If you do Henna/Indigo after one or two coverings you will have black hair.

Here is a website that discusses it.

http://www.hennaforhair.com

http://www.hennaforhair.com/indigo/index.html

 

[Diya]

Henna it will give you a coloring not a complete covering.

If you do Henna/Indigo after one or two coverings you will have black hair.

Here is a website that discusses it.

http://www.hennaforhair.com

http://www.hennaforhair.com/indigo/index.html

Thanks mscocoface... This is an option I'll tell her about, but I know there's a lot of work and research necessary for henna applications. Heck, I've been reading the henna threads for months and I still feel like I wouldn't know what to do!

 

[Lucky's Mom]

I have done alot of reseach too - and that - is the pretty much the only way. It is good for your hair to boot!

 

[Energist]

Henna and Bigen

 

[Caramela]

I would recommend Bigen. You mix it with water ( but I mix mine with water and conditioner.

 

[Diya]

Henna and Bigen

I would recommend Bigen. You mix it with water ( but I mix mine with water and conditioner.

I've heard about Bigen, but I have no idea what it's like. Is it a natural product like henna? Where can I purchase it?


Thanks for the recommendations, ladies!! Please keep them coming!

 

[vlucious]

you can try the cinnamon treatment, using cinnamon to gradually lighten hair. (link in fotki) i like it cause you can gauge how light/dark/red your hair becomes. and its not too messy.

 

[Duchesse]

I've used Bigen for many months on my unrelenting old lady patch, I think the color is "Warm Chestnut", the black color comes out too dark, but the chestnut covers the grays nicely.

I've been using henna on my entire head now, so I have some nice bright orange streaks going on now that I'm too lazy to worry about. Definitely if you go the henna route, add indigo to it.

 

[Diya]

Thanks vlucious and duchesse... I will look into both the cinnamon treatment and Bigen for my mom Both sound promising...