Natural hair dye – more than just a pretty colour

We know the skin absorbs a significant amount of what you put on it so when it comes to hair dye,  it makes sense to reduce the amount of harsh and potentially harmful chemicals you expose your skin to.  Natural hair dye producer Love My Hair already has their 100% Herbal range of 6 colours and now they have launched an additional new Ultra Low Chemical range.

There are 5 gorgeous rich shades – black, dark brown, brown, honey brown and mahogany all of which provide permanent colour and give complete grey coverage in one application without lightening hair.  And the application time is shorter than the 100% Herbal range at 30-50 minutes.

The Ultra Low range is the perfect product for those who are not allergic to the chemicals in hair dye, but who nevertheless want to reduce their exposure to these chemicals.  To put this into perspective, when the powder is correctly diluted with water, the entire chemical load is extremely low at a maximum of just 2% of the total! In a comparative natural hair dye, just the PPD comprises from between 0.8% to 2.1% excluding the other chemical ingredients. And current EU legislation allows for PPD to comprise up to 6% of the constituents of dye.

Love My Hair Ultra Low contains henna, PPD (para-phenylenediamine), barium peroxide, para amino phenol, rose petal powder, amla, bhringraj, shikakai, citric acid, sodium laurel sulphate and sodium sulphate. It does not contain any ammonia or resorcinol.

All the herbal ingredients are grown organically and Love My Hair has the certification from the supplier that this is the case. However, because they are not certified by an international organization such as Ecocert, according to the Cosmetics Federation of South Africa LOVE MY HAIR is not able to advertise them as organic.

Both ranges are approved by Beauty Without Cruelty which means neither the ingredients nor the final products have been tested on animals, and are completely vegan.

Both ranges contain herbs that have been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine. These herbs are reputed to improve the condition of the hair and scalp, encouraging hair growth and eliminating itchiness and dandruff problems.

The herbs are also good for the body as a whole (see here for information on each herb) and as they’re absorbed through the scalp they are not just colouring hair but are also benefitting the whole body!

I’ve used Love My Hair herbal hair colour before and was very happy with it, so I had to try their new Ultra Low range as soon as it launched. I don’t have an allergic reaction to hair colour chemicals but I really don’t want to add to the chemical load on my body if I can possibly help it.   I chose dark brown  as closest to my natural hair colour (before the grey started, that is!) and I was really impressed with the coverage.  Unlike the all-herbal colour which tended to make the grey a shade lighter with slightly red tints,  the Ultra Low cover was excellent and complete, providing an even yet natural looking shade throughout. An added bonus is that the time needed to leave the colour on is considerably shorter at between 30 and 50 minutes.  I left the dye on for exactly 35 minutes and the colour was deep and rich.

I particularly love the fact that by using Love My Hair I’m not just colouring my hair, but also nurturing and improving the health of my hair.

Nina, Cape Town