I'm currently growing out my hair to donate, but as soon as I chop my mop off, I'm planning on dying what's left of it for the first time. I've always known processed dyes are bad, so I'm definitely going with henna! :-)

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I found so much more freedom in just letting my natural silver come in! No worries about bad reactions or bad color!

I had no idea that so many other women felt the same as I did about ditching the dye all together until I found the website http://www.goinggraylookinggreat.com

This is a fantastic world-wide community (growing daily) committed to being the best color (yes, gray is a color!) they can be.

Have a look, it's completely informative & great fun!

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This article is dated but I would like to add my two cents. After a really bad reaction to PPD I researched and found a company online actbynature.com that creates this wonderful plant based hair color. It binds to the hair even gray adds volume and causes no reaction whatsoever. Gently washes away over time. I would advise anyone to give their product a try.

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A few tips from a happy henna user: Mix your body art quality henna with 50-50 lemon juice and distilled water or black tea; "cook" it in a warm place for at least 4 hours, preferably 8. You can add in a few drops of natural perfume oil to overcome the "hay" smell of the henna. Always start with clean hair. Strand test to make sure you like the color.
Before the plastic wrap goes on, I add a line of vaseline at the hairline, covered with hairdressers' paper to counteract leakage. I leave it on for 8 hours, with plastic wrap, a shower cap and a towel covering it. My hair is over 2 feet long, and takes a few showers to rinse clear. (no shampoo) I have a crown of dye-resistant silver hair, and it comes out a beautiful shade of red.
I also color my partner's dark brown hair. After henna has "cooked" for 6 hours, I mix some of it 40-60 with natural indigo dye, indigo being the larger amount. For lighter brown shades, increase henna, decrease indigo. For raven black hair, you do the henna first, rinse out after 2 hours, then apply indigo, leave on for 2 hours and rinse out.
These natural dyes are permanent and do not fade. Root touch up is necessary periodically. I can't emphasize strand testing enough, to be sure you're going to be happy with the final color. If you really don't like your henna color, you can dye over it, if you used body art quality henna. You can't dye over indigo at all; you just have to wait for it to grow out and cut it.
Happy dying!

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I have been going gray for many years and, after a bout of psoriasis, I did a good deal of research on natural hair dye. I think the best option is Atlantis Watercolours. Go here to find out about it and buy it online:

http://www.vitadelight.com.au/store/p115/Watercolour_Natural_Hair_Dye_-_No_ammonia,_no_mercury,_no_smell/product_info.html

If you live in Sydney, you can go to an organic hair salon where they use this product:

http://www.atlantishair.com/v6/ah/pages/products_faqs.htm

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Just a reminder - Henna only comes in Red. "Neutral Henna" is a misnomer - it is actually Cassia and does give similar conditioning without the color - but by calling it Henna it causes confusion.

Likewise for products from Lush if they promise a range of shades in something other than red/auburn - something has been added or it is something other than Henna if there is no red involved.

Go to www.hennaforhair.com for a through tutorial on henna and real life examples of results with Cassia, Henna and Indigo natural hair dyes.

Just remember - real henna is RED.

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Great article.I bleach my roots,then I process my hair with neutral henna.It takes 2 washings to remove all the grit from my hair (and btw I leave henna on inside a shower cap for 4 or more hours),....then I process my hair with avegetable-based semipermanent dye in a purple shade.The henna thickens the hair and lets the dye grab well and last longer.I have had purple in my hair for 20 years.

If anyone wants to get rid of grey hairs that stick through their dye...just prelighten the grey hairs with hair bleach...thats how I dye my mom's hair.Sure it takes longer but the results are worth it.

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I have been using henna for a long time and find the color to be more natural with variations you don't get with regular hair dye. It also thickens and conditions. If you want red hair or highlights it's the only way to go.

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Do natural hair dyes work? No, not very well and not at all on gray. After many years of working with henna, I can personally testify it only tints gray hair an annoying shade. Some women look good with gray sprinkled throughout their hair, I'm not one of them. The best compromise I can come up with is to use Revlon, a company that doesn't test on animals.

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I have been using natural henna for years. I buy them in bulk from Indian grocery stores and add natural dyes to it if I don't want orange/brown. Use strong tea instead of water to make the paste and you'll get a lush dark auburn brown. My Indian friends also use eggplant skin "tea" for a beautiful purple hue, and beet juice for red tint. My gray hair will acquire a nice deep tint, which looks more like hightlighting in my hair ;-)
Yes, henna is messy and time consuming. Make the paste thicker and there'll be less "leakage" down your face/neck. I use a plastic bag to wrap around my hair and secure it with a clotheline clip.
The longer you leave it on, the better the result. I leave it on for FOUR hours! Make sure you use gloves so your fingernails won't get tinted too. Have a wet rag handy to wipe off any leakage down your face. Wear dark color clothing! Rinse with hot water, as hot as you can stand it. Wait a few days before using shampoo tp let the color set.
The result is lusciously soft hair since henna is a great conditioner too.

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