I needed to dye my hair, but after a bad allergic reaction to a hair dye I was scared to try it again. I had to do something. I’d been dying my hair a very dark color for years. It was a deep brown that almost looked black. I hadn’t dyed my hair in a long time and when the dye began washing out and growing out of my hair, I ended with multi-colored hair. It looked crazy! It was a dark brown/black on the ends. A little closer to my scalp it was a strikingly lighter shade of brown. The roots and along the front were a stark silver-gray with hints of dark blond. Try to picture that. It was very odd and unsightly. What I needed was a natural dye that was free of harsh chemicals.
Companies sometimes claim that a hair dye is “natural” when it really isn’t. Many dyes, especially the darker colors, contain coal tar, which have been known to cause cancer. Others contain chemicals such as resorcinol, phenylenediamine and triethanolamine, which have caused severe allergic reactions in some people.
I looked online in search of a natural hair dye. I saw some dyes that claimed to be natural, only to find out that they still contained harmful and hair-damaging chemicals and known carcinogens. I read about henna dyes and vegetable dyes and read horror stories about people ending up with green hair and orange hair and all kinds of wild colors. Some of the Henna dyes had instructions that made no sense. It seemed like you had to dye your hair one color first and then dye it another color to get an almost black shade. That sounded like way too much work and a little unpredictable.
I finally took a trip to my local health food store and found a product called Rainbow Henna 100% Botanical Hair Color & Conditioner. The color I selected was Persian Black (Deep Ebony). It came in a 4-ounce jar and cost about $7.00.
When I got home I read a few reviews of Rainbow Henna. Some people said that it did not work for them, while others said it worked just fine. The biggest complaint was that it is very messy to use and the residue it leaves on your hair is very difficult to wash out. That part is true. It is definitely messy to use and it was hard to wash out the residue, but it worked fine for me.
Rainbow Henna dyed my hair exactly as I wanted it, which was an almost black shade of brown. It even colored the dark blond and silver-gray parts. The color was uniform all over, but a few strands that had been dark blond or silver-gray were just a tad bit lighter than the other parts, but I liked the effect. It blended in perfectly and looked very natural with subtle highlights. My hair was left in great condition afterward. There were no fumes or burning of the scalp during the process. Yes, it was very messy, but it worked.
I am black with somewhat course hair and it took to my hair just fine and did exactly what it was supposed to do. Maybe some people did not read the instructions, do the process accurately or follow all the hints, tips and suggestions that are provided. The instructions are very detailed and offer many options. Maybe Henna just doesn’t adhere to certain hair textures or perhaps the people who said it didn’t work, had a build-up of other products on their hair such as gel that stopped the action of the Henna.
Henna dyes are supposedly natural and made from flowers. I went to the website for the company that makes Rainbow Henna and here is what they claim:
“Rainbow Henna has no additives, chemicals, or pesticides. Rainbow Henna coats each hair shaft with color. Blends naturally. Fades gradually. Lasts 4-6 weeks. Smooths and seals the hair’s cuticle for greater shine and body. Our custom-tailored recipes can be used for special effects, covering grey, and improving texture.”
They also clearly point out that “Henna has no lightening action”, which means that it cannot lift color from the hair. The ingredients are Lawsonia Inermis (Red Henna), Indigofereae (Black Henna).
The instructions that came with the Rainbow Henna stated that “Rainbow Henna is 100% organic – no additives, chemicals, or pesticides.” Of course companies can say anything. Many companies make false claims to sell products or they call something “natural” when it’s not. I decided to go for it!
Any procedure involving the hair should be done by a professional beautician or stylist who is licensed. This article is just for informational purposes only and provides a description of the process that I used and the results I achieved. Always remember to protect your eyes and skin when doing any hair process. Always read all instructions that come with the product and heed all interactions, precautions and warning.
Here is how I used Rainbow Henna to dye my hair a deep brown/black and yes, I got pretty good gray coverage.
1) I washed and conditioned my hair first. The instructions say that hair must be very clean and the Henna can be applied to wet or dry hair. My hair was wet when I applied it.
2) I applied Vaseline around my hairline, my ears and the back of my neck to protect my skin and avoid staining.
3) I mixed the Henna as the instructions stated, but instead of using boiling water I used boiling brewed black coffee, which they suggested for dark coloring. Obviously, you have to make sure the mixture is cooled off before applying it. If it’s too thick you can add more liquid. The instructions say that you can also add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the mixture to help the color adhere to gray hair better. I did not use apple cider vinegar for my process.
4) I put on rubber/plastic gloves and then began the process. I parted my hair into sections and used the back of a plastic comb to apply the henna, coating each section from root to end. I continued until all hair was thickly coated. And yes, it was very messy but I did it my basement, so I wasn’t too worried about the mess. If you don’t have a basement with a sink and have to do it in your bathroom and kitchen, make sure you protect areas that the product could stain.
5) Once my hair was completely coated, I removed any excess dye from my skin at the hairline, neckline and ear area, using a cotton ball with a little baby oil and water on it; not saturated but damp. I then got a long piece of plastic wrap (the kind you buy in a grocery store) and wrapped it all around my hair, completely covering it. If you have an old plastic shower cap or one of these cheap, disposable, plastic shower caps, that’ll work.
6) The instructions say that best results can be achieved by applying heat with a blow-dryer or sitting under a hair-dryer. You can also just leave the Henna on your hair for a longer amount of time without applying heat. I only had a blow-dryer, so I sat there for about five minutes and applied heat with the Henna in my hair and the plastic still on my head. It got annoying, so I just walked around with dye in my hair for about 35 minutes and then blow-dried it again for another 5 minutes or so. All-in-all, the Henna was on my hair for about 45 minutes.
7) I was ready to shampoo the Henna out of my hair and took off the plastic wrap. It was really messy. I rinsed with lukewarm water and was having a hard time getting it out. I had to work my fingers through my hair as I rinsed. I washed my hair with mild color-safe shampoo but there was still a little residue. The instructions suggest that you can use warm mineral oil to the hair to help remove any additional resident. I didn’t have any mineral oil, so I used warm extra virgin olive oil and a little conditioner. That got it all out and was probably good for conditioning my hair.
I was done and styled my hair as usual. That’s it. My hair was the color I wanted and it looked shiny and conditioned. I am happy with Rainbow Henna and will use it again in the future.
