A fellow Long Hair Community member, has always taken a lot of her time out to prepare articles, and information for us. She has really gorgeous hair, and has been using henna, and herbs on her hair for many years now.

She also makes her own hair sticks, and a few other great hair goodies on her Etsy Store: Nightblooming.

Here are a few excerpts from an article she wrote on Herbal Hair Coloring.

Different Methods

There are several different methods to go about enhancing your color subtly. Some recipes go more into detail or have variations, but here are some of the main staples and their basic instructions. It should be noted that heat will always help dye update. Heat helps lift the scales on the hair, allowing the dye to penetrate better giving a better and longer lasting color. Only use gentle heat, such as warm towels wrapped around the head while the dye is sitting on the hair.

Rinses– A rinse is generally the weakest form of hair coloring. Usually this requires making an infusion of an herb or other natural dye and pouring it through the hair multiple times. To make a rinse, place ¼ c of your desired herb in a cup or bowl and add 2 cups of boiling water. Cover and allow to cool. To make a slightly stronger rinse, take ¼ c of herbs and simmer in a quart (4 cups) of water. To aid in dye fixation add up to ¼ salt. This will increase color absorption. (Translation: if you want darker colors, use more salt and increase the quantity of herbs -for pastels, use less salt and less dye). The longer you simmer, the stronger the dye; simmer at least 30 mins. For even stronger color, remove from heat and cover and allow the mix to sit overnight. Regardless of the method of infusion, allow the mixture to cool. Strain out the herbs. You will need 1 large bowl and a cup to apply. Standing in the shower, place the large bowl on the floor and kneel over it. Pour the rinse through your hair, catching the rinse in the bowl. Transfer the rinse to the cup, and then pour back through your hair into the bowl. Repeat at least 15 times. You may delay rinsing until later to help the dye set. Rinses need to be done daily until the desired color is achieved, and then once weekly to maintain. Note: Some people may fine coffee or some tea rinses drying on their hair. Follow up with a deep conditioning treatment as the effect is temporary. Herbal teas (those made from flowers, such as chamomile) tend to be less drying).

Color-Enhancing SMT– This is based on snowymoon’s deep conditioning treatment with a subtle color twist. Take 1 part of your favorite conditioner, ¼ part honey (or molasses for dark hair), and ¼ part alcohol-free clear aloe vera gel. Now add 2 TB of your favorite color-enhancing herb or powder. Place in a cup and warm in microwave for 10 to 15 seconds–just until warm. Add more conditioner until you achieve the right consistency. Wash hair and squeeze out excess, blot dry, leave in under heat cap, warm towels or shower cap, etc, for an hour or so. Rinse well.

Glosses– A gloss is similar to a color enhancing SMT, with the focus on color more than conditioning. To make a gloss take 2-3 TB of your desired herb (powdered seems to work best) and add them to a cup of cone-free conditioner, or plain, unsweetened yogurt. Mix the into a smooth paste and let this stand until you see dye release (or a day or so if you don’t). Putting it someplace warm to sit (like on top of your computer tower) will aid in dye release. Note: this works better with conditioner as yogurt tends to go really sour. Apply to dry or damp hair, wrap in plastic wrap, and leave on for as long as you wish. Rinse using only conditioner. As with other methods this may require several times to build up to the desired color.

Mud Treatments– These are herbs (such as henna, indigo, and walnut) that are mixed with a liquid to make a mud which is applied to the hair. This method requires the hair to be wrapped in saran wrap or contained under a shower cap as the dye ceases to be effective if it dries out. More effective and potent than other methods, but often must be left on longer.

To rinse mud treatments: Get some cheap cone free conditioner (I use V05 White Tea Therapy). Get in the shower, blast off your hair a little, then keep your hair out of the water and work in handfuls of conditioner. I go through a full bottle if it’s a little bottle, and half of one of the 33% MORE FREE! bottles. Just work the conditioner in. You’ll need lots. As you work the conditioner in start gently detangling from the ends up, adding more conditioner. Only when you can get your fingers mostly through it should you rinse. This does a few things: 1) you get a CO cleansing treatment as this is going to take you at least 20 mins to work into your hair before rinsing. 2) detangling helps the cassia mud rinse free easier, diminishing rinsing time overall. I cut my rinsing time in half with this method. Just be patient.

Purchased boxed herbs and natural dyes– There are many places where the work of mixing can be done for you. There is a list of these at the end of this document.

Getting the Color to Last

When dying fabric with natural dyes, often mordents are used. Mordents prepare the fibers and help them to absorb the dye better. It is possible to dye without using mordents – a few plants such as indigo and henna do not need mordents, but using mordents will generally give much better, brighter and more permanent colors. This is part of why these herbal rinses often need to be updated rather than becoming permanent. The good news is that it is easier to dye animal fibers than plant fibers, as animal fibers tend to have more sites to which pigment can attach. Many different chemicals can be used as mordents, most of which are very poisonous, which obviously complicates things for hair. Generally, fibers are prepared for dying by soaking them in a mordent. The most common mordents are alum, copper sulfate, potassium dichromate, ferrous sulphate and tannin. Though effective for dying fabric, they are NOT recommended for hair because of potential reactions to previous and later chemical dye treatments. Tannin, however, IS a natural mordent and is found in some plants. Both tea and catnip contain natural tannins, but can become astringent if brewed too strong. Adding a plant with natural tannins to your mix may help your color stay longer. Tannin powder can also be bought, but should be used in very small quantities (2 tb in 5 liters of water).

Dye fixatives are used after dying the hair. The instructions for using color fixatives on fabric says to add the dyed fabric to the fixative and let simmer for an hour. Obviously you can’t simmer your hair, but you can make the fixatives and pour them through your hair. These may be drying, and you should follow up with a deep conditioning treatment after you are done dying.

Plant Fixatives– (for plant dyes) 4 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar. After dying consider doing a rinse with more vinegar fixative to keep the dye from bleeding. Consider adding tea or catnip to this for natural tannins.

So for instance if you were doing a color-enhancing rinse you would try to rinse or soak your hair in tea or catnip tea for awhile, rinse, apply the dye, rinse, and follow with a diluted vinegar rinse to help set the color.

Shampoos and Conditioners– There some products such as Jason Natural’s Color Sealing Conditioner that may help natural dyes last longer. It uses cones to accomplish this, but also has many natural ingredients. Their Color Enhancing Shampoo may help extend the time between dying sessions. Note that the ingredients DO contain synthetic dyes as well as natural ones, but there is no ammonia or peroxide.