How to colour your hair, minus the fumes

From DIY formulas to professional salon treatments, environmentally-friendly hair-colouring is becoming more and more popular in the beauty world.

It’s not hard to guess why. Along with being free from ingredients such as ammonia, parabens, silicones, mineral oils and fragrances, these alternative colourants care for your hair with the help of nourishing natural ingredients.

The bottom line? You don’t have to compromise on great colour or healthy hair. In fact, you can have the best of both worlds…

Store-bought formulas:

There are many natural hair-colouring kits on the market, making it easy to get gorgeous, vibrant hues at home. As well as providing less toxic hair colour, many of these formulas contain au naturel nourishing goodies – think soya extract and meadowfoam seed oil – to boost your hair health and protect your scalp.

beautyheaven recommends: NaturStyle Permanent Hair Colourant, Nourish Naturals NatureColour, Tints of Nature Highlighting Kit ($33, tintsofnature.com.au), Desert Shadow Organic Hair Colour ($24.95, biome.com.au).

In-salon colouring:

Prefer to leave your hair colour to the professionals? No worries. Many Australian hair salons are offering natural hair colouring options, with stylists specialising in using environmentally-friendly hair treatments and colours.

If you opt to have your hair professionally coloured, be sure to ask about the products and ingredients before booking your appointment (and research the credentials of the brands the salon uses).

Homemade natural formulas:

This one’s for DIY lovers: if you want to mix your own hair colouring formula from scratch, it can be done – within reason. Turning your dark brown tresses platinum blonde is a little unrealistic, but dry henna powder, black walnut powder, coffee and black tea can all be used to dye hair darker. The best part? The formula can be tailored to suit your preference, and applied every day until a desired shade is reached!

AFTER-CARE TIPS

Although natural hair colouring products are typically gentler on locks, it’s still important to give your strands some extra TLC after colouring. Our favourite multitasker, coconut oil, can be used as an excellent natural hair mask to help minimise dryness and other signs of colour damage. Alternatively, try these natural hair care products: