Homemade Organic Hair Dyes

Written by: Laura Jean Karr • Edited by: Laurie Patsalides
Updated May 24, 2011 • Related Guides: Hair

There are chemical free and organic ways to change the color of your hair. Over a gradual period of time you can achieve your desired color and retain the ability to control the intensity of the shade.

Natural Hair Coloring

Essentially, there is no completely organic hair dye on the market today. In order for the hair shaft to make a dramatic change in color, it needs to be chemically treated with oxidative dyes and a hydrogen peroxide developer. Now, there are commercial hair dyes that are ammonia free and that add essential oils to their compounds but they are not organic. Currently, the only way to make a quick dramatic change organically is by using Henna. You can read more on using Henna as a dye in Henna Hair by Harriette Halepis.

Home Made Hair Dyes

There are homemade and organic options to dyeing your hair. From natural spices and plant extracts you can make a change to your hair shaft and create a new color but the process is not an automatic one. Depending on the chemical state of your hair now and how dramatic a change you want to make, the organic dyeing process for your hair can take days, weeks or months to accomplish. Having a certain level of commitment and patience is a bonus when trying to dye your hair in an organic way based from home.

Lighteners

The following are ways to lighten your hair organically. Keep in mind that if you are starting off with very dark hair that the process of changing shades will take a bit longer.

Mix 1 cup organic lemon juice and 3 cups Chamomile tea. Message into your hair and spend some time in the sun. Far faster results repeat a few times a week.
Mix up mashed organic Rhubarb with 4oz organic pineapple juice. Let the mixture soak into your hair and spend some time in the sun.
Mix 3/4 cup honey with 1 1/2 cups organic plain yogurt to damp hair. Massage into your hair and wrap head in saran wrap. Let sit for up to eight hours and rinse.
Mix 4 tablespoons Cinnamon with 8oz yogurt. Message into hair and let it soak in for 30 minutes.

Keep reading if you want to go darker or try red tints!

Red Tints

If you want to add a reddish tint to your hair or bring out your natural red highlights, you can try the following organic ways to go red:

Mix 1/2 cup organic Beet juice and 1/2 cup carrot juice. Message into hair and let sit for one hour.
Boil 1 cup Rosehips in 2 cups of water. Strain and massage into hair. Can be left in until next shampoo.
Boil 3 Hibiscus tea bags down in 2 cups of water until you have 1 to 1/2 cup of liquid. Massage into hair. This can also be left in until your next shampoo.
Boil down 1/3 cup crushed marigold flowers in 2 cups water. Strain and add 1 cup of red wine. Massage into hair and leave in for 30 minuets.

Darkeners

To darken your hair and enhance the shine for creating low-lights, you can try the following organic ways to get darker:

Boil down 1/2 cup of dry organic Sage in 2 cups of water. Strain and massage into your hair. Leave in for 40 minuets and rinse.
Boil down 1/3 cup walnut shells, 3 black tea bags in 2 1/2 cups of water. Strain and massage into hair. Leave in until next shampoo.
Steep a strong tea from black tea leaves and cherry bark. Let steep until the color is as dark as it can get. Massage into clean hair and leave in until next shampoo.
Brew some coffee. Leave it black and allow it to cool. Massage into hair and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse hair with warm water.

All of the above organic ways will color your hair in gradual intervals. The hair shaft color won't change completely in one application but the benefits to coloring your hair in an organic way will leave both you and your hair in a healthy and chemical free state.

Organic Shampoo & Conditioner

Want to go organic on all your hair products? Try out these recipes for making your own shampoos and conditioners.

Emily Jan 1, 2012 5:37 PM

RE: Homemade Organic Hair Dyes

i have brown hair and i want either realy dark brown or black which ever one i can get which works best to darken hair

COH Nov 8, 2011 8:10 PM

Hello people, <br> I am a med brown and I want dirty blonde highlites. I need a recipe that would make this happen in a week can you help??? :(

Sugarfox Aug 23, 2011 1:55 PM

Cinnamon

I tried the Cinnamon thing and i got these really pretty red highlights. My friend tried and nothing happened. Were trying to figure out what she did wrong

kellie Mar 23, 2011 3:48 PM

black<3

i like my black under shadow!!! its so cool lol all of the girls should get one!!!

lynn Mar 17, 2011 10:56 PM

blonde to black ish

i have dirty blonde hair and i got some blonder highlights in my hair proffesionaly in the beginning of the school year, i would like to dye a couple of pieces of my hair black... how would i do that without buying hair dye? and would that stain my hair since it has highlights init?

dessi Feb 12, 2011 12:45 PM

though its not that organic i used bleach and shampoo to dye my extentions that i made ... make shure its not attached on ur head when u do it though ask for more instructions

Molly On Money Jan 23, 2011 11:40 AM

Hair darken

I did the beet and carrot juice thing and it did nothing. I have dark hair and was hoping to get a reddish tint and some coverage of my gray. No such luck:(

naz Jan 13, 2011 3:12 PM

using cinnamon

dear laura i tried cinnamon and yoghurt mixtture on my head and it really gives nice shades under lightespecially..because of my white hairs and dark hair i used loreal excellence cream first and now i want to ask if i can use that above any lightener mixture for my hair...and is it ok if i use stick cinnamon and soak in water and use just cinnamoun juice...

ritz Dec 5, 2010 10:54 AM

Can darkeners be used with regular dyes

Hi, I am 37 yrs old, have brown hair and use hair color to cover the greys, specially in the roots. While I wait for the darkeners to take effect over time, will use of the regular commercial dyes come in the way of the natural dyeing process?

ritz Dec 5, 2010 10:50 AM

leave-in darkeners

When you say leave in the darkeners till next shampoo, can that be upto 2-3 days also? And will this make hair sticky or difficult to comb through when the mixture dries on the hair?

Jasmeen Nov 21, 2010 1:07 PM

Make your own organic hair die

I want to achieve a ashy black or brown hair since i have black hair its not dark black its in between dark brown and black, would the lighting methods create a ashy tone?

BLD<33 Nov 21, 2010 8:40 AM

Thanks

Thank you, i will try doing that and if later on if that doesnt work then i wil have a talk with my parents! But GREAT job anyways! Hope everything turns out alright for everyone!

Verenice Nov 15, 2010 4:59 PM

HAIR EXTENSIONS

HII IM Verenice and I bougth hair extensions their kinda darker than my real hair and those this work whit hair extensions to???

Laura Jean Karr Nov 8, 2010 5:25 PM

Respone for Maddy & BLD

Maddy, I am glad that these tips worked out for you :)

BLD, You could do it without the yogurt and just use lemon juice. The lemon juice on it's own will take longer to lighten the hair.

Also, BLD I cannot help you convince your parents to let you get highlights. Having chemical processes done to the hair while still as young as you are can harm the scalp. My best advice is to sit your parents down and talk with them about the subject. Remember, they've been through your age period and they have their own reasons for saying no. Plus chances are, they already know what are you doing if you've already worked on lighting your hair.

BLD<33 Nov 7, 2010 7:45 PM

Dirty Blonde

Hey,
Well I have dirty blonde hair and i have been trying the lemon juice and it didnt work. is there any way that i could do with out yogurt in it? plus im 13 and how do i convince my parents to let me get highlights? i have been secretly doing this stuff to my own hair! hahahahahaha but seriously!!??

maddy Oct 6, 2010 2:33 AM

Lighter hair

these tips were great and they actually worked thanks heaps

Laura Jean Karr Aug 4, 2010 2:36 PM

Answer to PrettyHair

Yes, you do have to rinse the hair after the 30 mins. Also, it depends on how dark your hair is.

If you hair is super dark then you will have to repeat the process quite a bit depending on how light you want your hair to get BUT I would try it and then do it again in a few days, I would not do it more than once on a single day.

Yogurt brand doesn't matter but I would stick with the plain yogurt, not flavored or fruity.

prettyhair Aug 3, 2010 4:58 PM

lighting

so i was thinking about trying the 4th tip for lighting hair. i juat have a few questions!
1. do you rinse after the 30 mins is up??
2. how much lightier will this make your hair and do i have to do it more than once for it to go lighiter?
3. is there a certain kind of yogurt that wokr better?

Kathy Tedone Apr 16, 2010 2:45 PM

Hi Laura,

Any suggestions for premature grey. I'm 32 going prematurely grey due to extended b-12 deficiency and I'm tired of chemically dying my hair. Do you know if any of these stategies will help change the texture of the hair?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.... :)

Good work!

Laura Jean Karr Mar 5, 2010 10:50 PM

Light Brown Ash

Daffadill,

The color that you end up with when home coloring, depends on the color that you start with naturally. If your hair is a darker brown shade, you can try the lighteners listed in the article. The lighteners will give a gradual lighting effect and won't be instant.

If you tried going light several times and are not getting the desired result, my suggestion is that you may want to visit an organic salon to get the extra help needed to reach a Light Brown Ash color.

Laura

Daffadill Mar 5, 2010 6:27 PM

How do I make/purchase I true Light Brown Ash hair dye? All purchased boxed/formulated myself or professional done hair color, appears light brown ash on the color swatch but processed on hair is reddish. Unless I dye deeps brunette, I cannot process the light brown ash. What do I do?
Thank you,,,,Too red for me dye girl!