Are you looking for gentle hair dye methods? After all, while permanent hair dye is great for long lasting deep color, it can be tough on you and your locs. However, with more gentle hair dyes you can still get some color. As with everything, there are pros and cons with these methods. Some gentle dyes are more conditioning, yet don’t leave as deep of a color while others leave a vibrant color yet can cause buildup. It goes without saying as well, the lasting power of the color of these isn’t as long as permanent dyes.
Henna
Henna hair dye comes from a flowering plant called lawsonia inermis. This plant not only helps dye hair but also conditions it. You’ll get a red to burgundy tint pending on the starting color of your hair and how many times you dye it. The more melanin (darker hair color) the less prominent the color will be. However, if you continuing dyeing your locs with henna, it’ll help the color stick more.
Indigo
Using indigo is a natural and gentle way to dye your hair black. Indigo is a plant that when crushed and fermented is used for all types of dyes. This includes the dye used to get your denim jeans blue! Don’t worry though, when applied to your hair, you’ll get a dark brown/black color.
In order to get a good black dye in your locs, you should combine natural henna along with indigo. If you have grey or blonde hair you’ll want to dye your locs in a two step process (henna first, then indigo) in order to have the color stick.
Hair Wax Products
Using hair wax dye is a gentler way to dye your locs. Moreover, the color tends to be vibrant. In fact, hair wax dye will probably get you the most vibrant color if you have naturally dark hair that doesn’t have bleach in it. However, you do have to worry about buildup with this method. Thus, I would try to avoid it or follow up with a clarifying shampoo.
Typically, hair wax dyes are made of hair pigment dye and wax, which can make it difficult to get the product out of your locs. If you look at this video from digital loctician, you’ll see the difficulty of getting hair wax dyes out of your locs even with multiple washes.
Hair Chalk Pastels
Hair chalk is a cheap way to get color into your locs. What I like about this method is that the ingredients that go into it are pretty simple/standard too:
- bentonite
- calcium carbonate
- mica
- pigment
In fact, there isn’t much difference between regular chalk pastels and hair chalk pastels. When buying hair chalk, they may come with a comb attachment to make it easier to apply. But, you can just use regular chalk pastels if you’d like. To apply, put on some gloves (because this method is messy!), wet your hair, and run the pastel stick up and down your locs till the color applies. Some locers will apply hair spray or gel afterwards to help have the color stick more. Har chalk pastels will wash out after a day.
Gentle Semi Permanent Hair Dyes
Semi permanent dyes are often referred to as conditioner or masque dyes. Overall, they work by coating the hair with pigment. The difficulty here is that if your hair color is much darker, you won’t get vibrant colors. However, the benefit is that you don’t have to use bleach/other harmful ingredients associated with permanent hair dyeing techniques. There are a couple options out there for brown hair such as overtone or aura.
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There are pros and cons for non-permanent hair dye techniques. If you’re looking for vibrant color, then a hair wax dye or chalk pastels will be your best bet. However, if you are more concerned about the health of your locs/buildup then indigo or henna is what you want. Lastly, if your starting shade is lighter, then you can get a variety of hair colors with semi permanent dyes.
