Everyone is loving wholesome hair colours nowadays. Many clients walk into salons requesting either organic, natural or vegan formulas. Yet, understanding these terms and finding the perfect products can be challenging. We're here to make the process a little easier.
While vegan hair dye is easy to grasp, organic hair dye is more complicated. These products are also known as non-toxic hair dye or natural hair dye.
Let's dive into the facts about organic hair dye and vegan hair dye in the article below.
Organic Hair Dye vs. Non-Toxic Hair Dye vs. Natural Hair Dye
If you are confused by labels on hair colouring products, we don’t blame you. We are not all chemists. It is difficult to choose a hair colour that will be the most gentle to your scalp based on the label alone. Let us make it simpler by clarifying the differences:
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Natural Hair Dye: Only henna plant and indigo dyes are completely natural. However, henna does have downsides — you can only achieve dark brown, brown or reddish hues. You cannot go lighter once applied and grey hair coverage is poor. It also takes time for hair to grow out in order to change it safely.
- Non-Toxic Hair Dye: Once again, henna is the least toxic option. You can try using self-made hair dyes, but you won’t achieve salon-quality results, only a temporary refreshment. Finding 100% non-toxic dye is impossible to produce unless you use toners.
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Ammonia-Free Hair Dye: Ammonia-free colours are considered less toxic, although not completely harmless. They won’t damage the cuticle as much because they have an oil-based colouring formula that protects hair proteins. As a result, the hair remains softer and shinier after colouring. If you have a sensitive scalp, ammonia-free colours can help you get a bright hair colour.
- Semi-Permanent and Demi-Permanent Hair Dyes: Semi and demi-permanent hair colours can either have fewer chemicals, a smaller amount of the same chemicals used in permanent colours or freedom from “notorious” ingredients. The main purpose of semi- and demi-colours is to shorten the lifespan of hair color. They remain fresh and vibrant on your hair, but will not necessarily come under the label of natural or organic hair dyes. Keep that in mind when choosing what colour is best for you.
Remember that not all chemicals are “unsafe”. If your hair dye is made with innovative research techniques and many natural organic ingredients, you can enjoy beautiful colours without obsessively worrying about harm. For example, there are prevalent myths about hair product chemicals, including parabens, PPDs and silicones. These need to be dispelled.
You may look for an organic hair dye as much as you like and never achieve the results you like. The best approach is to check your scalp condition to see if you can minimise chemicals and provide your hair with the care it deserves.
Is Hair Toner Natural & Organic?
As with organic hair dye, hair toner can have organic, natural and synthetic lab-made components.
Its composition is most similar to semi-permanent hair colour, which means it cannot drastically alter hair colour but it can enhance, fix or neutralise hair colour. It has low ammonia content and gradually washes away.
Among the many organic and non-organic hair colour brands, hair toner is the safest to use at home: you cannot make such a huge mistake that a visit to the hairdresser cannot fix.
Regardless of your reason to limit harmful chemicals in hair dyes, here is a list that can make it happen:
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Staino Intense Direct Dye: A direct dye you can apply without mixing to your hair. Free from parabens, sulphates, gluten, cruelty and ammonia.
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Natural Look Colourance Shine Enhancing Conditioner: This henna-enriched conditioner with organic components will be a nice addition to your stack of home products that keep your colour alive without too many harsh chemicals.
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Goldwell Color Revive Dark Warm Blonde Colour Conditioner: Leave this colour mask on your hair between 2 to 5 minutes to play with intensity – no mixing necessary – it is a direct dye.
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Brilliant Silver White Hair Toner: Make it easy for you to keep blonde hair fresh by adding a few drops of this instant toner to your regular hair wash in just 10 seconds.
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Jerome Russell Pro Colour Renew CHESTNUT: Fans of natural hair dye without ammonia, peroxide or PPD will love this combo of botanicals, including English poppy seed oil and camomile. Expect non-permanent results.
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Keratherapy Gray Root Concealer – Blonde: Use this anti-grey spray to cover your roots after you wash your hair to limit the chemicals applied to your hair at least partially.
- Pravana Chromasilk Vivids Crystals Aquamarine: Pravana is well known for its range of dynamic and long-lasting direct dyes with a clean formula that is as good as it gets — no parabens, no ethanolamine compounds, and EPA and CARB compliant.
There you go — you can protect and colour your hair safely and effectively even if you don’t use exclusively organic hair dyes.
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Muk Hybrid Hair Colour: The secret to this intermixable hair dye lies in the word hybrid. As a professional colourist, you can mix any ratio of the developer with as many as 100 shades to create the perfect blend for every customer. The creations can be placed anywhere in the permanency range, from permanent to light toning. The brand invested in 80% naturally-derived vegan ingredients and is completely cruelty-free. Muk even has minimal ammonia - as low as 0.4%.
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Paul Mitchell Vegan Hair Dye: This brand sets the pace with its incredible vegan hair dyes. They were founded to offer sustainable products without harsh ingredients and are 100% vegan. The ColorXG is hard to go past and gives your salon high credibility too! Those who have used this brand have fallen in love.
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Fanola Free Paint Direct Dye: Fanola Free Paint is a range of modern, mixable and ammonia-free vegan dyes. It takes 5 minutes to get lasting results that depend on your natural hair colour, how often you wash your hair and cuticle porosity. As a rule of thumb, Fanola Free Paint is considered a semi-permanent colour that lasts up to 15 washes.
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Arctic Fox Hair Dye: The dye is not intended for professional hair care but you will be delighted to experiment with the deep rich pigments. Don’t worry about ruining your hair quality — the cruelty-free formula does not contain peroxide, ammonia or PPD. Certain shades work best on pre-lighted hair, so make sure you choose a compatible shade for maximum shine and boldness.
- Schwarzkopf Vegan Hair Dye: Schwarzkopf introduced eight natural-looking shades based on Ayurvedic plants. The 100% vegan colours work by dissolving plant powder with hot water. Therefore, the hair does not suffer oxidative stress like most chemically-based dyes. The downside is you cannot go lighter than your natural hair. If you want a dramatic change, some type of chemical agent will be necessary.
What is your favourite hair colour brand? Let us know!
