As I try to embark on a more natural lifestyle and reduce the number of toxins for my family, hair dye has come up recently. My 9 year-old son has long hair and likes the idea of doing something fun and creative by temporarily changing his color. We watched a few YouTube videos and searched some recipes for natural hair dye that you could make with ingredients you have at home. Coffee came up, and I thought sure, why not?! I also thought about my Aunt who recently has had some really negative reactions to salon hair color. Then the thought went to myself! I usually color my hair at home once or twice a year, and always hate the chemicals. I chose what seemed to be more natural brands that don’t include ammonia, but they still have ingredients I would otherwise never put on or in my body. I realized I’m at a point where I am totally done with that. I read that some people use henna mixed with coffee to achieve some beautiful shades, but I have never experimented with henna before. I will still need to do more research before that happens! Anyway, my son and I tried the coffee and we were pleasantly surprised by the results. We will definitely do it again and I’m sure we will tweak and improve upon the process.
I found the recipe here with some other interesting natural sources to color your hair whether you want to go lighter or darker.
To dye your hair with coffee:
- Brew a strong cup of organic dark-roast coffee.
- Mix about 1/2 cup of coffee with 2 tbsp. of coffee grounds and 1 cup of conditioner.
- Apply the mixture to clean, damp hair.
- Secure with a shower cap or plastic wrap with clips to avoid dripping.
- Let the mixture set for at least an hour, and rinse it out when you’re done, but don’t shampoo ( I did not shampoo until 1 day after, and it still smelled like I sat in Starbucks all morning 😉
Please come back and let me know if you try it on your hair!
Sara ~Fresh Foodie Mama~
