For Au naturals--Anyone not using henna and/or not coloring their hair at all?

[LongCurlyTress]

I just thought this would be a fun thread to connect with others who do not use henna or any hairdye at all. There are so many threads for those who do use henna and dye their hair so I just wanted to know if there are others out there who refuse to use henna or dye of any kind. Please post and share why you do not want to use henna or hairdye?

In March, 2011 I cut my brassy, dried out apl length back to a curly, chin length dark brown bob to where the line of demarcation from Feria 5G had grown out. I have never regretted this, although my silvers are showing now, but I don't miss the hassle of keeping up with roots and how the hair dye frizzed out my hair and made me shed like crazy. Plus, the chemicals smelled horribly and burned my scalp.

Anyways, please post your encouraging thoughts here as a way to support each other for NOT using henna or hairdye. Thanks!! :blossom:

[Wildcat Diva]

I'm here. I don't really have a reason for not dying as my natual hair color is status quo. I wouldn't do it even if I wanted to because of damage and permanency. Hair grows too slow to fix mistakes. I don't want to have to do touch ups. And I don't understand highlights. When I see it IRL I am never impressed and I think. Ugh, streaky and fake.

[Quasiquixotic]

I'm growing out henna. It about my cheekbones middle of my ears. I am so very committed to no more color. I'll be 34 this week and I've got about 50 silver white hairs groing in mostly at my temples. I can not wait until I have a full head of white hair! I love this so much!

I don't cut the henna out because I'm passed the awkward part and I'd miss the length too much. In another year or so I'll start micro trimming and cut it away.

[LongCurlyTress]

I'm here. I don't really have a reason for not dying as my natual hair color is status quo. I wouldn't do it even if I wanted to because of damage and permanency. Hair grows too slow to fix mistakes. I don't want to have to do touch ups. And I don't understand highlights. When I see it IRL I am never impressed and I think. Ugh, streaky and fake.

I am right with you Wildcat Diva. Don't want to offend any henna users, but as I understand, they do get roots showing so they still have the hassle of keeping up with those, plus I also hear that henna is very drying to the hair. Maybe it depends on what type of henna people use? Well, anyways, thanks for posting and I am glad to know I am not alone here. ;):happydance:

[squirrrel]

I've used hairdye once - back in about 2007 I think it was. Was supposed to be a week long in and out again... A year later the tips were still coloured black (was for pretending to be egyptian at a holiday club - that'll teach me! ;)).

Beyond that, I never had an interest really. Too much faff I think! Never mind the whole dealing with roots and the like thing. Quite happy with my hair growing in whatever colour it chooses to! :)

[Nadine <3]

I'm here. I've never dyed my hair and I've never felt like I wanted to either. I've thought of doing a streak of color on my virgin hair with manic panic, but I've only ever thought about it.

[hannabiss]

I decided to stop because i dont want the hassel or damage of the dyes. The upkeep isnt something i want to deal with anymore. Plus my natural color seemed to grow on me. Haha. :)

[LongCurlyTress]

I'm here. I don't really have a reason for not dying as my natual hair color is status quo. I wouldn't do it even if I wanted to because of damage and permanency. Hair grows too slow to fix mistakes. I don't want to have to do touch ups. And I don't understand highlights. When I see it IRL I am never impressed and I think. Ugh, streaky and fake.


I'm growing out henna. It about my cheekbones middle of my ears. I am so very committed to no more color. I'll be 34 this week and I've got about 50 silver white hairs groing in mostly at my temples. I can not wait until I have a full head of white hair! I love this so much!

I don't cut the henna out because I'm passed the awkward part and I'd miss the length too much. In another year or so I'll start micro trimming and cut it away.


I've used hairdye once - back in about 2007 I think it was. Was supposed to be a week long in and out again... A year later the tips were still coloured black (was for pretending to be egyptian at a holiday club - that'll teach me! ;)).

Beyond that, I never had an interest really. Too much faff I think! Never mind the whole dealing with roots and the like thing. Quite happy with my hair growing in whatever colour it chooses to! :)


I'm here. I've never dyed my hair and I've never felt like I wanted to either. I've thought of doing a streak of color on my virgin hair with manic panic, but I've only ever thought about it.


I decided to stop because i dont want the hassel or damage of the dyes. The upkeep isnt something i want to deal with anymore. Plus my natural color seemed to grow on me. Haha. :)

Hey all! Thanks for joining in on this thread!! Also, any henna users who are considering "quitting" are more than welcome to post their thoughts too! Maybe those of us who "kicked" the dying habit can support you through your transition back to au naturale! :):poot:

[battles]

I grew out henna to chin length and then chopped it off. I'm staying natural now, I'm not into upkeep and henna doesn't suit me. I like my natural blonette. :)

[-Fern]

I used to get frustrated with my tortoiseshell locks (literally have five or six distinct different colors in my hair, and a combination of medium and coarse hairs), but the one time I tried dying it, I was miserable without my natural variety! Hahaha. So now I embrace my hair, and when people ask me, "Is it brown or red?" I just say, "Yes."

[Rowdy]

I've been growing out my natural color for almost a year now and I don't intend to dye again. The color never came out like I wanted, and I was too lazy to dye more than every three or four months so I spent a lot of time with brassy hair. Looking back I don't know why I bothered with dye for so long :p Also my natural hair is so shiny and frizz free!

[skeletonous]

I prefer my natural color :) I bleached the tips of my hair once but I hated how they felt so off they went. I don't see myself covering up any grey that comes in, especially since what I've seen has been coming in white :inlove:.

[DreamSheep]

This would be me...

Although I tried hair chalk the other day (and despite shampooing it there is a hint of it left), so I'm giving thought to trying out Directions Cerise on my ends just for a swatch of damage-free colour.

Aside from this pseudo-future-plan, my hair has never seen dye beyond a can of spray once (when I was 15/16, for Halloween). :)

[Estrid]

Sounds like a thread for me :) Hello!

I have dyed my hair in the past, about 3 times when I was 14-15 years old (about 7-8 years ago), but I got sick of it and ended up growing it out and then cutting it all off. I didn't like the roots and it was just a hassle to deal with: buying, dying...and it didn't even look that good, haha.

I have never disliked my natural hair colour, but I have wished for lighter or darker (or red) hair several times, but to me dying is not an option. If I had any of those nice colours I would want it to be natural, maybe it sounds strange but thats how I am ^_^

[miss_purple]

I'm actually growing my natural hair because I've never seen my adult natural hair color. I also want to go back to the natural beauty & health from head to toe :) I recently became a mom and I want to promote good life habits.

[curiouskitty]

I haven't colored my hair in two years now, and I'm really loving it. However, I'm considering using a toner shampoo soon to get rid of my natural brassiness without all the harmful dye. I've honestly never been a fan of henna'ed hair (at least on myself) - it looks too unnaturally reddish for my tastes. I used to dye my hair with box dyes every few months, because I'd get bored easily. With all the damage, my hair got stringier and brassier and so dry and unmanageable. I cut it all off two years or so ago, and started growing out my natural hair instead.

I'm starting to think that one's natural hair color (plus or minus two shades) is what truly suits the person wearing it. I'm never going back to dying it carelessly again. Not dying it has cut down on so much of the damage and dryness - I feel like my hair can now grow longer than ever!

[Chocowalnut]

I am also growing out my natural color now for about a year. My hair when I wear it up, the part on the head is almost all natural now. I'm not saying I'll never dye again because at some point I probably will do manic panic or something but I don't ever plan on anything permanent ever again.

[Anje]

Just moved the thread over to the Mane Board, where I think you'll get more traffic than trying to find non-henna-heads on the part of the forum largely viewed by hennaheads. :D

(Me? I'm a hennahead, but I'm a redhead underneath that too, just a bit less intense since my mid-20s. The only roots I see are when I've got a couple inches going, or I'm hunting out the grays. I've found that how drying henna is has a lot to do with what you mix it with. Lemon juice was awful, water was pretty good, but since I tried chamomile tea I haven't noticed it being drying at all.)

[LongCurlyTress]

Just moved the thread over to the Mane Board, where I think you'll get more traffic than trying to find non-henna-heads on the part of the forum largely viewed by hennaheads. :D

(Me? I'm a hennahead, but I'm a redhead underneath that too, just a bit less intense since my mid-20s. The only roots I see are when I've got a couple inches going, or I'm hunting out the grays. I've found that how drying henna is has a lot to do with what you mix it with. Lemon juice was awful, water was pretty good, but since I tried chamomile tea I haven't noticed it being drying at all.)

Hi Anje,
I wasn't quite sure where to put this thread since it does involve henna, or rather not using it or any hairdyes, so I thought it would get some attention on the Henna Board, or possibly give some henna users some support if they wanted to stop using it so they would not feel so alone. ;)

Thanks for putting it where you think it should be. ;) I am glad henna is working for you but if you should decide to come over to the dark side, (pun intended lol) you now know where to find us... lol :eye:

[lazuliblue]

It's funny to me that this thread should appear today, because only yesterday did it cross my mind that I might like to dip-dye my ends (at some point!) with manic panic...maybe pink or purple.

The only time that I have dyed my hair has been with manic panic (vegetable dye). The colours were SO much fun to have, but I don't particularly like the way it fades and I am still worried that it might damage my ends, even though from what I can make out, vegetable dyes are quite gentle.

So basically I won't be dying my hair too soon...I shall dream about it for at least a month before I commit! :D

[Aleahcim]

I have not coloured my hair for about 3 years (I think). I don't plan on colourings it again. I don't care for the upkeep nor did I like the quality of the dyed hair.

never again. All natural please!

[Wosie]

I haven't coloured my hair since 2004. :) The first time I coloured it I chose chocolate brown (in the autumn of 2003), then bluish black in the end of December the same year...

After that I followed up with one more bluish black application, if I remember correctly, and lastly a few dark browns (this was scattered occasions throughout early to mid-2004). I can't really remember why I quit doing it, but I guess 'twas a hassle with the upkeep and the outgrowth looking unappealing.
Also, it was hard to breathe while colouring my hair; yikes!

I might colour it in the future, but then 'only' dip-dyed ends in a pretty colour (e.g. purple :blushing:).

[swords & roses]

I'm still rocking my original color, never dyed. :)

1. I'm too lazy to bother with touch ups.
2. I'm dark haired, so just about any color change would require bleaching to really see it. My poor hair is split prone enough as it is. I don't want to risk more damage to it!
3. I like my natural color.
4. I'm liking my tinsel as it comes in, and looking forward to more. (I'm in a profession where some grays/whites make people take me more seriously, silly as that is.)
5. I'm too indecisive to settle on a color.
6. I change my mind often enough that I'd probably want something else as soon as I dyed it.
7. I'd rather spend money on hair toys than on dye.

That said, I envy the hennahairs and those with wild colors like purples and blues! (I definitely shouldn't do that in my profession! ;) ) I love seeing those colors, and wish I could sport them, but... see above. As a costumer/cosplayer, people often ask if I'll dye my hair for various costumes. Nope. Wigs, please!

[LongCurlyTress]

I am really appreciating all the au naturale supportive comments everyone is posting! Thanks so much for sharing so each of us knows we are not the only ones not henna-ing or dying our hair. I have read so much from others' posts that do use henna that I was thinking I was the only one who wasn't using henna! Yay for going au naturale! ;):cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer:

[swords & roses]

Amusing stories:

My sister once tried to turn her dark brunette hair (a little darker than mine) to a natural red shade. It turned carrot orange in a bad way! Haha! Remind me not to try THAT one! ;)

My cousin also has natural brunette hair like me. Both her kids have natural, flaming, Irish-as-all-get-out hair. She ended up dying hers to better match theirs, since so many people were thinking she'd dyed it brown!

[sourgrl]

While the benefits of henna are tempting to me the commitment is not. I prefer the KISS method when it comes to my routines. Also, I really like the natural highlights in my hair. Especially the light brown stripe I see when I bun just right :D

[leilani]

I'm seven months henna free, one year dye free. I'm so committed to continuing and I'm chopping as much of it as I can without sacrificing too much length...

[MINAKO]

I'm here. I don't really have a reason for not dying as my natual hair color is status quo. I wouldn't do it even if I wanted to because of damage and permanency. Hair grows too slow to fix mistakes. I don't want to have to do touch ups. And I don't understand highlights. When I see it IRL I am never impressed and I think. Ugh, streaky and fake.

i totally agree on this and would never change my color to something i might have to grow out at some point. i use henndigo to keep my black from fading and to condition my hair, otherwise i wouldnt and if i stopped it would blend in perfectly. i think natural highlights can be nice on level 7-10 hair, on dark hair i like a more even color the most.
so i sort of belong in this thread, although i dont think i will stop cheating anytime soon :)

[Larki]

Haha I'm far too lazy to bother dying my hair. I don't know how people deal with the maintenance!

[HintOfMint]

As someone with relatively dark skin, my natural hair color (brownish black) is pretty much the only color that suits me. I could play around with tones but I'm pretty sure I'm warm-skinned, so going ashy may not actually suit me. I could also play with highlights but they wouldn't actually "do" anything for me. It would just be there for the sake of having highlights.

I had henna done well over a decade ago but it just dried out my hair and gave a red glow that was okay, I guess, but not something I really crave now.

Sometimes I like the idea of having blue-black hair, but then I think of glopping manic panic on my hip length hair while I stand in a flannel shirt and no pants, plastic around my shoulders, standing on layers of newspaper, and trying and failing to not get dye everywhere, and then hopping in the shower and having the tub look like a Smurf just got murdered, and I think to myself... nah, better not.

[Hopeful65]

I spent over 3 years growing out bleach and dye. I never want to go through that again. I now have 100% virgin hair for the first time since I was about 13. It feels wonderful.

[CremeTron]

I am growing out hair bleach. I am cutting at away at roughly two inches a year. It is VERY hard for me. I get thoughts to colour my hair nearly every day. I always think I look better with lighter hair. I even have a box of dye at home and nearly every weekend I have to say, 'Just wait two more weeks!'

I have about 4 grey hairs that do not show, in fact I wish I had more.

As for henna, for me that is a no. I have heard it strengthens hair especially fragile hair types. As a person with fine and thin hair it could help but it is not for me.
I have considered it before though quite seriously before deciding against it.

[Crumpet]

I have natural hair, although I did highlight it for a brief period of time (just twice a year for two years or so) some years ago. I didn't like the highlights at all and much prefer my hair returning to its natural dark blonde/blonette. Its so much easier to care for. Now I occasionally use cassia, which hasn't changed my color at all and helps to strengthen my hair some (you may like it also Cremetron).

[Colochita]

I used henna once last summer, but I did a henna gloss with lots of conditioner so the color didn't really deposit. Sometimes in the sunlight you can see a faint brownish-red, but it's incredibly faint. For reference, my avatar is with flash from this winter. I don't have any intentions to henna again, because I'm lazy, so I think I can hang out here. :)

(Although I do get passing urges to color my hair blue-black.)

[Madora]

My hair has never been colored in any way.

I'm happy with it "as is", though I wish I had inherited more of my mom's beautiful auburn hair.

[lapushka]

After I had a severe mishap with bleach, henna and chemical dye, my hair melted off, and I got a chemical cut & burn. It took me at least 2 weeks to recover (my scalp was a weak mess), I decided to quit it all. For good, or at least until I'm too gray (I might not be able to deal with too much gray, I don't know yet). We'll see. But I've largely sworn off dye.

[two_wheels]

Joining all you beautiful non-dyers!
Henna was so good for my hair's condition... but the intense colour really didn't suit. I haven't really been interested in any other colours. I've come to appreciate my natural hair's dusky charm. It's warmer than I thought it was, too.

[Halaminiku]

My hair is completely free of hair dye and the like :) Once, I did have some blond highlights in it but it is now so long ago that they have grown out. I often thought of getting my ends in a dark blonde colour, but my hair was not really long enough for it when I wanted it the most and now everyone's done it, so I don't really feel like it :D I often wonder what my hair would be like if I had some parts of it dyed dark blonde (I'm naturally a medium-dark brunette) or some sort of ombre style, but I would never like the dye to get down to my scalp... I heard so many stories about people who start shedding after they start dying their hair and since mine is already thin I would really not appreciate a bigger loss of hair than what I naturally loose :D :D And no matter what, I'd prefer my hair to be longer and in an healthier state before I start on any of this because I imagine (without knowing) that it would minimise the damage if anything bad happened during the process :P

[fiðrildi]

*Raises hand*, me! I have never dyed my hair. I'm not particularly fond of my hair colour, but I don't dislike it either. I have wished to have lighter hair, or darker hair, but never really considered the option of using chemical dyes, at all. I would like to give henna a try, though. Never say never :wink:

[Imalath]

I spent a summer pre-LHC experimenting with herbal rinses from a herbal bath and body care book i picked up super-cheap at a yard sale. I mainly used a mixture of cinnamon and clove, along with some other spices I had on hand listed as being good for brunettes. I was hoping it would bring out more of the color variations in my hair. I was strawberry blonde as a kid, and always thought my adult brown hair was kind of flat. My experiments ended with no visible color change, and a lot of time wasted brewing teas and protecting them from thirsty refrigerator bandits.

I gave up my tea experiments and a final acv rinse at the time. Now my hair is growing in significantly darker and I have a few precious silvers threading through the mess. I am much happier now that I've accepted my natural hair color. I still dream about adding a rainbow of acid green and purple streaks through my natural color for some Halloween fun...now I think I'd do that with dyed clip-on extensions. Much easier to remove, and much, much faster than growing out dye!

[schnibbles]

I don't color my hair either. Years and years ago in my early 20's I used to get highlights.. looking back on pictures they didn't look very good lol.
I've never tried henna or indigo or anything like that. I'm too scared. :uhh: I generally don't like change when it comes to my hair, so knowing me, I probably wouldn't like it and then I'd be stuck with it. (I like henna on others though)

[door72067]

I grew out my dyed hair for 2 years (starting in Oct 2011) cut the color out in November 2013 and have been growing virgin ever since

I have no plans to go back...it was liberating to give up dying my hair (I started when I was 13, stopped when I was 44) I have silver sparkles throughout my hair and a pretty wide silver streak on the right side but I'm not going back to the dark side

I'm no longer a slave to root touch-ups, etc and it's wonderful

[Kendrix]

I haven't colored my hair in 5 years. My family always says my hair looks dirty because my hair is a really light brown that doesn't catch the light so well. I tried honey lightening, but right now it's too cold to be rinsing so often and I didn't get much change with the 3 treatments I did. I think my hair just likes to be the color it is lol.

[FallingDarkness]

I've never dyed my hair, nor do I think I ever will. My odd light blonde to dark blonde hair (outer layer is light when the underside is oddly darker *shrug*) is strange but perfect the way it is. <3 HAIR PRIDE. YEAH. DEAL WITH IT.

[Ingrid]

I'm growing out dye and gradually trimming it off. Once it's all gone, I have no plans of dyeing my virgin hair. I just hate the way dyed hair looks on me, and really think my natural hair colour looks best after all. Plus, the quality of the undyed hair is so much nicer.

[Larki]

I've never dyed my hair, nor do I think I ever will. My odd light blonde to dark blonde hair (outer layer is light when the underside is oddly darker *shrug*) is strange but perfect the way it is. <3 HAIR PRIDE. YEAH. DEAL WITH IT.

It's just sun lightening. I've found that if I keep my hair in styles that expose some of the darker underlayer for a while, it lightens up (French braids and half ups, for example).

[cathair]

*waves* Can't be a$r3d. Takes too much time, don't want to pay for it. Inspirational, eh? :D

Got a pot of Directions in the bathroom. It's been there for many months now. I was thinking about using it on my birthday, so I don't feel 100. But I expect 'can't be a$r3ed' will make an appearance.

[Addy]

Nearing 2 years without color. It's 100% virgin hair with silvers and ash brown (mousy brown) with some natural red hints of color (my sister was a natural red head). Love my hair color and can't wait for more silvers.

http://s2.postimg.org/st85rm5a1/February_2015.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

I quit coloring because it burns my scalp. I also fried it off trying to strip *darkest brown* color from it. I lost my waist length hair and I'm just done with coloring it! Besides, I look better being grandma with silver hairs! :inlove:

[LongCurlyTress]

This is so exciting to have so many LHC'ers respond to my thread topic! It's really reassuring that going au naturale is just fine for so many people!! Thank you for all of your wonderful, supportive responses. Yay!! for US for keeping it simple! :blossom:

Good luck to everyone on your hair-growing journey!! :magic:

[chen bao jun]

I relaxed my hair for about 20 of my 57 years and besides everything else that I hated about relaxing, it made my hair lighter. It got distinctly BROWN. It's naturally like jet-black. I don't like me with brown hair. And relaxing taught me that I don't like me with messed with hair. I am so lazy that anything I have to touch up isn't going to happen. they talk about 'stretching' relaxers now--well, I was the queen of that. the hairdresser was lucky if she saw me every six months. sometimes it was more like, once a year. Can you imagine the roots I'd have, behaving like that, if I dyed? I don't like roots.

I like me best with black hair, and now with black hair going grey and when I get the urge to look different, which is only for costume parties when I do Renaissance clothes or victorian clothes or some other costume clothes, I will wear wigs in different colors. I have several different shades of red and several different shades of blonde. (Never saw the need for a black wig, since I have black hair already). People actually always admire me in my wigs and I have heard many times, oh, you should go blonde, it suits you. Which is hilarious and proves how looking nice as a blonde has nothing to do with realism at this point in history, because I am black and I have the thickest, blackest eyebrows you ever ever saw. But even if I thought I would like to be blonde, I would not like to do to my hair what a person with black hair has to do to be blond. I like to HAVE hair.

also, but this is another subject, in a blonde wig or even a red wig, I don't look black anymore at all. this is the wierdest thing and I don't understand it, but it is true. the wig does not look realistic at all but it changes my appearance in a peculiar way. the best I can explain it is to say, look at Beyonce with her natural hair (if you can dig up very, very old photos) and in her current blonde reinvention of herself and notice how much lighter-skinned she looks as a blonde than she really is. the same thing happens to me, only worse since I'm starting out lighter. So I am not going to change my hair color permanently to any thing else than it is, because I just like looking like me.

And black happens to be my very favorite hair color, actually, anyway. I feel lucky to have it. Maybe this is the most important reason.

[callahanwade]

I had awful 00's highlights throughout middle and high school that I'm convinced led to my hair being extremely thin, fine, frizzy, and damaged (along with general not-good hair care).

Growing out my pixie, I'm really loving how thick and soft my hair is now that it is undamaged, so I definitely don't want to return to bleaching, and henna would not be a good color for me (pink skin + red hair = lobster). I might consider toning my hair to be more ashy instead of golden, using deposit-only color, but for now I'm just enjoying my hair in its natural state.

[jacqueline101]

I had bleach stripe in my hair and grew it out. I was never so glad to get rid of that mistake. My hair would break off and the up keep wasn't worth it. When I did due my hair I used deposit only dye. I'm glad it's gone I gave the rest of my deposit only dyes away to goodwill.

[rags]

I dyed my hair some in my twenties and thirties. . I stopped dying when I had massive hairless and was very ill (cause of the hairless was medications I had to take for the illness).

Why I don't dye now and never will again:

1. I LOVE my silvers and especially my streaks!
2. Said streaks and silvers and especially resistant to dye, necessitating dying every three or four weeks
3. The upkeep was thus time consuming, costly, and annoying
4. My asthma has worsened to the point I can't breathe near the chemicals anyway (really, this is the only reason needed, but I thought I'd throw in some of the others, as they are true! )

[missblueeyes]

I'm currently growing out all the hair related mistakes I made in the past years. The reason? I always tried to get my natural haircolour after dyeing it brown 1 1/2 years back but it never worked so I decided to grow out. Plus, the upkeeping is so annoying. I'm 7 months in and I couldn't be happier with my blondette roots.

[Arien]

I had been dying my hair for years and then a few years ago I decided to stop. I grew it out from APL to about waist length and then chopped it back to shoulder length to get rid of all the dyed ends so for the first time in years I was actually back to my natural, non dyed hair. It stayed like that for about it year, being regularly maintained at shoulder length. I actually really love my natural hair colour. Then I noticed that I had some greys coming in so I made an on the spot decision a few weeks ago and henna'd it with Lush's Caca Brun. My hair was already in very good condition but the henna has made it so much more thicker and shinier. Didn't do much for the greys and didn't change my colour much (which was good because I didn't want it to anyway) so now I prob wont bother again & just go back to leaving my hair natural. I'm growing it out again now. I might do some henna glosses every now and again for condition not for colour... Does that count as not using henna still? :D.

[swords & roses]

I dyed my hair some in my twenties and thirties. . I stopped dying when I had massive hairless and was very ill (cause of the hairless was medications I had to take for the illness).

Why I don't dye now and never will again:

1. I LOVE my silvers and especially my streaks!
2. Said streaks and silvers and especially resistant to dye, necessitating dying every three or four weeks
3. The upkeep was thus time consuming, costly, and annoying
4. My asthma has worsened to the point I can't breathe near the chemicals anyway (really, this is the only reason needed, but I thought I'd throw in some of the others, as they are true! )

I adore your silvers & streaks! They're stunning!

[gossamer]

I just thought this would be a fun thread to connect with others who do not use henna or any hairdye at all. There are so many threads for those who do use henna and dye their hair so I just wanted to know if there are others out there who refuse to use henna or dye of any kind. Please post and share why you do not want to use henna or hairdye?


Count me in here! I've never dyed my hair because the thought of keeping up roots just seem like way too much work for me. Also, at this point, I would need SO MUCH dye! I've considered doing a red manic panic gloss before, but then realized it would ruin all my towels and pillowcases. Not willing to do that either.

So... if dyeing was less work and less likely to stain everything in my house, I'd probably have done it by now. But all things considered, I like my natural colors too. :)

[CremeTron]

I have natural hair, although I did highlight it for a brief period of time (just twice a year for two years or so) some years ago. I didn't like the highlights at all and much prefer my hair returning to its natural dark blonde/blonette. Its so much easier to care for. Now I occasionally use cassia, which hasn't changed my color at all and helps to strengthen my hair some (you may like it also Cremetron).

I will look into that, Crumpet. I have decided to see how my hair fares until past BSL.

If it needs helps around then I will add in some treatments and/ or cassia or similar.

Ideally though, I will keep my simple routine as it seems to work for me.

[Sterlyn]

I spent many years coloring my hair, which was fun for the first 7 or so years but after a while became a huge chore. While I sometimes wish for my natural color again, I am not tempted in the least to try and recreate it with hair dye. It doesn't last long (the hair color I mean) and my constant roots are a bear to deal with.

I definitely belong with the mindset here. I think there was something freeing for me about just accepting my appearance the way it was and the natural changes that go with living life, (talking body image too). No offense meant to those that choose to change things about themselves, but I found much of that negative attitude started with dissatisfaction/dislike of my hair color and progressed to other areas. I felt it mentally put me on a hamster wheel of negativity that I didn't like much.

Thank you LCT for starting this thread. :p

[kitschy]

I was born with, what my mom called, dirty dishwater blonde hair. I tried several times to warm up my tone and lighten it, but the results always clashed with my cool summer skin and eye coloring. The dyes and bleach ruined by curly hair - literally fried it and kept it broken and frizzy.

Eventually I grew to be quite comfortable with my ash blonde, curly hair just in time to welcome gray hair. Due to my learning about my natural color, it seemed intuitive that my hair would go gray in exactly the right timing and right tone. Even though I wish it would go white faster, my life experience has helped me understand that nature know best.

[hanne jensen]

I've had my hair colored when I was younger. It was a permanent color but lasted 2 weeks. 3 years ago I played around with henna, but no matter what I did the henna was gone after about 5-8 hairwashes. It was too much hassle for so little. So, I don't color my hair at all anymore. Everything just slides right off my hair so it's just a waste of my time and money. I've learned to embrace my silver streaks and console myself with the fact that younger ladies pay a fortune for lighter streaks and highlights and I have them for free.

[hennalonghair]

Yes I've stopped using henna after 35 years and my hair is protesting big time. It just doesn't have the same texture so I'm going through withdrawals from the awesome conditioning effects henna offers.
While I love the shiny tinsel silvers I presently have coming in I miss the ritual of glossing my roots.
It only took about 45 minutes to do every few weeks or so. The cherry cola red is probably the nicest colour I've ever had and while I do get many compliments on it I also really admire the colour of silver. I don't think there is anything more attractive on an older woman than long silver hair. A few months back I saw a woman in her sixties with knee length silver hair and she has been my inspiration to grow in my silvers. Surprisingly the contrast between these two colours (cherry cola / silver ) looks quite nice so it clearly isn't the colour I'm missing.
For centuries now henna has been known , not only for its vibrant colour, but from the awesome shine and conditioning effects it offers and I am sure missing these aspects of using it. I'd very much like to get these conditioning effects without the colour so I am going to use organic zizyphus spina christi (sedr) , methi (fenugreek) and urtica dioica L along with aritha (soapnut powder). This way I'll get a very gentle cleansing as well as the conditioning aspects of henna without the colour.
In my younger years I have tried semi permanent colours and it's just turned my hair to straw so I never did it again. Lesson learned.
So while I've given up colouring my hair with henna I'm sure missing how wonderful it made my hair look and feel.

[schnibbles]

I definitely belong with the mindset here. I think there was something freeing for me about just accepting my appearance the way it was and the natural changes that go with living life, (talking body image too). No offense meant to those that choose to change things about themselves, but I found much of that negative attitude started with dissatisfaction/dislike of my hair color and progressed to other areas. I felt it mentally put me on a hamster wheel of negativity that I didn't like much.
Wise words and I definitely agree with this

[Catatafish]

I was always dying my hair from the age of about 13 onwards. I enjoyed changing it up, but when I wanted to go back to my natural colour, the hairdresser could never match it. The last time I had it highlighted was 3 years ago, then I got a huge chop, so I've all virgin hair now for the first time since I was in primary school.

I like not having to pay so much money to have it dyed when the colour is perfectly fine, but I do feel like doing something to it for a change every now and then. I must buy some clip ins or something so that I can resist the urge.

[Wosie]

After some thinking I started to remember why I quit colouring my hair. :hmm: First and foremostly, my hair got quite rough and dry. The colour was not pretty in the end; very dull and way too dark for my skin tone (and eye brows... I thought my eye brows were dark enough to pass for black hair, but they were clearly mid-golden brown in flash pictures which looked odd in combination with my dyed black hair)!

I remember checking the web if I could somehow get back my original colour, or as close to it as possible, and I even remember asking a hair dresser online... The answer? He/she did not recommend it, it would ruin my hair.
After a girl in my school said "you know that you have a lot of outgrowth?" I decided to just cut it off once the summer holidays started. :p I just sat down in front of my mirror and cut off where the demarcation was (easy to see), with a pair of kitchen scissors (I always cut my hair [and others'] with kitchen scissors before LHC).

I love the look of natural hair colours, there's just so much 'life' in it that hair dyes can't imitate. :)

[AdaClare]

I've never dyed my hair (though I've given it some thought). I'd be too worried that I'd mess it up or wouldn't be happy with the result.

[GabrielleRose]

I just dye some of length, but have honestly thought of stopping out of sheer laziness lol! :P

[yahirwaO.o]

Im all natural too and completly virgin as virgin can be LOL.

I did color my hair in my teens but more like to enchance my natural color panther mane....either black blue or purple black or just black and like it a lot somehow, but the colors just faded so fast and it alwayd gave weird reddish undetones that didnt like at all..

I remember a campain in my country aimed to women to start embracing the natural dark and black color (really common in Mexico) and not to bother trying to keep with a certain trend fad to make them look something unnatural.... because they are already beautiful.

As other have said, the maintenance is just too much work, and in my case I love the natural aspects in all me. People still comment that my hair is so dark and beautiful so why bother making it artificial black?.
Im also starting to embrace my indigenous side in all aspects and makes me feel very proud of my culture.

And the Pocahontas look in a women.... yeah that so attractive

[nicolezoie]

I don't know why I decided ultimately that I won't be coloring my hair, but right now the thought of trying to color 72+ inches of hair is daunting. Besides, I have probably 20-30 gray strands, most of which are short and wiry, and when they stop being that way, they grow extremely long like the rest, and blend in. Before she died, I told my mom that I had found my first gray, and I'd plucked it, and she told me to not do that because two more would grow in its place. Next thing I know, that indeed happened, and I think those two are still growing. Those two I sprouted at age 25 (I'm 38 now) are almost as long as the rest of my hair. I know one of them broke a bit back, so it's not as long as the other, but the other one is stupendously long now, probably calf length or so. The short wiry ones irritate me and make me look unkempt, but the rest of my hair is frizzy so what's the difference? I don't have any real plans to ever color my hair; I've never minded the color and it does interesting things in the sun, should I ever let it take it on, so there's that. Sun or box dye/bleach? I'll take the sun.

[pixldust]

I've been growing out chemical dye for, ah, it'll be two years this summer and I'm completely committed to not dyeing again now. Aside from the damage to my hair, the upkeep was tedious and I really don't miss that at all. I've flirted with the idea of henna but I've decided against it as it's a big commitment and if I hated it I'd be back to square one with the growing out process. Also, after saying for years that I hated my hair natural hair colour (even though I only ever saw a thin strip of it at my roots lol) I've found that I actually really like it after all.

[Alien Girl]

I've stripped my hair of all dyes around november. I plan on avoiding coloring again for a very long time. My hair is currently a medium brown with incoming black roots, but it's blending pretty well, so I'll just be leaving it alone until the roots gets super obvious (around 2 inches or so maybe) then maybe coloring it black so I can finally completely leave it alone until it grows very long :)

[Daylilly]

I haven't dyed my hair for almost 20 years. I found the constant upkeep to be too much so I learned to accept my natural color. I still think it would be fun to try new colors but I know the consequences.

[Arctic]

I'm sort of natural, excluded those few times I've used a manic panic type colour on my natural hair (no bleaching).

I used to hate my own colour and started dyeing it at around 13 years old. I continued it nonstop (with box colours), but switched to henna at some point in my 20s. My hair looked lovely with henna, but unfortunately the warm colour didn't suit my cool toned skin, but I kept hennaing for surprisingly long time anyway, years.

At some point I grew tired of the messy henna with it's long time it took to rehenna, but didn't really want to go back to market colours either. I also found myself wanting to know how my real colour looked, for the first time in about 20 years, and before I would start to get greys. I was a LHC member at the time, and I have documented my growing out henna in my blog.

At first my own colour looked lifeless, grey and boring against the hennaed lengths, but the longer the own colour grew, the prettier it looked. I hated the growing out though, and the demarcation line made my hair break out a lot too. I ended up cutting the henna away in small but steady chops.

And I loved my natural colour, it suits me amazingly well and is all but boring! However I almost never get hair compliments anymore, lol, like I did with the fiery red hair :D That's ok though.



As I said I have also tried some temporary shock colours occasionally, which is a good fun while it lasts but it's also nice to know it only lasts for a little while. I personally consider my hair more or less natural, even with the occasional deposit only dye. Anyway, in the spirit of this thread, I say: I have natural hair most of the time :)

[Katrina]

I haven't dyed my hair for six years. Like Arctic, I didn't like my natural color much. I started dyeing it around 15 years old and continued doing it almost monthly for over 15 years. I tried pretty much everything: blond, black, dark brown, copper and finally, henndigo. My scalp felt irritated because of those box dyes. Henndigo was OK, but too much hassle for me to do it forever. And I was curious about my natural color. What would it look like? Would I have silvers already? I hadn't seen my natural color properly for 15 years or so.

Starting over with virgin hair was not an easy decision for me. My hair was at TB length at the time and I wanted it even longer. Cutting it short was very frustrating but I didn't want to dye it anymore and very long two-toned hair looked bad, in my opinion. In February 2011 I cut it back to shoulder length where the demarcation line was.

Now four years later I'm back at TB and happily growing to terminal. I am 99,9 % sure that I won't dye or henna it ever again. I have some silvers and I like them. The natural color was much darker than I thought. I thought it to be dark blond, not brown. It looks sometimes even dark brown, if light is right... I like my color.

[Scarlet_Celt]

This would be me. I've never dyed me hair at all, or used anything whatsoever to temporarily change the colour. Needless to say I identify very strongly with my hair colour. I have no intention on colouring my hair anytime soon because of the damage it would likely cause, and because of the unnecessary expense.

[ooglipoo]

I used Rainbow Henna, Persian Strawberry, for some 20-ish years. It was only a little off from my regular color when I started. Now it has been about 3 years since I used it... I stopped mainly to see if I could find any silvers. I've waited and waited, and still don't see any. I guess at this point, I'll just give up on the henna and looking for silvers, and see what happens!

[Sharysa]

Never dyed my hair. Mainly because it's black, so bleaching it enough for colors to show is too much work. Then there's the maintenance issues--my hair grows fast, so I'd have to touch up the roots every month.

At heart, I'm just lazy. Special shampoos, touching up, full on re-dying the hair? I'm content to see other people do awesome colors.

[Kelikea]

My hair is natural. I have dyed in the past, and had highlights maybe 3 times. Its been so many years ago, that it has grown out. The last color I put on was wash-out, and even that was several years ago. I am starting to get a few grays, but they aren't really noticeable now. When they multiply, I might change my mind about coloring:)

[Creagan]

I've never died my hair. My hair color is allegedly identical to my paternal grandmother's, who passed away before I was born. I'm the only one in the family with her exact shade of red, possibly the only person in the world since I've never met another person with my exact hair color. Needless to say, my father's side of the family is extremely attached to my hair color. My hair grew in very slowly (I was bald until I was two) and my aunts couldn't *wait* for my hair to get "long." I've been told over and over again never to cut it "short." My aunts have both stated out loud, in front of their daughters, that they feel cheated that my father (who has black-brown hair) got the only "real" redheads in the family. (My sister has red hair but it's darker than mine, and they don't count my orange-haired cousins because my aunts are jerks.)

I genuinely believe that if I dyed my hair, my father's family would take it as a personal attack. They'd basically react like I'd killed the last part of their mother they have left. I would never hear the end of it. When my dad saw my hair he'd probably yell at me until I started crying. Then he'd refuse to talk to me until I dyed it back. Whenever hair dye is mentioned, it's made VERY clear that I am never to dye my hair. Ever. (Total strangers have threatened to kill me if I ever dye it, even.)

On top of all that, the color is pretty much the only aspect of my physical appearance that I ever get compliments about, and it's really the only thing about me that's 100% unique.

So I don't dye my hair, and probably never will. Unless I start to go gray. Then I might try coloring it to preserve my color. But otherwise, nope.

[Dona]

Checking in here! I've never dyed my hair, never really felt the urge to.

[JustPam]

I gave up the dye in May 2013 and now I have about 10" of natural virgin hair. My first goal is virgin at waist length, I'm not trimming this year and should hit waist by about June if all goes well, at the end of the year I'll trim back to waist and maintain until all the dye is out.

I find it so freeing not having to do roots every 6 weeks, I used to bleach and use veggie dyes, and change colour every other month, then I switched to dark blonde dye, which was close enough to my natural colour to grow out with. The very ends of my hair have faded to reveal the past bleach so I just look like I have an ombre job. Funny that the one time I've seemingly conformed to a fashion trend in my life is entirely unintentional, haha!

[meteor]

I never did all-over dyes, only highlights, but I haven't had any highlights added to my hair in at least 3 years, and don't intend to go back. :)
The root upkeep, the amount of time and money I had to spend at salons (the whole process can take half a working day if your hair is very thick and long!) and damage that accumulates... it's just not worth it for me. It's so liberating not to need salons or worry about roots! Looking at my natural color and the multi-dimensional natural highlights makes me wonder why I ever bothered with bleach at all! :lol:

[Begemot]

I read this thread the other day and felt so great about my hair! :D Even went infront of a mirror and looked my hair in sun light and was so pleased. It's almost exactly four years since my last dye job and I have been all virgin since last May. Can't say I would have regretted my decision to grow the dye out for one bit. I'm way too low maintenance to bother to dye. It's also lucky that I have never disliked my natural color. Sure it's not a show stopper or anything but I like it very much.

[molljo]

Joining this club!
I've dyed my hair a handful of times over the years: highlights, red, and (accidental) black while trying to get back to my natural color. I think I mainly did it just for something to do, not out of any dislike for my natural dark brown. Like, it's a thing women do all the time, so I felt I should see what all the fuss was about. It was... fine? Like many posters have stated already, I think I'm just too lazy for all the upkeep, the hassle of staying on top of roots. I like my color, and it suits me more than anything else, so dyeing seemed like a lot of wasted time, money and effort when what genetics gave me is great all by itself.
I recently discovered a few more greys (in addition to the couple I already knew about) hiding in a clump together, and honestly I'm really excited about them. Silver streaks are wonderful, and I'm really hoping I get to be one of those lucky women who get them!

[TrapperCreekD]

I sort of belong in this thread! Just a quick thought: does sun lightening count as changing your hair color? I mean, it is sort of preventable to a certain extent...

I was au naturel until last May, when I lightened the bottom few inches, then in December I added a streak of henna in my under layer. Even so, probably 85% of my hair is natural/virgin. The thought of different color has briefly crossed my mind a couple times, but in all honesty, I think I'd get tired of it after a month or so, plus all the upkeep and roots - too much work for this lazy girl!

I do love the way my updos look with two-tone hair, so once the lightened part grows out/gets trimmed off, I'll probably redo it, but that's as far as I see myself wading into the world of dye.

[truepeacenik]

Hm, does having a schemer on the ends count as a henna application?
Back before my trim that was too much, I slopped some henna on my thin ends to make then stand out.
The rest, red and sliver, is all me.

I think there might still be some henna on the tips. But I'm not sure.

I'm au natural by lazy inclination. :-)

[Olavi]

My hair is au natural! There is some colour changes towards the tips, from the sun and maybe honey treatments too. I would like all of it to be ashy tone brown, like the roots, but I have zero desire to dye, and I'm too lazy to use anything to tone it (not to mention I'm too broke to either one). So I just leave it be, and try to enjoy my natural ombre :D

[Catatafish]

I sort of belong in this thread! Just a quick thought: does sun lightening count as changing your hair color? I mean, it is sort of preventable to a certain extent...


I wouldn't think so, I mean it's pretty natural to be out and about during the daytime. I suppose you can prevent it if you really try, but it's not something that you intentionally do to change you hair colour, or have to maintain.

[Creagan]

If abnormal light exposure disqualifies hair from being "natural" then keeping hair covered could also be considered altering the color, since that would make it darker.

I say as long as you're not doing anything extra to your hair so the light is more likely to change the color (like using lemon or sun-in) then light exposure doesn't matter.

[jenrjen]

May I join here? I used conventional dye from the time I was 16 (and started getting gray hairs) till around 35. At 35, I switched to henna. I loved everything about henna. The SHINE! The RED FLARE! The THICKNESS! I even enjoyed the process.
Unfortunately, the orange/red was terrible with my skin tone. I knew it had gotten bad when my sweet, sweet, never-says-a-discouraging-word husband hinted that he liked the gray roots.

I decided to see what my real hair color was and quit color in May of 2013. I admit. I don't like the gray. But I'm not dying it, darnnit. I console myself with the idea of being able to veggie dye the gray stripes a temporary blue once I retire. (No "unnatural" hair colors allowed in my job.)
And sweet, sweet hubby? He tells me at least once a month that he likes my natural hair color.
:o

[Arctic]

Okay, I'll have to re-think my previous post, where I said I consider my hair natural even if I have occasionally used manic panic type of a dye. I just took some hair photos yesterday and with flash they clearly showed my ends (where I put the dip dye) still have some red pigments :) It's not visible in normal light though, I don't think, and it's was probably at the beginning or December or something that I dyed the last time, so months ago!

[Arctic]

Jenrjen that's so sweet from your hubby!

[betterhairday]

I am right with you Wildcat Diva. Don't want to offend any henna users, but as I understand, they do get roots showing so they still have the hassle of keeping up with those, plus I also hear that henna is very drying to the hair. Maybe it depends on what type of henna people use? Well, anyways, thanks for posting and I am glad to know I am not alone here. ;):happydance:

What beautiful hair! Mine is white/grey with strands of black and I have never dyed it ever. I don't use henna either but after shampoo I do use Pro Naturals Moroccan Argan Oil which is part of my leave in treatment. I agree with you the hassle of continually touching up the roots turned me off dying completely. However, if you want a little fun do what I do - I color my hair with chalk. Over Christmas I had turquoise and purple streaks. Washes out with the next shampoo.

[fairyblood]

Around January 15, 2014 I cut my hair extremely short to remove my dyed-black hair and grow it out natural. I've experimented with dye since I was in middle school, and have never seen my adult hair color past a couple inches of "roots." I'm so excited to start seeing the variations across my head...so far I have a blonette canopy that darkens to light brown in the under layers.

[shalindra]

The last time I dyed my hair was well over a year ago, since then I have used chamomile ,green, and dandelion tea rinse with vinegar. Yes it does dye it some, but mostly use it for the herbal benefits. My hair feels ahhmazing :)

[hinabelle]

I only have dyed my hair once. I dyed the tips purple back in 2007. The tips since
that's the first thing to go! I chemically straighten my hair, but I love my natural
color way too much to dye it. I'm looking at honey treatments or lemon treatments
to naturally lighten my highlights, though. Dunno if I will do it, but I don't know if
it will work for me the way I'm picturing it to!

[DeadlyUnicorn]

I had my whole head dyed pink at home.. There wasn't enough bleaching stuff so only the surface of my hair was colored.. I really liked the color but I think it looked pretty weird cause of the brown underneath lol. Then I dyed my tips red when I was 15 and I really enjoyed that and I want to dye the tips blue again. I could never dye my entire head again because I refuse to keep up with the roots, and I want to enjoy my natural color before I go grey :p But the dip dying is definitely my favorite because when I'm done with it I can just cut off a few inches. I have no dyes in my hair at the moment though

[hannabiss]

i had really thought of doing henna but there were too many possibilities that i didnt want to commit to.
1) the process wasnt something i was interested in.
2) what if i didnt like the color
3) the buying process..what happens if theyre out of the henna i had used
4) it just keeps getting darker and even though i want a darker shade then my roots would be different.
i dyed a lot in the past and even after i had shave bald i dyed a piece of hair blue. but its since grown out of my bangs and my motto it care for it then leave it alone.

[ositarosita]

THAT'S ME ... my reason is simple, I love my natural colour. My natural colour is something you can't buy and i find it just suits me better. It's this natural silver, grey and I love it

[DarkSunny]

I've had some strands bleached and colored teal/purple/red before, but never had the urge to dye all of my hair. Currently the color is completely natural, and I think I'm pretty happy with it. It's not an attention grabbing color, but I don't usually see people with quite the same shade as mine so it feels a bit special to me. I really enjoy how much the color can change in different lighting conditions and the color variations that some sun bleaching can give it.

[PennyQuin]

Last time I dye my hair or coloring was in 2010. Last time my hair was so so so damaged that I cut it in a pixie in 2011 and started all over. I decided not doing it again and started to love my black hair. Now I'm WL+ and all natural. I'm just waiting to get old and get all that gray hair coming proudly.

[LiiAme]

There's several reasons why I don't colour my hair. One of which is that my hair absolutely refuses to take colour. Give it a week after a colouring and you'd notice almost all the colour is gone, no matter how permanent the colour claims to be. I doubt this would be the case if I had to bleach or lighten my hair, which is something I've never done before.

Then there's the laziness factor. I'm terrible at putting effort into anything that is considered to be girly and I'd imagine I would be waaaaay too lazy to do touch ups if I had to take my hair into another shade.

And then, most recently, I have learned to love my natural colour. It's dark indoors and reddish in the sunlight and all together has a mood of its own. I don't want to change it and most certainly do not want to damage it. Especially since chopping so much length off to get rid of damage! :)

[curlylocks85]

This is me :). I do not dye or use henna or any other means of coloring my hair. I like what I have. What I love about having my natural color; it cannot be replicated. I have my own unique color and that is a great feeling. :)

[LongCurlyTress]

Wow!! I sincerely apologize for not being on LHC and paying attention to all the wonderful comments that have been posted here! Thanks so much for the encouragement for going au naturalle! Some are trying to grow out their henna/dye and might like some support or suggestions as to how you accomplished your goal of growing out your henna etc. since it quite a lengthy process and as we know, hair grows very slowly!! I ended up doing a big chop to a 3b curly chin length bob in March, 2011 4+ years ago just to get rid of the dried out brassy color. Silvers look so much better than the fake ugly color my hair became from the dye. Anyways, I wanted to bring this thread back with this post since older threads get hidden along the way, and maybe there are some just getting started who would appreciate the support for not hennaing or coloring anymore. Cheers!!! and Thanks so much for your positive encouraging comments of your growing out experience!! :blossom: Please feel free to post more pics of before and after if you would like to show your growing out progress! ;)

[LongCurlyTress]

What beautiful hair! Mine is white/grey with strands of black and I have never dyed it ever. I don't use henna either but after shampoo I do use Pro Naturals Moroccan Argan Oil which is part of my leave in treatment. I agree with you the hassle of continually touching up the roots turned me off dying completely. However, if you want a little fun do what I do - I color my hair with chalk. Over Christmas I had turquoise and purple streaks. Washes out with the next shampoo.

That does sound like fun to use temporary chalk!! LOL! Thanks for the suggestion!! ;)

[lilin]

Me! I tried henna once, just for highlights as I do like my hair color overall. I was mostly hoping it would help reduce splits on my damaged ends. Eh, it was ok, but still dried my hair a bit and flattened my wave. Plus the color was really subtle on my dark hair. Nah, not for me...

My hair was previously quite damaged from mechanical abuse (oh, to be a fine-hair...) so I decided I was going to start fresh and cut it all off. Before I did that, I figured I'd have some fun, and dyed it pink, which required me to bleach as my hair is quite dark. What a nightmare! My hair refused to lighten and required over 40 minutes with bleach just to get to Kurt Cobain yellow, never mind actual bleach blonde. It was immediately a gummy, terrible mess and I lost 2 inches of length. Then I put the pink over it. The SMELL! It never completely goes away! That chemical, icky smell. After all that, my hair was almost impossible to manage and keep untangled. By the time I cut it, it had worked itself into a mat, despite constantly wearing it up and detangling twice a day (probably 10 times more than I had to before I bleached/dyed). It also infuriated my scalp. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that even now.

I'm glad I tried it so I can tick it off my bucket list, but NEVER again!

Since I shaved, my hair is completely virgin and will remain so. Once was enough! My curiosity is sated.

[Puffer Fish]

I belong here! I've always wanted to dye my hair a fun color (like periwinkle blue or dark green) but I have dark brown hair, so it would require a lot of bleach and I never felt comfortable doing that. Now that I'm trying to get into grad school and get a real job, it's no longer really possible for me to do that either.

Luckily, my natural color suits me well! The only weird thing is that my eyebrows are significantly darker than my hair. I've had people ask me if I lighten my hair before because of that. :ponder: First time I got asked that was when I was about 9 years old. What 9 year old dyes their hair?!

[woodswanderer]

Natural hair color here! It just looks different depending on lighting. I'm not using henna because I'm not sure I want to commit to the upkeep, but that may change as I get more gray hairs. For now, I'm just trying to like my own color.

[missrandie]

I played with semipermanent red when I was a kid, and it turned permanent. Oops.

With my pixie I played with platinum blonde and red and pink, but I've never loved an artificial color as much as my natural tawny. I took pictures of it in the sunlight the other day and was just enthralled with the richness. So, natural girl here!

[ositarosita]

THAT'S ME ... my reason is simple, I love my natural colour. My natural colour is something you can't buy and i find it just suits me better. It's this natural silver, grey and I love it

I finally figured out my natural hair colour.. SILVER DOLLAR, that's what I'm going to call it anyway.

[leilani]

Me! I've cut out over 95% of the henna and have very very little left on the tips of the hairs around my jaws/chin.

I don't even mind short hair because now it's all natural and so so healthy and I get to start fresh growing out again! And enjoy some trendy bob shapes and then long angled bob shapes between now and Christmas before 2016 when my hair will start to creep onto my back and just be plain ole long again. Fun stuff!

[two_wheels]

Congratulations leilani, it looks really nice & is a beautiful natural colour!

[DarkSunny]

I've had some some streaks of color in the past, and when I get bored with realistic hair colors I might have them again. I find that I'm always happiest with my natural hair color though. Dyed hair never seems to have quite the same depth of color to me. It also doesn't really change color much under different lighting when compared to my own hair color.

Edit: Also, whoops. It looks like I posted a very similar comment here months ago, and then completely forgot about it. :doh:

[two_wheels]

I've had some some streaks of color in the past, and when I get bored with realistic hair colors I might have them again. I find that I'm always happiest with my natural hair color though. Dyed hair never seems to have quite the same depth of color to me. It also doesn't really change color much under different lighting when compared to my own hair color.

I agree for box dye - although I do think henna does the depth, complexity & colour change under different lighting. But orange isn't for everyone!

[alexis917]

I've been every color under the sun, and now I'm growing out a bob dyed lighter brown. My roots are nearly black, and about an inch long. Sigh. Miss never thinking of upkeep.

[embee]

I guess I belong here. I've not used any kind of color since... um ... the late 1950s? Early 1960s? Then I used some sort of rinse to make hair lighter and when I got caught in a rainstorm it leaked light blue down the back of my white shirt. Never again, thanks just the same! ;D

[Frankenstein]

I used to color my hair - first red, then bleached, then a struggle to get a color similar to my natural one so I could grow it all out. The whole experience was very stressful from beginning to end. Now I have a full head of my natural color and don't plan on changing that ever again. Although I'm sometimes tempted by non-permanent red dyes...