Non-Henna Alternatives for Coloring Gray (Pics)

[mellie]

Hi, I noticed in another posting that someone brought up non-henna alternatives to coloring gray, so I thought we should bring that topic back.

Here are some things I've tried:

Sage/Rosemary: I tried it every day for two months. No change for my grays. I have a theory that perhaps Purple Sage might do better?

Darjeeling tea: I used it every day, and it did stain my grays somewhat, so they blended in better with my dark brown.
Before:


After:


Red Raspberry Leaf: This also stained my grays so they blended better. I think it worked better than the Darjeeling for me. I had to use it every day. I was actually able to leave this in, without rinsing, it added some nice body and luster.

Hibiscus: Dyed my grays a reddish/burgundy. Definitely blended in my grays better, but I didn't like the red color.
Before:


After


Please share your experiences!

Thank you!

[khyricat]

I henna, but I also use a hibiscus leave in.. and I find I can go longer between hennaing because the greys are tinged red at the roots and thus less visible.. not the stark white.. now if I miss a section up front with the hibiscus and I am in need of Henna, its VERY visible.. instead of only slightly so when I get the hibiscus all over and leave it in!

[BrianaFineHair]

Mellie, this is something I would be interested in doing. Seems much less complicated than henna, or at least, until I work up my nerve.

What exactly do you do? Just brew the tea and do a rinse leaving it in; not rinsing out? Do you do anything prior to or just shampoo and or condition then the tea rinse?

[tiny_teesha]

My mother wants to find a less smelly way to get rid of her grays. I just started her on some henna and indigo. Turned a brassy orange. Not that bright OMG orange. lol.
She wants a more brown. Someone recommended amla. We will try it out. I want to henna her hair a few more times first to strengthen it though.
Is there something that stains but eventually rinses out. That way when she decides to go gray it will naturally fade and not have to grow it out?
Which is less messy way to do i think the red rasberry leaf, what colour did it change? red or brown? My mum wants a golden brown not so much reddish, but the henna is redding it and it doesnt look bad.

[quidscribis]

Mellie, when you used the hibiscus, was it a permanent color or did it wash out?

[khyricat]

Hibiscus is NOT permanent, and if rinsed washes right out, at least for me.. but I use it as a leave in anyway, so that works.. and I henna so its really only important to me on the roots that are exposed and would otherwise stand out white..

[tiny_teesha]

How do you prepare the henna spray? Also Where can you get red rasberry leaf from and how do you reppare that?

[mellie]

Hi everyone! In answer to your questions:

Briana - Yes, just brew up a strong tea, and rinse it through your hair as many times as possible, catching it in another bowl. With red raspberry leaf and hibiscus, you can leave it in. (I found a very easy way to do the hibiscus - just brew up the tea and put it in a spritzer, then you can just spritz the grays when you need to!). With Darjeeling, you have to rinse it out or your hair will feel really yucky. And yes, all you need to do is shampoo before (even the night before is fine).

Tiny Teesha - FYI, I posted my amla-only results in other posting (called "Talk to me about AMLA"). From my experience, you won't want to use it by itself, but in combination with henna and indigo. (Not to sabotage my own thread, but, you can get a really nice chocolate brown with just henna and indigo, you probably just need to use a little more indigo, or try a two-step method. In a two-step, you henna first, then indigo. That worked really beautifully for me.)

TT, cont - In answer to your question, "is there anything that stains that rinses out?", yes, all of these tea stains will shampoo out the next time you wash. That's one drawback of these tea rinses. Also the color won't hardly be as strong as henna. But, I think the red raspberry leaf would give you a nice light brown (not red at all). See above on how to apply it. It's not messy like henna.

Quidscribis - the hibiscus washed right out with the next shampoo.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions! :-)

[quidscribis]

I was hoping the hibiscus would be permanent. I'd like to add it to my henna to make it redder and less orange since I love flaming red hair. But I also like the idea of using hibiscus tea to temporarily cover the whites until the next time I henna. That sounds like a good option for me.

And now I'm thinking again of getting me a hibiscus plant...

[mellie]

Hi quidscribis!

Yes, it will definitely work to cover the gray temporarily between hennaings, I used it for a while for that purpose till I got sick of the red. Be aware, some folks have reported that hibiscus made more of a blue/purple for them than red...guess it depends on the pH of your hair?

That would be awesome to grow your own hibiscus! I bet it smells lovely!