Natural and organic approach to dyeing hair

If are you allergic to synthetic hair dyes, concerned about the chemicals used in the synthetic dyes, pregnant or a cancer survivor susceptible to harsh chemicals such as PPD, resorcinol or ammonia, there are natural and safe alternatives to colouring hair.

Synthetic dyes work by raising the pH of the hair surface with ammonia in order to open the cuticle to allow the dye to penetrate the hair shaft. This in turn damages the hair.

Henna is an all natural permanent dye. Henna has a dye molecule called Lawsone in its leaves. When Henna powder is mixed with black tea or lemon juice, the dye is released, which binds with the keratin of the hair shaft, thus colouring hair.
Indigo is also completely natural and will not damage the hair, no matter how long it remains. Indigo powder is a medium to bright green powder. When mixed into a paste it is a dark rich green that slowly shows blue dye on the top and will appear a navy blue/blackish color with time.

There are a lot of companies promoting henna and indigo that is supposed to be all natural and organic. Henna products can contain metallic compounds. It is well know now that “Black henna” has PPD. PPD can also be used in either black or red henna products. PPD is not the only adulterant used. Henna or Indigo if not certified organic, could contain high levels of lead, bacteria, pesticides, solvents, skin irritating fillers, etc. So look carefully at the ingredient listing before buying.

When using natural products please keep in mind that henna and indigo will react and color your hair uniquely. The result will be different and unique on everyone depending on their hair type and condition.

Have fun experimenting!

Introduction

We, at Nature Shop Australia, have started a blog so that we can get your views on our service and ingredients. These comments will help us improve and we hope to reciprocate, whenever possible.

Nature Shop is and will always be first and foremost an ethical business that you can trust.

Nature Shop's business is in the trade of Natural Botanical Ingredients. We focus on the hard to obtain ingredients as we believe, it will offer our clients a better value proposition in the market by using these ingredients. Most of the ingredients we supply can be interchangeably used in both the food and cosmetic industry, for example our natural colours. We will in time gradually move to organic ingredients as we can source them more economically. Our major suppliers are located in 3rd world countries and in most of these places, organic certification is a very expensive proposition, which is one reason why we are not always successful in getting the organic variants of some of our ingredients. In time and as we grow, we hope to become fully organic.

To all our clients, I would like to extend a warm welcome as you browse our Web site. Appreciate your comments.

Many thanks

Shoba Mathew
Nature Shop