Our primary focus is helping you color your hair using pure plant pigments that have been used for thousands of years. People of every age and ethnicity color their hair for numerous reasons.

Why choose herbal colorants?

• Repair hair that is damaged

• Cover gray better than chemical colors can

• Pure herbal dyes are nontoxic (though anyone can be allergic to anything)

• Applied as a paste or “mud,” the process is relaxing, soothing, and conditioning

• These natural materials connect us to ancient traditions while nourishing our hair, our spirit, and the earth

When coloring hair with herbs, your hair’s original or base color is taken into consideration to achieve results. Mixing different herbs together, along with the percentage of gray, creates a wide range of options.

Amla

While the dried, powdered fruit of amla is not considered a true colorant for hair, it can subtly adjust tone, creating a cool brown shade with repeated use. Amla is also used alone as hair therapy to stimulate growth and add volume. Beyond hair, amla has been used medicinally and cosmetically for thousands of years, including as a facial scrub and toner. Today, it is often found in shampoos and hair oils.

The amla tree (Emblica officinalis or Phyllanthus emblica), native to India, is also called the Indian gooseberry. Its fibrous, astringent fruit has one large stone. It should not be confused with the European gooseberry. The amla tree has twisting spiral branches, simple feathery leaves, and greenish-yellow flowers. Its fruits are harvested by hand from the upper branches.

Cassia Obovata

Cassia obovata (Senna italica) is made from dried and powdered leaves used to condition and tone hair.

Senna is a large genus with around 400 species. All contain chrysophanic acid, an antimicrobial substance that produces a yellow stain. Cassia is often called “blonde henna” (a misnomer, since henna is a different plant that only produces red tones). It is also known as “neutral henna” because it cannot lift or change the pigment of dark hair, though it can brighten lighter shades and tone gray.

Cassia is used alone to add brightness and richness to blonde and strawberry blonde shades, or combined with henna to create strawberry blonde, copper, or carrot tones. The plant grows in warm climates and is native to West and North Africa, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and regions from Yemen to Northwest India.

Henna

Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is the most famous herbal dye, used for over 6,000 years. Ancient Egyptians used it to color hair, and it has also been applied to fabrics, leather, skin, and nails.

The word mehndi usually refers to henna body art, an integral part of beauty traditions. Its red stain represents good luck and has been part of rites of passage including pregnancy, marriage, and even death.

The henna plant is a moderate-sized shrub, also called the mignonette tree or Egyptian privet. Native to semi-arid regions of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia, it has small white or pink flowers with a sweet aroma. Its bark and seeds have been used in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine. Henna also has a cooling effect and provides natural sun protection for skin and hair.

Neutral and Black “Henna”

• Neutral henna usually refers to cassia obovata (Senna italica).

• Black henna usually refers to indigo. In the 19th and 20th centuries, indigo was marketed as “black henna.”

Caution: Some products sold as “black henna” may contain no indigo at all but instead chemical dyes like p-phenylenediamine (PPD), which can cause allergic reactions and permanent scarring. The FDA forbids PPD for this purpose.

Indigo

Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) has been used for millennia as both a textile and hair dye. Combined with henna, it creates deep reds, browns, and blacks. Alone, it can produce vivid green or teal tones on white hair, eventually deepening to purple or blue-green.

True indigo is a shrub 3 to 6 feet tall, with light-green feathery leaves and bundles of pink or violet flowers. It is a legume, enriching the soil like beans or alfalfa. Related plants include Baptisia australis (wild blue indigo), used in North America to create weaker dye.