How to tint white hair with herbs

April 8, 9:19 PMSacramento Nutrition ExaminerAnne Hart

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Sacramento Nutrition Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Here's how to tint your white hair using only food, for example, natural herbs or spices. The color should be muted and natural looking and be such that the white roots wouldn't show obviously after several weeks, but delicately blend in with the surrounding colors. The herbs and spices selected had to have no stimulant effect on the body.

Before I could recommend to others herbs to tint white hair, the herbs chosen had to be neutral in effect or calming, and not capable of raising blood pressure or stimulating the body in a way that would promote nervousness, seizures, panic attacks, or organ problems in the elderly, in epileptics, or in people who are electro-sensitive or have sensitivity to stimulants.

Always research the effect of spices and herbs on the body or on your particular condition before using them. The process also emphasized using natural, organic herbs and spices and not artificial hair tints containing substances known to change the electrical or chemical systems or the organs in the body. To comply with my requirements I chose to use dried, powdered (or crushed and ground) chamomile, sage, turmeric, and cinnamon. 

 What food items such as herbs will you need?

• Sage (ground)
• Chamomile
• Black Tea diluted in water
• Shampoo

Caution: Don't use more than a tiny pinch of turmeric on white or gray hair as it will turn your hair a horrible, bright, clownish, glowing yellow. The turmeric is optional. Sage alone with water will produce a dark ash blonde to light ash blonde shade on white hair.

Tea produces tea-colored white hair if the hair is porous and actually absorbs the tea coloring. Be careful your hair won't turn pink. Cut a lock of hair off first and try it first in the sage and then in the tea or other spice or herb. Don't put a solution on your entire head. Snip of a lock of hair and test the herbs out on the lock of hair.

In a pot of water containing about a quart of cool water I added a half cup of sage and three tea bags of chamomile tea. I also added a small pinch of turmeric and a small pinch of cinnamon. I simmered the liquid for 30 minutes. I let the liquid stand for two hours to cool. Then I strained the liquid. Finally, I poured the brownish brew twice over my short, white hair and let it dry for several hours. A good combing removed some of the grains of sage. Finally, I rinsed twice with clear water and patted my hair dry with a towel.

The results, at least on my hair, are satisfying to me. The white hair turned a light ash blonde. The grey hair became a darker blonde with some gold and cinnamon highlights. And the ash brown hair that did not turn gray naturally, remained brown. The colors blend and look natural. I am happy with this result.

You can leave out the cinnamon and turmeric if you wish. Please don't use too much turmeric as it turns white hair an artificially looking bright yellow and looks like a clown's wig. The most natural colors I found came from the sage. Sage seems to make white hair a natural ash brown or blonde hue, at least on me. Chamomile also is gentle to white and blonde hair.

Notice that each time you put a mixture of sage boiled in water on your white or gray hair, your hair will keep getting darker, and you may end up with muted light brown hair. Some herbs wash out and others remain in porous hair. 

Herbalists suggest that sage be used on brunette hair. On white hair, used only one time, it produced (on me) a natural-appearing shade of ash blonde. Keep in mind that I used this only one time to arrive at the ash blonde tone in the picture. I let the mixture stay on my hair at least two hours before rinsing it out. If your hair is very porous, it quickly will absorb a lot more color.

Use spices, teas, or herbs on your hair at your own risk. Find out first if you're allergic to or have any other reaction to the herbs and spices or other materials mentioned in this article that you choose to use. I can only speak for what worked on my older relative's' white hair. It's all about wise traditions in food being used to gently color and condition hair. Sometimes the herb won't take on resistant hair. Other times, porous hair will absorb the herb.

Each person may have a different reaction to this solution. So I speak only for results on  white hair based on using sage and chamomile only on my relative's hair. After I achieved the desired shade of a light beige/ash blonde tone, I shampooed the person's hair and the color lightened. So see how the result remains on a lock of your own hair that you test out by trying different herbs and spices and then shampooing several times. Does the color remain or rinse out? My herbal colors lasted about two weeks on mom's hair at that time long ago. Here are some tips you may want to consider. 

• Try a spice or herb that colors a lock of your hair the shade you like and see how many shampoos it will take before it washes out.
• Chamomile and sage works best on my white hair
• White and gray hair is dry and porous and will absorb any spice or herb. If use an herb or spice with a strong or bright color, use it on dark brown hair.
• Beet juice and carrot juice will turn white hair bright pink or peach and look unnatural. Don't use it unless your color now is auburn.
• Test various teas on a patch of hair, such as green tea to see what is absorbed as far as color. White or gray hair colors differently with herbs than dark hair.
• Blonde hair works well with chamomile tea.
• Test for allergies before trying anything on your hair.
• Test on a lock of hair that you snip before putting any solution on your skin or scalp.
• Don't get any solution in your eyes.
• Don't put turmeric and water as a paste directly on white or gray hair as it will turn your hair a really bad/phony looking shade of bright yellow.
• Don't use orange henna on white hair.
• Don't use beet juice or carrot juice on white hair.
• Your scalp easily absorbs anything you pour or rub on it.

Sage and black tea simmered together also result in an herbal brew that may tint white or gray hair. But remember tht black tea produces a shade the color of diluted black tea. Using sage alone has a more natural-looking tone that ranges from beige or ash blond to light brown after long-time use.

The color may wash out in two weeks like a rinse.  Or if your hair is porous, the color could stay longer or permanently. Each person is different and the reaction would be different. Also, find out whether you're allergic to any herb by testing it first on a patch of skin before you put any type of herb tea on your scalp. What you put on your scalp is absorbed through your skin.