Good Looks
Hair color: A tangled issue for natural-leaning types
Like moisturizing and mani-pedis, hair dyeing is a standard beauty ritual for many women. Yet, while natural skin-care and non-toxic nail polish brands have flourished, the world of hair color clings to its chemical roots.
Concerns about the contents of hair color date back to the ’70s, when news outlets alerted consumers to the dangers of widely-used ingredients like coal tar and benzidine, which are known carcinogens. Most manufacturers took these out and replaced them with less toxic chemicals.
But that didn’t silence the alarms. Many of the substitute ingredients still used in today’s hair dyes, like ammonia and parabens, have been linked to cancer in several research studies. The most prevalent, p-phenylenediamine (PPD) is a known allergen and has been linked to various cancers.
But, according to the American Cancer Society, evidence of hair dye’s carcinogenic effect on people is still lacking. One highly-publicized study concluded that hairstylists “probably are exposed to cancer causing substances.” But it didn’t look at whether they actually developed cancer. Nor did the study address the risk to customers who come into contact with or inhale the noxious fumes (albeit less regularly than the stylists). Still, a lack of consensus about risk doesn’t keep us from worrying.
Siobhan O'Connor, co-author of No More Dirty Looks
So what are the natural choices available? Aveda, the face of natural hair color, seems to be the best of the traditional brands. Their plant-based dyes are “97% natural.” But to do the trick of covering your grays and sticking around after you shampoo, Aveda hair color also contains PPD and ammonia. Natural Instincts, an at-home kit by Clairol, doesn’t contain ammonia. But it does use PPD and slew of other ingredients on the dirty dozen list.
Henna-based and vegetable hair dyes are a growing market. “But the problem is that they suck—which might not be their fault,” says Siobhan O’Connor, co-author of No More Dirty Looks, a book and website dedicated to non-toxic beauty. “The real issue is that, for a dye to actually work, some heavy-duty chemistry is in order. We’re asking the product to be foolproof, consistent, stable, and effective. Nature hasn’t—and I suspect won’t—find a way to replicate those factors in a dye.”
John Masters has already accepted the challenge. Although his famous “clean-air” Soho salon has closed, Masters has spent two years working on a safer hair color. “We’re still in the middle of our mandatory stability-testing phase,” says Masters’ brand director, Jonni Lu. “We should have it ready by late summer or early fall.” Will Masters get to the root of the natural hair-dye problem we’ve been waiting for?
In the meantime, O’Connor suggests working with a colorist to wean yourself off dyes or at least limiting the number of times you go. “Space it out and know that you’re taking a calculated risk,” she says. “There are no 100 percent safe dyes that I would recommend using. So be real about that if you’re going to do it anyway.” —Lisa Elaine Held
Do you know of a salon that uses natural hair dye or a natural hair-color brand? Let us know in the Comments, below!
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As a cosemtic chemist and founder of Zaega.com, my goal is to educate women about healthy beauty!
A good follow up to this post, please read my article about the chemistry and safety of hair color at http://www.zaega.com/hair-coloring-101-permanent-dyes.html and share!
For more tips on how to avoid toxins in cosmetics, please visit http://www.zaega.com/good-to-know
This article is very poorly written and researched. The best natural hair dyes and tints are ammonia-free, such as the NaturTint line and a few others. Aveda is NOT the best. This is very misleading. Henna dyes should also have been listed as an option in this article, since many natural hair dye companies have incorporated natural henna in their product. There are actually quite a few companies out there now that are making non-toxic hair dye products – I’ve found them at Integral Yoga, Whole Foods, and Commodities health food stores, to name just three shops that carry them in Manhattan. But citing John Masters and Aveda as the leaders in non-toxic hair dyes is just WRONG. There products are much more toxic than the NutraTint and other dyes/tints sold at health food stores – these are the non-toxic hair dyes that most people purchase when they want the safest possible hair dye.
This is a very important for women who are chemically sensitive, as I am, and should have been more accurately and thoroughly researched.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tricia Huffman and Siobhan O'Connor, Well + Good. Well + Good said: While natural skin-care brands grow, the world of hair color clings to its chemical roots #natural #beauty http://bit.ly/eevK6u [...]
[...] was delighted to weigh in. From the article, which you should read in [...]
I’ve been told that dyes have a lot of Vitamin A which leads to Vitamin A toxicity. Do you know anything about that?
Hi LisaNYC,
Thank you so much for your feedback. I did mention henna-based dyes in the story, but the reason we didn’t go in-depth on some of the henna and plant-based dyes is that while many women swear by those products, most find that the results are very different from conventional dyes and it’s not possible to get similar results, such as subtle highlights. It’s also impossible for us to find and include every product in this short space, so please do leave suggestions and ideas in the comments so that our readers are given more information we might have missed!
I did just research the natural brand you mentioned, Naturtint, and while it’s ammonia-free and markets itself as natural, it does contain PPD: http://www.iherb.com/Naturtint-Permanent-Hair-Colorant-5N-Light-Chestnut-Brown-5-4-fl-oz-155-ml/5835?at=0. That’s the challenge with these products- it’s very hard to know which are truly natural. The more people we have investigating, trying, and commenting, the better.
Best,
Lisa
What about Essensity by Schwarzkopf?
They have taken out many ingredients besides PPD that are toxic or synthetic, and you can get great results. Obviously not natural by any means, but better than most other colours out there.
Again, thanks W+G for bringing another important health/beauty matter to our attention. My salon has just started using KoKo which is an amonia free dye. I hope it’s healthier because I’m hooked. I do low-lights–the color is much better and it lasts so-o-o much longer.
Hi…that’s smth i’m investigating for so long but the results is none…after i gave birth to my son simple itch that always was there while colouring my hair turned out to be more serious …after 48 hours i had edema on my face by pills it disappered in 10 days…i tried a lot of natural products including french and swiss but it got worse …i can’t believe that there’s no natural product for those who has allergies….unless you may suggest one….
best regards,
Ayten
Henna does not suck. It’s the best thing I ever did to my hair.
Fiona, I agree! Henna is awesome (pure henna, not “henna based” stuff that can still be toxic). You can mix with indigo to get browns. The only thing you can’t do with natural plants like henna is make your hair lighter – it will only go darker. But it does do a fantastic job of covering gray. Just be willing to do your research and find top grade henna, experiment a bit, and you will be happy if you are looking for anything in reds or browns.
[...] Reading Hair color: A tangled issue for natural-leaning types How to choose a non-toxic sunscreen The most toxic cosmetic? Traditional lip glosses, study finds [...]
What about Organic Systems, Kevin Murphy or DermOrganic? Thanks. Tracey
Henna does NOT cover gray hair on otherwise black haired Asian women. I know, I’ve tried it more than once. I also recently wasted money on Palette by Nature – does NOT cover gray on Asian hair. If it works, it’s working on white women. I have to use the PPD stuff to cover the gray unfortunately. The company that can figure out how to cover gray without PPD will make bank.
[...] summer rays can wreak havoc on hair (as can a lot of shampoos and dyes). A simple solution? Coconut oil, the hardest working $12 condiment in your kitchen, makes an [...]
[...] doesn’t exist and anyone who says otherwise is just talking hooey,” says Corbett. “Even henna dyes, which are sold in natural stores and claim to be organic, have metallic salts that aren’t good [...]
[...] Keep reading… Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Posted in Advice, Hair care, Health, No More Dirty Looks | Tagged Aveda, hair dye and cancer, John Masters, natural hair color, no more dirty looks, Well + Good NYC [...]
What choice is less harmful (less toxic) and what can we really do to protect ourselves when it comes to hair dyes?
Six brands available on the shelves of the health food stores ( Sanotint , Herbatint , Color & Soin , Naturetint , Hair fashion Alegretti , EcoColors ) were analyzed for you. See their toxicological decryption on the page Non-toxic hair dyes on http://www.corneliadum.com.
How about DAVINES (A NEW COLOUR NATURAL WARM), it looks like PPD free. And Do you know JF Lazartigue?????. Now I am using henna, by Lush, ad I like it, and it really works on my grays, but I am tired about re-brown color on me!. Please let me know! Thank you so much!
How about this: no ammonia or PPD
http://www.apivita.com/hair/hair-colorants.html
I’ve recently tried Original & Mineral, an Australian brand that is free of PPD, ammonia and Resorcinol. Amazing quality results, full coverage of my ‘silver sparklers’ and beautiful colour. Hopefully some US salons can get this in stock! http://originalmineral.com
I’ve just tried Marcapar here in Europe, which is new and claims to be “magnetic”. It is fantastic! Colors only the gray. I have med. brown hair with some gray. Turned the gray into pretty blond highlights. Said to be long lasting. But I can’t find it in the states.