Looking for an economical way to experiment with a different hair color this summer? You don’t have to shell out a ton of money at the salon when you can create your own DIY Hair Color!
With some creativity and the right materials, achieving a bold new look can be easy and hardly needs following a few simple steps. If you’re ready to take your look from drab to fab, let’s get started on making your very own DIY Hair Color!
It’s important to understand the options are limited when you want to go the natural route for coloring your hair. Undoubtedly they’re safer and chemical free unlike hair dyes.
Also, most options are temporary hair color options compared to hair dyes and last for a few days to a few washes at most. However, let’s see what options are available and take it from there.
1. Beet Juice for Burgundy Highlights
When you want stunning burgundy colored locks with a hint of purple, beets are your best friend. However, this is a temporary hair color option and will last for a few days, to a couple of washes at most.
However, it’s a great hair food and nourishes your locks. They promote blood circulation to the scalp and make your waves and curls bouncy. Unlike hair dyes, it doesn’t damage your hair but in fact nourishes it.
Things You’ll Need
- Beets – 3 or 4
- Coconut Oil – 1 Tbsp.
- Honey – 1 Tbsp.
Directions
- Chop beetroot into small pieces and add it to your blender jar.
- Grind to a fine paste.
- Filter the juice and add coconut oil and honey to it.
- Mix well.
- Done!
How To Use
Apply the hair mask on your locks using a brush and cover your head with a plastic wrap.
Let it sit for an hour at least.
Wash off with a mild shampoo, condition and air dry.
Style as usual.
Notes
Rinse off with apple cider vinegar for extra shine and tint.
You can also use this as a spray – spray on your dry hair by dividing it into sections and repeat a few times after it dries. Wait for an hour before washing off.
If it’s not dark enough, repeat the procedure the next day.
Since it’s a temporary color, you can do the same thing after washing your hair and applying this to air dried or damp hair. Then just rinse off and finish with an acv rinse without using shampoo for a darker shade.
For dark hair, you would usually get highlights in burgundy color as the base or natural hair shade is more dominant. You can also use a hair serum to prevent frizziness.
2. Carrot Juice for Orangish Highlights
Unlike beetroots, you get a slightly orange-golden, dark honey colored shine with carrots. Just like beets, carrots are loaded with antioxidants and hair beneficial nutrients leaving your hair healthy, thicker and shiny.
Things You’ll Need
- Carrots – 3 or 4
- Olive Oil – 1 Tbsp.
Directions
- Dice the carrots into small pieces.
- Run it in your mixer to a fine paste adding water.
- Filter the carrot juice and add olive oil.
- Mix carrot juice and olive oil.
- Done.
How To Use
Apply the mixture to your hair using a brush and cover your head with a shower cap.
Let it sit for an hour at least before washing off.
Condition, air dry your hair and style as usual.
If you have dark hair color you might get reddish orange tint highlights at most when using carrots as your natural hair color.
Finish off with apple cider vinegar for added shine.
You can apply this to washed hair and follow the same procedure. Rinse off without shampooing. This helps get a darker shade than when shampooing your hair after.
This is again a temporary coloring option and would last a few days at most.
3. Black Tea Or Coffee for Light – Dark Brown Locks
If you want to cover a few premature gray hairs, or make your hair a shade darker, or just strengthen and spruce up your strands, black tea is just what you need.
Things You’ll Need
- Black Tea – 4 Tbsps.
- Water – as needed
Directions
- Add the tea leaves to a bowl and pour water over to cover it well.
- Bring to a boil and simmer it.
- Let the tea boil for a bit so you get a thick decoction.
- Done!
How To Use
You can either spray it on your strands, repeat as and when it dried and let it sit for an hour.
Alternatively, you can also apply the tea decoction with a cotton ball.
After an hour, wash off with a mild shampoo, condition and air dry.
Style as usual.
Notes
You can add rosemary and sage leaves while brewing the tea to promote hair growth and curb premature graying.
Tea strengthens and nourishes your strands. You can additionally add other herbs to improve your hair health.
Tea renders a slightly dark orangish brown. You can add coffee grounds to make it a darker brown for gray coverage.
You can also prepare rooibos tea, hibiscus tea, chamomile tea, rhubarb tea, etc. depending on your hair shade and the shade you’re going for.
While this is not a permanent hair dye like most commercial hair dyes, it still lasts longer than carrots or beets and can be used to cover grays fairly effectively. It lasts for a few days and can be topped up without having to rinse out your hair.
You can also apply this on washed hair, so you don’t have to shampoo. Just rinse out instead. That way, it’s darker and lasts longer.
Coffee also you use similarly, except that the color is a touch darker than tea.
4. Henna for Brown Shades
With Henna you can get any shade of your preference ranging from deep reddish orange, to burgundy, to brown or even black! The key lies in the mixture you prepare, the ingredients you add, time you let the pack sit on your hair, dye released from henna, etc.
Things You’ll Need
- Henna Powder – 4 Tbsps.
- Indigo Leaves Powder – 4 Tbsps.
- Rose Water – 6 Tbsps.
- Vinegar or Lemon Juice – 1 Tbsp.
- Water – as needed
Directions
- Mix all the given ingredients together adding water if needed, to form a thick paste.
- Cover it with a lid and let it sit overnight.
- Done!
How To Use
In the morning slightly remove the top layer and see if the dye is released – there will be a difference in the color of the pack. If yes, it’s ready for use as the dye is released.
Apply on your hair covering your entire head dividing them into sections using a hair coloring brush and hair coloring comb.
Let it sit for 2 – 4 hours, depending on how deep and longer you want the shade to last.
Wash off with a mild shampoo, condition and air dry.
Ideally, wash off with hair fruit and soap nut powder to help the color last longer, and also to nourish the hair.
Notes
You can add false daisy and eclipta prostrata leaves to this for black color. Additionally, keep it in an iron vessel for added nourishment and strengthening of hair.
You can add yogurt for silky soft strands if it works for your body. Otherwise, rose water, coconut milk, aloe vera gel or even a few spoons of oil can combat the dryness associated with using henna on hair.
You can add equal parts to more indigo leaves powder depending on how deep brown you want the result.
Reduce the indigo leaves if you’re looking for lighter brown to copper or orangish hue more than brown when using henna.
Adding beetroot juice to a henna pack can give you burgundy locks.
You can substitute lemon juice with vinegar or vice versa in the pack to help release dye better.
Since this is a permanent hair dye option in natural hair colors, it’s a great bonus as it can last close to a month when used regularly.
This also enhances the health of your natural hair and can be chosen close to your natural color shade especially if your locks are dark.
5. Food Coloring Dye
Food colors are another way to add an array of coloring options that aren’t otherwise possible with natural color aids. Kool aid is one such option, though there are many food color options you can try.
Depending on the food color type you choose, you can go with water or oil (conditioner) as your mixing aid for food colors.
You will need to wait for an hour at-most or less depending on the food color type.
You can wash off or rinse off and go wild or even choos funky colors when using food colors to dye your hair.
Don’t forget to do a patch test, or even strand test before you color your hair.
6. Chamomile Tea
Want sun-kissed highlights? Chamomile tea is the best way to get it naturally. Add strongly brewed chamomile tea and lemon juice in the ratio of 1:8 to a spray dispenser and spray the mixture on your hair.
Let it sit for a good 30 minutes while you let it dry out in the sun. Rinse off and condition for super shiny hair.
Air dry and style as usual.
7. Lemon Juice
Want to bleach your locks? Nothing works better for this quickly than lemon juice when you want to go a few shades lighter. Add juice from one lemon to 1/2 cup of water and spray on your hair. Rinse off after a couple of hours and condition. Air dry and style as usual.
You can repeat this process till you get the desired results. You can also use lemon vodka for softer locks. Like lemon, orange juice works and is more suited for sensitive skin. However, it’s not as quick or effective as lemon and might need more repetitions.
8. Cinnamon
If you want a light ginger hue or ginger highlights, you can go with cinnamon.
For this, you need to mix equal parts of cinnamon powder and your conditioner. Apply this mixture using a hair brush on your locks and let it sit for an hour. Rinse off or shampoo if needed.
This is again a temporary option to dye your hair and lasts for a few days and doesn’t give drastic change in your hair color.
Conclusion
You don’t have to use professional products or head to hair color experts or a salon when you want to color your hair. Though at home hair color using natural options does limit the hair coloring choices you will have, diy hair coloring is becoming more popular.
As always, keep us posted with you results. Don’t have time for DIY? We have you covered with a range of premium vegan hair cosmetics from Vitamins Revive. Do check out their products at their online store and let us know how you like them. Feel free to write to us for any questions, feedback or concerns.
Henna combinations are most popular, though Katam has been preferred for slightly purple – burgundy locks, though post pandemic, it’s hard to find it. Most are temporary coloring options, except coffee and tea, which are semi permanent dye options.
