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I stopped coloring my hair a few years ago because of the toxins and heavy metals contained in conventional hair dyes. I'd like to tell you that I'm comfortable with going gray, but I'm really not! Are there safer alternatives for coloring my hair?
A few decades ago, hair dye got a bad wrap when a number of studies showed a correlation between prolonged permanent hair dye use and fatal cancers. Women who used darker hair dyes over long periods, for example, showed an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The stylist who worked on Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who died in her sixties of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, even suggested that her hair dye caused her cancer.
A 2004 report by the American Journal of Epidemiology, however, showed no increased risk of the disease among women who started using hair-coloring products in 1980 or later. But are today's formulas actually safer, or is new disease still latent? No one really knows. I can tell you this, though: 22 potentially carcinogenic hair-dye chemicals that have been banned in the European Union are still used in some U.S. formulations, including Acid Orange 24 and 2,3-Naphthalenediol. (If you use a home dye-kit, check the back of the box to avoid these ingredients; if you go to the salons for treatment, you may be at the mercy of your stylist.) Other common chemicals in hair dyes include coal tar colorswhich can be identified by the ingredients "F,D,&C," "D&C," and "P-phenylenediamine" on labels. All are considered carcinogenic.
Gentler dyes are available, though they may not achieve quite the same effect. A very Zen friend of mine uses henna and herbal dyes, though she admits she's never quite gotten the color or permanence she wanted. She's had better luck with high quality henna (I recommend Lush, which is actually a pigment rather than a dye. With these, you'll have better luck with lighter colored dyes. Other safer alternatives include Act by Nature and hair coloring creams produced by Surya Brasil. The latter still contains some synthetic color, but principally relies on naturally derived ingredients and avoids P-phenylenediamine.
If you've had luck using natural hair dyes, we want to know about it. Give us a shout out and don't be shy--send your before-and-after pictures to asksummer@treehugger.com. If you're a strong, sassy, sexy woman who's rocking gray locks, we want to hear from you, too!
Summer Rayne Oakes is Planet Green's fashion and beauty expert.
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