My friend often comments on how my hair has an interesting bluish tone, and another claims it has cool purple tones while my mother insists my hair is a dark brown. No everyone I know isn’t colour blind- this confusion is simply due to my experiments with herbs and oils to enhance my natural hair colour. Dark hair can become drab and dull if not looked after with care.
Here are a handful of my favourite home remedies to bring out natural highlights and have healthy looking hair. As usual the recipes are suitable for vegans and with the added benefit of being safe for use during pregnancy.
Infused Herbal Hair Rinse
Dark hair can be rinsed with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and certain herbs to both condition and enhance hair colour
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 pint boiling water
- ½ pint apple cider vinegar
- Muslin bag
Place the dried herbs in the muslin bag and put in a saucepan adding the boiling water. Lower the heat and cover pan with a lid. Simmer for five minutes and let it steep until cold. Allow the liquid to cool and add the apple cider vinegar mixing carefully. To use simple pour over hair after shampooing, then finish by rinsing with clean water.
Henna Dye for Blue Hair Highlights
Lush’s Caca henna makes an excellent choice of dye for dark hair. Apply lemon juice mixed with olive oil to hair in random sections from root to tip and leave for ten minutes. Go out into the sun for fifteen minutes. Lemon juice is not advised for lightening dark hair as it can make it look orange or brassy. However as this will be followed up with henna we can get away with it! Use either caca noir or brun for bluish tones in hair. Read Lush Les Cacas review for detailed instructions about how to use the henna.
Herbal Hair Mask for Dark Hair
Rosemary and cloves bring out the highlights in hair, and coconut milk conditions leaving hair soft and silky.
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried lavender
- ½ teaspoon powdered cloves
Combine ingredients and mix well. Apply to hair massaging carefully to cover all hair. Leave for twenty minutes and then wash and condition as usual.
Herbs to Enhance Dark Hair
Herbs that are recommended for dark hair include comfrey, elderberries, , nettles, raspberry leaves, bay leaves, rosemary, burdock root and sage. Natural herbal remedies enhance dark hair without damaging it like chemical treatments. These homemade remedies condition the hair and leave it stronger and shinier. Home treatments are inexpensive, easy and more environmentally friendly (cutting out packaging etc).
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