As we age, those with naturally dark hair colour find it tends to fade. Whilst going grey accounts for part of this, it’s not the whole story. Pollution build-up can dull shine, and health challenges can cause the hair to lose lustre and depth.
Of course, going grey the natural way is beautiful, but if you want to restore your dark hair to its best at any age, this is the guide for you. Here are 5 simple steps to covering your grey naturally:
Step 1: Clarify the hair to remove product build up
The hair needs a double-wash to remove all traces of Sulphates, SleS and environmental build-up that dulls your shine.
You can start with a natural, organic shampoo, then follow up with a clarifying treatment, like organic shikakai powder. Known as ‘fruit for hair’ because of its health promoting properties, it’s a gentle way to remove build-up in a chemical free way.
Step 2: Thicken and prevent further greying
Bhringaraj Herb (eclipta alba) is an Ayurvedic medicinal herb, which strengthens the hair and helps prevent hair loss, balding, and premature greying.
You can either apply either by adding Bhringaraj powder to a warmed oil, or by making a paste from it. Either way, you massage them into the scalp and hair and leave on for a few hours (a perfect excuse for some self-care time), then wash off with shampoo.
Bhringaraj is also a natural anti-sceptic, ideal for treating any scalp concerns and worries you may have. A healthy scalp equates to healthy hair, so this is vital.
Step 3. Strengthen your hair from the inside
If your hair is weak or falling out, there may be some lack of nutrition in your diet, or you may need a health boost of nutritional supplements.
Check out our guide to understanding your hair dosha for further advice on getting the hair of your dreams using nutrition tailored to your ayurvedic profile.
Step 4. Restore your colour
We recommend natural hair dye powders for getting a good, opaque dark brown, with a combination of henna for multi-tone highlights and indigo for richness.
If you have a lot of white hair, it will probably be a bit lighter than dark brown the first time round, so you need to make sure that you leave time for a couple of attempts to get it the shade you need.
Remember, it’s always easier to go too light first-time round, and then go darker, than it is to go too dark and then have to do colour removal.
Depending on your colour confidence, one of the following options will help you dye safely, without risking the structure of your hair, or the allergic reactions common with mainstream box dyes:
i) It’s Pure Organics Herbal Hair Colour Dark Brown
It's Pure Dark Brown is one of our bestselling natural dark hair dyes. It is henna based and ready mixed for easy application. On white or grey hair, it tends to give a light to medium brown. The darker your hair, the darker the result will be.
ii) It’s Pure Organics Herbal Hair Colour Very Dark Brown
It's Pure Very Dark Brown is similar to the It’s Pure Dark Brown, but slightly darker and cooler than the Dark Brown. If you have very light hair, this may be a better choice for a stronger result.
iii) It’s Pure Organics Pure Henna and Indigo - Make your own ‘Hendigo’ mix
If you want your own custom dark colour, rather than It’s Pure Organics Dark Brown or Very Dark Brown, you can mix your own combination of organic henna and pure indigo (and potentially add in some Ayurvedic herbs like shikakai or amla for conditioning).
To get a dark brown you would mix two parts indigo to one part henna, which you can buy here.
Alternatively you can apply henna and then indigo in 2 separate applications. This can help achieve a virtual black in some cases on grey hair.
PRO TIP: All of us have different hair lengths, porosity, thickness and texture, which can significantly alter your end result. For this reason we always recommend strand testing before putting it all over your hair. See this article here about how to strand test:
You can find convenient tester sizes of our henna and indigo powders here:
Henna Tester
Indigo Tester
Dark Brown Tester
Very Dark Brown Tester
Step 5: Renew Your Hair's Shine
The final stage in restoring your dark hair, is to renew the shine. We recommend using either an organic hair conditioner containing ingredients like sea buckthorn, which is proven to add shine.
If you’re practicing the ayurvedic routine, an Amla treatment is a beautiful option for a deep shine.
It’s packed with vitamin C and you can add it to your treatment routine, by simply mixing into a yoghurt texture with water and leaving it to sit on the hair for 30 minutes.
If you have further questions, please email our hair dye experts here now >
You can also grab an amazing offer with our Dark Brown Hair Care Bundles, SAVING 25% on the individual purchase prices. The bundle contains:
- It's Pure Hair Colour (Dark Brown or Very Dark Brown)
- Odylique Gentle Herb Shampoo
- Odylique Lavender & Sea Buckthorn Conditioner
- Shikakai Powder 100g
- Bhringaraj Powder 100g