Generally it has been found that many Natural hair care products are rich in herbal extracts. Herbal extracts may help retain the soft and smooth texture of hair, Luckily there are a profusion of hair care products out there. Treating hair in the best way possible will reduce the likelihood of hair loss occurring. Colouring of hair is endemic in today's society, very few if any older women don't use some sort of hair colouring. There are two main varieties of hair dyes, be either natural or synthetic. The natural dyes may be made from herbal extracts and are free from chemicals agents such as peroxides, ammonia and coal tar. They also tend to have low allergenic potential. It has been insinuated that synthetic dyes which are strong in peroxide or ammonia may damage the hair to a certain extent. Thankfully natural dyes can be found in various shades.
Henna (also known as Lawsonia inermis) is probably one of the most well known natural hair colour. It has also been used for a long time to colour the hair well before the other artificial varieties were invented. The red colour which henna has comes form the Henna leaves which contain lawsone. The colour itself comes from the reaction of its thiol groups with keratin protein which is in hair. Henna also has a nice byproduct in that it conditions the hair also, and adds as a natural straightener, it even has anti fungal elements which can help with reducing the incidence of dandruff. It should be noted that once henna has been applied the hair may get dry so a moisturizing conditioner may be advisable
Chamomile can be used to improve the highlighting and shine of coloured hair. It can even sparkle up grey hair. It has also be proposed to help the scalp as well as some people believing it can stimulate growth of hair. Chamomile hair rinse can be used as a conditioner, if used constantly the hair will tend to lighten.
Shakikai (also known as Acacia Concinna) has also been proposed as a remedy for dandruff and the loss of hair. It has been said that it makes the hair nice and shiny and helps with hair health. Benefits it is attributed is that it is low in pH, which helps with its mildness, from this it is said that it does not remove the natural protective oil from the hair.
Extracts from trees like nutgall, logwood, and Brazil wood are also used to darken gray hair.When the natural hair dye is put on the hair it colours only the visible parts of the hair. The colour penetrates into the inside of the hair shaft the cortex. There are however some temporary dyes such as gels, mousses that do not get into this inner layer of the hair as they have a higher molecular weight, this temporary layer of colour will be washed away. The perming process allows these dyes to get into the cortex of the hair shaft. This does tend to last longer, but it may also be more damaging to the hair.
Copper coloured hair can be achieved by mixing onion peels with henna. A blonde hair can be achieved by using apigenin, which is a pigment which is extracted from chamomile flowers. To get a red head then Hibiscus sabdariffa can be used. The strength of the colour red can be controlled by choosing the pH of the Hibiscus sabdariffa. To get a more golden colour, then turmeric may be used, the yellow in turmeric comes from the curcumin pigment within the turmeric.