How Many People Still Dye Their Hair?

[orangeflame]

I touched up my roots tonight. Ok, now the secrets out, I'm not a natural blonde (though I was in childhood, does that count??)

Anyway, I am always so damn conflicted about still dying my hair. I use natural, non animal tested hairdye, of course...but it's still clearly not healthy. But I like my locks how they are...ahhhhh...decisions, decisions.

So this leaves me wondering, anyone out there raw and still touchin up the ol gray? Anyone stop dying their hair when they adopted this lifestyle?

Anyone have any suggestions for blondie over here? Is there a way to get concentrated peroxide or something else totally natural that will do the trick?

[Ilse W.]

When I was 18 (oh boy, that's been 40 years:eek: ) I worked at a doctor's office for a bit and took some of the (only) 3% peroxide and poured it on my hair. It turned bright orange. I had no money to buy hair dye, so I had to walk around with a carrot top for about 3 months till it grew out enough to chop it off.:p

[orangeflame]

You poor thing!!!

Guess I won't be trying that.

[Aleesha Sattva]

we just recently had a thread (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=38440&highlight=colour+hair) about this... ;)

and yup... i do

[GlimR]

I do...I use the most "natural" product I can find at the HFS...my son is getting married in two weeks...after that I am going to stop.....don't want 4 inch roots showing at a formal wedding.nope!!:eek:

[queenfluff]

I know I am going to sound like the killjoy here but there is no such thing as 'natural' hair dye - except henna. So, if you are making your hair lighter - you got some chemicals in there. (sorry blondes!)

They health hazards of the chemicals alone should be enough to convince you not not to use it. Not to mention the environmental hazards from the production of the stuff....


Tips: Not really. It depends on your hair color hair. If it is on the blonde side already, you can use lemon juice in the sun to lighten it. It wil take several passes and it will really dry out your hair. But just periodixe by itself will not do it (and yes, I have tried it) - at least, it won't lighten it enough that will be satisfactory to most people. That is why when you buy color kits - there are two things to mix - one is usually the perioxide. It is a higher grade than you buy at the store (you would need to go to a beauty supply store to get it ). But even that alone with not do it (I used to be a hair dresser so I was able to shop at the beauty supple store and no that perioxide alone won't do it).

[GlimR]

queenfluff~
Nah...you're not a killjoy, what you say is the truth. There is nothing "natural" about hair dye....but at least the one I use has removed some of the worst chemicals, resorcinal, etc...I agree with you even though I use it. Up till now I have gone as long as I can stand between times, maybe coloring three times a year.
I have eliminated so much but not this yet.

[Zaphirah]

I stopped dyeing my hair in Dec. I also stopped cutting it. dh likes it short and color/highlighted-the whole 9 yards. But when I sat down and figured out the COST of it-well I could buy a vitamix and a dehydrator every year! LOL!
Dh is disappointed, but I'd rather use the $100s of dollars spent on my locks to go to a seminar or take a class or buy more good food.

Also-I had to spend 30-60 min doing my hair each morning and frankly, that seemed like WAY too much time. I don't have time to EXERCISE, but I have time to do my hair??? No thanks. :D

[Eva]

I dyed my hair for a while when I was about 21. It was gorgeous. It was a natural-looking but vibrant red (and I have light blue eyes and a good skin tone for it), and my hair magician even dyed my eyebrows (which is apparently illegal in some places!) to match. Seriously, I was stylin'. And I would drive around everywhere on my little aquamarine Vespa with the matching helmet. I had a drop-dead gorgeous boyfriend to boot.

LOL! I felt like a movie star.

I went to a fancy-pants salon every 3-4 weeks or so to keep it all up, spent about $150 a pop.

I think this only lasted for 5 or 6 months. Then I realized that -- for me -- it was just my vanity. I had a personal dilemma when I started thinking about that. It made me think about things like: What is really important to me? Am I happy with who I am? Am I not good/beautiful/whatever enough as I am? Do I really care about what others think of me and my hair? Do I want to wonder if my boyfriend is as vain as I feel right now? Do I want to wonder if people like me for ME?

And so, after thinking about it, I decided that YES, I was happy with who I was. And NO, feeling/looking(?) like a movie star was not important. My need to truly be happy with myself as I am won out.

So I had a good friend shave my head ... bare. I didn't want to deal with the roots. I wanted to really get past this and grow as a person. It was a journey of self-exploration, and I came out of it a more self-assured person than hair dye could have ever done for me. More/less attractive now? I dunno. It's not a priority. I take care of myself and at least iron my clothes and stay clean and groomed, but I am now dye and almost always makeup free. I am simply, as I am.

Does this mean I am telling you to stop dying your hair? No. Does this mean I'm telling you that you are vain if you continue? Not at all. Am I suggesting to shave your blonde locks? Nope. I'm just sharing my experience. :)

[Raw Joy]

I stopped dyeing mine almost a year ago and would never go back. But, then, I'm 53 and lucky it turned out a pretty silver color. If it had been that dingy mousey gray that my mom had, I may have gone back for my box at Walgreens. :D

My stylist says I would probably would have been completely gray in my early 40's if I had let it go and that was way too young for me.

I don't think dyeing your hair is the worst thing you can do. Not the best, but I certainly wouldn't stress about it. I think when you're ready to stop coloring, you'll know. In the meantime, just enjoy yourself.

[RawKnitster]

I like the silver streaks in my hair. I've had at least 5 people tell me how great my highlighting job looks. They want to know where I get it done.

I have 4 sister-in-laws. We're all in our 50's. When we get together I'm the odd woman out. Seeing a picture of us together is a little disconcerting. They all color their hair. I'm the only one with any gray.

I did try coloring it many years ago when I first started seeing gray. Hated the smell. Washed it a dozen times in a couple days to get rid of it. Never again!

[RawLoveBaby]

I read in a magazine that highlighting hair is less toxic than dying hair dark because when you're highlighting, say with foils, not as much of the dye is touching your scalp, whereas when you dye your hair dark, the dye is all over your scalp. Don't know how accurate this is, but it kind of makes sense.

I don't highlight or dye my hair anymore... half because of the toxins, and half because my hair grows so fast it gets so expensive to keep up with the dying.

[lynnc72]

I love henna!

Gives me natural streaks of red in my hair :D

[shashibala]

I use Henna and I love it! I am waiting for the gray hairs to turn back to brown. Til then I'll use the henna. I actually use henna mixed with indigo. I got it all from www.hennaforhair.com

[RawSweetie]

I stopped dyeing my hair in Dec. I also stopped cutting it. dh likes it short and color/highlighted-the whole 9 yards. But when I sat down and figured out the COST of it-well I could buy a vitamix and a dehydrator every year! LOL!
Dh is disappointed, but I'd rather use the $100s of dollars spent on my locks to go to a seminar or take a class or buy more good food.

Also-I had to spend 30-60 min doing my hair each morning and frankly, that seemed like WAY too much time. I don't have time to EXERCISE, but I have time to do my hair??? No thanks. :D

Oh, he'll get over it! :p

Besides, who knows what you might look like with longer hair on raw foods! People's looks seem to change so much! I dunno, your decision seems very positive to me.

[ViolinCyndee]

If my hair would do this naturally, I'd be SO happy:

http://www.cyndeeleerule.com/images/multiviper.jpg

But alas, I do have to get that done by a professional stylist. I would not even attempt it myself...

And yes, it takes me a long time to get it to look like that. (blow-drying, then hot iron every single piece), but.. I don't do it every day. I only really spend the time on my hair when I am performing or going out to a special event. The rest of the time, I just let it dry and stick it in a ponytail! :D

Though...I am contemplating getting a shorter, shaggy cut, but definitely need the red and the highlights!

[Coconutcutie]

Your hair looks beautiful violincyndee!

This may be a little off-topic, but I'm in that kind of mood today, anyway

I am contemplating the next step with my hair - if anyone knows how to "do hair please offer your opinion...

I have naturally dark brown hair that has been highlighted down to a honey-blonde with some darker pieces here and there. My dark roots are grown in about 2 inches. There are some reddish/gingery tones in there because in the past a red toner has been used. Not one hair professional has been able to achieve the vibrant red color that I want with me so far. I'm fed up with spending a ton of money and they never listen to what I want to do. I've seen other people with this red color and it is obvious that their natural color is like mine (dark brown) so it is possible to do it.

I want to take this into my own hands...if I want to just go all red, do I need to bleach out my whole head and then color red over it?? I tried to color red a few months ago over the honey-colored highlights that I have, but it didn't "take" because the base color was still not light enough. I want VIBRANT RED, really RED...my coloring is perfect for it and I think it's the best color for me. There is a pic on my myspace main page of my friend and I when I just had my hair tinted with red if anyone wants to see how that looked (I think it looked great, yet still wasn't bright enough for my liking).

Thanks for any opinions or tips you might have...

[garden granny]

I stopped coloring & highlighting my hair about 3 years ago, got it cut really short and left it natural with lots of silver through it. I'm saving tons of money and time sitting for 2 hours in the hair salon every couple of months (which I hated smelling perm smells around me). I've had lots of younger people tell me they love my hair. :)

[ViolinCyndee]

Your hair looks beautiful violincyndee!

This may be a little off-topic, but I'm in that kind of mood today, anyway

I am contemplating the next step with my hair - if anyone knows how to "do hair please offer your opinion...

I have naturally dark brown hair that has been highlighted down to a honey-blonde with some darker pieces here and there. My dark roots are grown in about 2 inches. There are some reddish/gingery tones in there because in the past a red toner has been used. Not one hair professional has been able to achieve the vibrant red color that I want with me so far. I'm fed up with spending a ton of money and they never listen to what I want to do. I've seen other people with this red color and it is obvious that their natural color is like mine (dark brown) so it is possible to do it.

I want to take this into my own hands...if I want to just go all red, do I need to bleach out my whole head and then color red over it?? I tried to color red a few months ago over the honey-colored highlights that I have, but it didn't "take" because the base color was still not light enough. I want VIBRANT RED, really RED...my coloring is perfect for it and I think it's the best color for me. There is a pic on my myspace main page of my friend and I when I just had my hair tinted with red if anyone wants to see how that looked (I think it looked great, yet still wasn't bright enough for my liking).

Thanks for any opinions or tips you might have...

Thanks!! (about my hair) :::::::::::::: blushing ::::::::::::::: :D

Well, sounds like you need to find another hair stylist. My hair it naturally brown (though, not very dark) and my stylist has gotten my hair VERY red. In fact, she puts in RED red underneath on the longer pieces in the back. It's as red at this: :mad:

I will be getting my hair re-done next Fri and cannot wait to get the red put back in.

[islesgirl]

Not me. I stopped about 3 months ago because I am 62 and really wanted to know what I look like with all my grey. I love the grey and there really isn't all that much. It is in the right places too - at my temples and some nice shocks of it below and behind my ears. Looks just right. I think it makes me look older when I color it - harsh and unnatural. And it's a whole lot cheaper!

[rawstrength]

I've never died my hair and I love its natural color, but I'm thinking of dying my hair with henna, just for a change of pace. Plus I think the redder tones of henna died hair might bring out the green in my eyes. I've also heard that henna can make hair softer and smoother, which would be lovely.
Does anyone here have experience with henna? Is it permanent? If not, how long does it last?