Non toxic, effective hair coloring for my 62 year old mother?
May 5, 2011 10:57 PM Subscribe
Non toxic, effective hair coloring for my 62 year old mother?
My mother who is 62 years old, often uses artificial hair coloring to make her hair black, she is graying so she does this often. What I've begun to notice is that this Asian brand hair coloring she uses (she says it works better than the us brands, and buys it at the Asian grocerry store) is probably responsible for her losing some of her hair, as I see a general thinning occur probably due to age but I feel her hair coloring is not helping matters and moreover, am worried about the possible dangers since the chemicals in those things are obviously not good for the scalp over the long term. Can anyone out there help me find a healthy (or as healthy as can be) hair coloring for my mom? It would make a great mothers day gift as she likes keeping her hair looking black but if she's going to do this I'd rather have her use the best and safest *(relatively speaking) hair coloring out there. Obviously as a guy I have no clue where to start. I've looked around amazon but many products have very few customer reviews. Thanks in advance for any replies to this topic!
My mother who is 62 years old, often uses artificial hair coloring to make her hair black, she is graying so she does this often. What I've begun to notice is that this Asian brand hair coloring she uses (she says it works better than the us brands, and buys it at the Asian grocerry store) is probably responsible for her losing some of her hair, as I see a general thinning occur probably due to age but I feel her hair coloring is not helping matters and moreover, am worried about the possible dangers since the chemicals in those things are obviously not good for the scalp over the long term. Can anyone out there help me find a healthy (or as healthy as can be) hair coloring for my mom? It would make a great mothers day gift as she likes keeping her hair looking black but if she's going to do this I'd rather have her use the best and safest *(relatively speaking) hair coloring out there. Obviously as a guy I have no clue where to start. I've looked around amazon but many products have very few customer reviews. Thanks in advance for any replies to this topic!
Please be careful about black henna. Henna is a plant-based dye that turns things red and has interesting, but definitely bright and brassy effects on hair. Things labeled "black henna" are often cheap black hair dyes that have been repackaged. For all I know, there may also be reputable black henna, but I'd be wary without some confirmation.
posted by synapse at 11:46 PM on May 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by synapse at 11:46 PM on May 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Synapse is right. I googled black henna shortly after posting my comment and it doesn't look as safe as I initially thought. I apologize for the misinformation.
posted by Sara Bellum at 11:50 PM on May 5, 2011
posted by Sara Bellum at 11:50 PM on May 5, 2011
I have no personal experience with these products, but saw Biosilk hair color mentioned recently on The Celebrity Apprentice and it sounds like it might meet your requirements.
posted by ainsley at 12:12 AM on May 6, 2011
posted by ainsley at 12:12 AM on May 6, 2011
My mum and boyfriend love Bigen hair colour. http://bigen-usa.com/
posted by shazzam! at 3:46 AM on May 6, 2011
posted by shazzam! at 3:46 AM on May 6, 2011
She might already be using Bigen, since it's one of the more effective hair colors and commonly available at Asian markets.
The safest thing to use would be a vegetable dye. Something like manic panic or a brand called adore. However, those will require more frequent touch-ups and she might not be as satisfied with it.
Honest, hair dyes on a whole are generally very safe, and I doubt that's causing your mother's hair loss. If you're really worried, I think a nicer/less patronizing gift would be to pay for her to get her hair professionally cut and colored.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:43 AM on May 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
The safest thing to use would be a vegetable dye. Something like manic panic or a brand called adore. However, those will require more frequent touch-ups and she might not be as satisfied with it.
Honest, hair dyes on a whole are generally very safe, and I doubt that's causing your mother's hair loss. If you're really worried, I think a nicer/less patronizing gift would be to pay for her to get her hair professionally cut and colored.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:43 AM on May 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yes, it's true that what's sold as "Black Henna" is often just as bad as the drugstore crap -- there's no such thing as black henna, for starters.
But, it is possible to use indigo & henna together to dye hair shades of brown all the way to black. Here's info from a supplier; they've been reputable for me, and I purchased from them based on recommendations.
Also, brahmi powder (sold at many SE Asian goods stores) is supposed to be good for thinning hair. Never tried it myself.
posted by lesli212 at 5:54 AM on May 6, 2011
But, it is possible to use indigo & henna together to dye hair shades of brown all the way to black. Here's info from a supplier; they've been reputable for me, and I purchased from them based on recommendations.
Also, brahmi powder (sold at many SE Asian goods stores) is supposed to be good for thinning hair. Never tried it myself.
posted by lesli212 at 5:54 AM on May 6, 2011
Dyed-black hair can look not so great, esp. if it's dry. Get her a gift cert. to a salon. Quarterly salon visits for coloring, with home maintenance, works pretty well. Really good conditioner/moisturizer helps. A salon can/should do a scalp massage, and that will help with thinning.
posted by theora55 at 9:54 AM on May 6, 2011
posted by theora55 at 9:54 AM on May 6, 2011
Licensed pro here. The thing is, your mom is probably right with regard to the 'works better' part.
Permanent haircolors get the best results by grabbing onto the pigment molecules already in the hair and manipulating them ... breaking them down for lighter colors and sticking other molecules onto them to change tones or darken.
Gray hair is the hardest to color, because the pigment molecules are absent.
Stuff like henna will not work well on gray hair ... it is more of a 'coating' action than an actual 'bust open the hair structure and shove some pigment molucules in' action.
If you are concerned about the ingredients in asian brands (which I admittedly know nothing about), your best bet would be to try to switch her to a permanent haircolor geared toward gray coverage from a brand like Clairol, Revlon, Garnier or L'Oreal; my reasoning being that they've gotten cosmetics approval by our standards.
But, as other posters have implied, good luck with that. The lady is ultimately going to do what she wants, as is her prerogative!! Might be better to focus your energy toward pampering her and making her feel appreciated.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 8:45 PM on May 6, 2011
Permanent haircolors get the best results by grabbing onto the pigment molecules already in the hair and manipulating them ... breaking them down for lighter colors and sticking other molecules onto them to change tones or darken.
Gray hair is the hardest to color, because the pigment molecules are absent.
Stuff like henna will not work well on gray hair ... it is more of a 'coating' action than an actual 'bust open the hair structure and shove some pigment molucules in' action.
If you are concerned about the ingredients in asian brands (which I admittedly know nothing about), your best bet would be to try to switch her to a permanent haircolor geared toward gray coverage from a brand like Clairol, Revlon, Garnier or L'Oreal; my reasoning being that they've gotten cosmetics approval by our standards.
But, as other posters have implied, good luck with that. The lady is ultimately going to do what she wants, as is her prerogative!! Might be better to focus your energy toward pampering her and making her feel appreciated.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 8:45 PM on May 6, 2011
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posted by Sara Bellum at 11:35 PM on May 5, 2011