Although heading to the salon for a pedicure, manicure, facial, and full-on clip and color can make you feel and look absolutely marvelous, it’s nice to be able to take care of your hair and beauty needs at home, without the use of chemicals or a Visa. I would say that 50% of the women I know color their hair at least a little bit, whether to hide the gray, add a hint of blonde, get some deeper undertones, or to get a little more Va-va-va-voom from their natural red-hair.
Between salon visits, there are a few ways to give your hair a little help in the color department without taking out a second mortgage on your home for the “processing” or using chemical treatments on your hair.
Brunettes:
Brunettes have a couple of alternatives for brunettes to use when naturally enhancing their hair color. One way (aside from using henna) is the use of coffee.
- First, brew yourself up a pot of triple-strength coffee. (I don’t advise drinking any of it unless you want to feel very agitated about your hair and your morning.) Let the coffee cool. Wash but do not condition your hair.
- After shampooing your hair, rinse your hair repeatedly with the cooled coffee, and then with clear water.
Red-Heads:
Interestingly enough, the best combination for red-heads to enhance their hair color is probably the healthiest drink you could ever imagine.
- Mix together 1/2 cup of beet juice and 1/2 cup of carrot juice.
- After washing your hair, pour the “delicious” juice over your head, cover your hair with plastic and either sit under a dryer using medium heat or sit in the sun for one hour.
Blondes:
The best way for blondes or light-haired brunettes to give themselves more “natural” blonde highlights is using lemon juice.
- Wash your hair and then spray it with spritzer containing a mixture of lemon juice and water- the sites that I read advised using roughly two parts water and one part lemon juice because lemon juice is acidic and can dry out your hair. Too dry hair is most likely what you are trying to avoid in the first place by using natural ingredients instead of chemicals.
Henna:
The use of Henna can color your hair many different shades, depending on the combination of mixtures that you use. A thorough definition of Henna can be found here. It should be noted that Henna (like packaged hair dyes for blondes) cannot be used without bleaching your hair first to dye your hair to a lighter blonde.