I’ve been curious about organic hair dyes for a while now. They always sounded good in theory, and are something I’d be super enthusiastic about if my tendency was to go darker or try some fun red. But so far, the closest I’ve gotten to “organic” hair coloring has been limited to lemons and clay as a kid (yup) and a run-in with some colorful chalks in high school.
This is mostly because I bleach the bejeezus out of my hair. I always figured that bleach is bleach, and it’s toxic and terrible for you, so no matter how hard you try you’re not going to get pretty blond hair by throwing some ground roots and plant extracts onto your head.
On my last visit to the salon, I decided to confirm this by asking my stylist why she doesn’t use organic dyes. After all, hair-dressers are the ones most at risk from the constant exposure to potent chemicals. She confirmed my suspicion, saying that it just wasn’t possible to lighten hair without ammonia and she hadn’t heard of anyone getting great results. But she also told me it wasn’t something she’d ever really looked into.
RESEARCH TIME!!!!!!!!! I found a few sites with some great info on organic hair dyes. The best information I found came from Organic Color Systems.
Organic Color Systems also seems to be the number #1 product for those looking for a more natural approach to hair coloring. OCS features a Natural Hair Lightening System called Naturlite.
Naturlite activators contain only pharmaceutical grade hydrogen peroxide, purified and demineralized water, and certified organic plant extracts, amino acids, anti-oxidants.
Hm, hydrogen peroxide? Still sounds chemical-y and scary. Guess what? Hydrogen peroxide is really not that bad for you. (For those of you that might be inspired to raid the medicine cabinet at this point and try some DIY with your home hydrogen peroxide you might want to think again. It’s not the same stuff as they use in salons, and can have some really funky results.) I talked to some of the people from OCS and they were amazing about providing information (thanks, Ashley!). If you have any questions, they’re available through Online Chat and are super friendly and helpful.
The verdict? With the help of new companies like Organic Color Systems, it’s totally possible to have great hair and save your health 
A great website with tons of unbiased professional information on several different non-toxic hair color lines is http://www.organichaircolorreview.com