We’ve all been there. Every six weeks we trot off to the hair salon to get our roots coloured, our greys dyed out and the semi-permanent pasted in by the hair colourist. 

We sit there for hours with our heads full of foils – after all, a great colour takes serious commitment, of both time and money.

A cheaper alternative is a take-home kit from the chemist or supermarket. But it carries the risk of damaging our hair in the long term.

Perhaps it’s time to look for an alternative.

One of the most gentle ways to colour or highlight your hair is to use natural products available in your pantry, local health food store or chemist. Simple ingredients such as honey and lemon juice have been used to enhance and condition hair for thousands of years. While they might not be as effective as a chemical dye, they are better for you, your hair and your environment.

Here’s our guide to the natural way to colour and condition your hair.

Lemon juice

Mums have been using lemon juice to lighten their daughters’ hair forever. Squeeze some lemon juice into a spray bottle, dilute with water (3 parts water to one part juice), and spritz onto your hair before you head out into the sun for sun-kissed highlights on blonde hair.

Chamomile tea

Chamomile flowers have been used to lighten hair for centuries. While it’s more gentle than lemon juice, it does have a more gradual effect.

• Make a strong pot of chamomile tea, and let it cool.
• Use the infusion as as final rinse after you’ve shampooed and conditioned your hair.
• Alternatively, put the cool tea into a spray bottle and spritz it through your hair before you head outside to let it dry in the sun.

Calendula

Calendula (also known as marigold) petals will highlight fair hair. If you don’t have marigolds growing in your garden, you’ll find dried petals at your local health food store. Make a tea,and use it as an infusion, or spritzer, as above. You can also add it to your chamomile infusion to give your hair golden highlights.

Honey

Honey is not only a nourishing conditioner, but it will lighten your hair as well.

• Make a leave-in masque with honey, plus coconut oil, olive oil, avocado or egg to give your hair great colour and shine.
• Mix a few teaspoons of honey into your regular cheap conditioner to create an easy go-to masque.

Hibiscus flowers

Want strawberry blonde hair? Take a walk around your neighbourhood to find hibiscus flowers. If you can’t find any, head to your health food store or look online. Use hibiscus rinse for dark strawberry tints in fair hair and an auburn tint in darker hair.

• Boil calendula flowers with hibiscus flowers for 30 minutes and allow to cool. Use as a rinse after shampoo and conditioner.
• Allow your hair to dry in the sun.
• The highlights will occur gradually, so store the rinse in the fridge and reapply each time you wash your hair.

Henna

If you are impatient, you can try henna for instant permanent results. But don’t use it on chemically treated hair unless you test it on a small patch first. It reacts badly to chemicals – and you don’t want your hair to turn green! Also, to avoid allergic reactions, make sure you use the pure stuff, and test it on a patch first. Source it from somewhere reputable.

• Henna is very messy to use. Use petroleum jelly around the edges of your hairline to prevent any staining.

Rosemary

To give a healthy shine to dark hair and gradually cover greys, make a rinse from rosemary leaves. You can add other herbs such as nettle and sage leaves as well – these herbs increase hair growth and reduce dandruff.

• Make a very strong tea by boiling the leaves in water for about 30 minutes, and let it cool.
• Decant into a spray bottle.
• Spritz it onto dry hair about 30 minutes before you shower, and then shampoo it off.
• You can also leave it on and let it dry after the end of each shower.

Black walnut powder

If you want instant black hair you can take the henna option, but if you’re patient enough to go dark gradually, try Black Walnut powder. This also provide the darkest option for grey hair coverage.

• Steep black walnut powder in a muslin bag overnight.
• Use as a rinse after your shower, and dry in the sun if possible. Over time this will create very dark hair, especially if your hair has been colour treated. You will need to use this rinse daily until you get the colour you desire.

Black tea

A rinse made of strong black tea is another way to darken your hair – plus it has wonderful conditioning properties. Dry your hair in the sun to help the colour set. You could even drink a cup of tea while you do it.

For hard-to-find ingredients, head to your local health food stores. But if you don’t have the patience for natural dye, you’ll want to visit a professional hair colourist instead (check out this link for a hair salon near you). Talk to an expert about the best colour for your skin tones, and read our article on choosing the right cut to go with it.