I'm often asked to recommend hair care products to use with henna and henna based natural hair dyes.
It is particularly important to use a mild shampoo to avoid washing the colour out too quickly. Also avoid using harsh shampoos with SLS in them. Dandruff shampoo like Head and Shoulders are notorious for washing out hair dye – though you could use them if the hair dye is too dark and you want to wash it out a bit. All the shampoos we sell are quite mild and contain no SLS, or cocamidopropyl betaine which is also quite harsh.
PRE COLOUR DEEP CLEANSING TREATMENTS
Before colouring your hair it is best if it is freshly washed and dried with no conditioner, oil or styling product on it.
If you have previously used hair care or styling products with silicones in them you need to remove these or they may stop the hair dye working properly. Normal shampoo does not get the silicones out of your hair you need a special product to get the silicones out before dyeing it. Either use a mainstream chemical clarifying shampoo from high streetstores like Boots, or if you want a natural product we recommend using Logona Mineral Clay Pre-Treatment (formerly called Colour Plus)
If you have not used silicones then you n’t have to use this product.
LOGONA COLOUR CARE SHAMPOO
I recommend using the Logona Colour Care Shampoos in between colouring for maintenance of the colour: They have a tiny amount of natural colour in them that will top of the colour in the hair dye. There are 3 shades - Hazelnut for brown or black hair, Henna for red/brown hair or Chamomile for light coloured/blonde hair.
I use regularly Logona Chamomile Shampoo. I find it gives my hair a shine and a slight golden tint. I have also used Logona henna shampoo and I noticed it gave my hair a very slight red tint. If your hair is dark you may not notice a colour effect from it, as it is very slight. I notice it because my hair is quite light coloured.
LAVERA COLOUR & SHINE RANGE
Lavera have a colour care range for use with either natural hair colours or chemical dyes - Colour & Shine Shampoo and Colour & Shine Conditioner. They don’t have any colour them. They are designed to be gentle so that they are less likely to wash the colour out of your hair. They are also designed to help prevent any drying or damaging effect of hair dyes by nourishing and maintaining the shine.
WASHING THE HAIR DYE OUT AFTER PROCESSING
For the purposes of preserving the life of the hair dye the best thing to use just water to rinse the hair dye out of your hair. If you feel your hair is not clean enough or that water is not washing all the hair colour out of your hair, use a little mild shampoo.
Using a rich conditioner after washing the colour out is recommended.
LOGONA COLOUR FIX AFTER TREATMENT
For a conditioner to use immediately after colouring I recommend this Logona Colour Fix After Treatment. It is an intensive moisturising treatment, designed to extend the life of the hair dye by locking in the colour and enhance the vibrancy and shine of your hair. Logona recommend not using a shampoo to wash the natural hair dye out of your hair but just rinse the colour out and then use this product.
Logona Colour Fix Treatment can also be used as an intensive hair mask between colouring.
NO POO HAIR CLEANSERS
'No Poo' hair cleansers are an alternative way of washing your hair with only simple natural, non-manufactured ingredients, like baking soda, Shikakai, Moroccan Rhassoul Clay, cider vinegar or Soap Nut powder. They are more time consuming and messy than a normal shampoo/conditioner. For this reason they would not be used to to wash the hair colour paste out of your hair.
It would be better to just use water if you are comfortable with that. You could use them to wash your hair in between colouring.
Baking soda is very cheap and easy to get hold of but I find rather harsh and drying.
My favourite is a mix of Shikakai powder with a dash of Soap Nut powder. This is very gentle and non-drying and gives my hair a special silkiness.
Rinsing your hair with a mixture of cider vinegar and water is cleansing, non-drying, gentle and enhances shine in your hair.
You can also add some other Ayurvedic herbal powders to your no poo powder mix, such as Amla, Bhringaraj or Holy Basil (Tulsi) which will have additional therapeutic properties, that will nourish and enhance.
For more information about ‘no poo’ methods see my blog post here…
ORGANIC HAIR OILS
Some people ask if they can oil their hair before or after colouring. Although Organic hair oil blends or single organic hair oils such as Coconut oil, Macademia Nut oil, Argan oil, or Olive oil are wonderfully nourishing and moisturising for your hair, be careful using them when dying your hair. Having oils on your hair before dyeing can reduce the colouring effect. Using oils on your hair immediately after dyeing it can lift some of the colour off your hair.
So, if you are having problems with the dye not taking well enough, or with it washing out to quickly, avoid or reduce the oils on your hair.
HAIR CARE GUIDES
There are a couple of guides that may help you choose hair care products:
Guide to Shampoos to use for different purposes here...
Guide to Conditioners and Special Treatments here...
If you have any questions about our products do drop me a line here