Natural hair care for colored hair: use plants to enhance your color

Whether you’ve chosen a plant-based hair dye or a chemical (oxidative) coloring, your goal remains the same: keeping your hair shiny, silky, supple, and making your color last as long as possible. Fortunately, all of this is achievable, provided you choose natural hair care for colored hair. Why is this so important? How can you select the right natural treatments? What’s the difference between natural and organic? Hairborist explains it all.

Chemically colored hair vs. plant-based coloring: what’s the difference?

Before diving into the best hair care routines for colored hair, it’s essential to understand the difference between chemical dyes and plant-based coloring. Both methods are very different and require adapted care.

Chemical or oxidative coloring is formulated with artificial components such as dyes, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide to bleach the hair. Ammonia opens the cuticles, allowing the color to penetrate deep inside the hair fiber. Once inside, the dye destroys the hair’s natural pigments and replaces them with artificial ones. Needless to say, this process weakens and damages the hair fiber in the long run, and some of the substances used can even reach the bloodstream through the scalp.

On the other hand, plant-based hair coloring is made solely from plant and flower powders. It is therefore 100% natural and works very differently. Instead of penetrating the fiber, it coats the hair and binds to the surface. This means it doesn’t destroy pigments or damage the hair, quite the opposite! By coating the hair fiber, plant-based coloring actually strengthens it, acting as a genuine natural hair care treatment for colored hair.

Natural hair care for colored hair: different treatments depending on your type of coloring

As you can imagine, if you’ve used a chemical hair dye, your hair will have very different needs than if you’ve chosen a plant-based color. With oxidative coloring, the artificial components weaken the hair fiber and damage the hydro-lipid film that coats and protects it from dehydration. As a result, your hair becomes dry and rough.

A good natural hair care routine for bleached or chemically dyed hair should always begin with a pre-shampoo oil treatment such as Renovator oil, which deeply nourishes the hair fiber. You can enhance this oil with one or more Aromactifs or Aromasynergies to create a personalized treatment.

For shampoo, you’ll need a gentle, hydrating cleanser such as Color Clean to wash your colored hair without stripping it. Chamomile, for example, helps to enhance the natural highlights of your color.

Finally, your conditioner must be rich and nourishing to counterbalance the dryness caused by chemical coloring. The Color Care conditioner provides everything your hair needs to regain softness, suppleness, and vitality.

If you’ve opted for plant-based hair dye, it is still essential to apply a pre-shampoo oil to keep your hair well-nourished. For the shampoo, you can choose a natural hair care product for colored hair that suits your hair type. As for conditioner, it may contain apple cider vinegar to help set and maintain color shine, just like our Natural Color treatment.

Why choose natural hair care for colored hair instead of conventional products?

After oxidative coloring, your hair is weakened and damaged. Drier, duller, and more porous, it needs effective care to restore vitality and keep it healthy.

If you rely on conventional hair care products from the chemical industry, you risk making the problem worse. These formulas contain synthetic components that, under the guise of making hair softer or shinier, actually damage it in the long term. Silicone, for example, suffocates the hair; Sodium Laureth Sulfate strips your scalp; and parabens contain substances known to be allergenic and carcinogenic.

Free from harmful or toxic substances, natural hair care for colored hair restores shine and vitality thanks to botanical ingredients. Everything your hair truly needs is found in nature, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it!

What’s the difference between natural and organic?

A natural hair care product contains ingredients of natural origin, meaning they come from nature. However, there is no mandatory percentage required, and no clear information on the origin of the ingredients or how the product was made. For instance, you could buy a so-called natural treatment for bleached hair that contains only 20% natural ingredients, grown with pesticides. The term “natural” is increasingly attractive to consumers, and distributors take advantage of this, resulting in pure greenwashing. Not great for your hair!

To make sure you are buying a truly natural treatment, it’s better to choose a certified organic product, which contains at least 95% natural (or naturally derived) organic ingredients. The label should be recognized and trustworthy, such as our Ecogarantie certification. This guarantees a 100% organic, neutral, biodegradable product, free from GMOs and petrochemical-based ingredients.

How to choose the right natural hair care for colored hair

To ensure you pick a truly effective natural hair care treatment for colored hair, make sure it is certified organic, but you can go even further.

It’s also important to learn how to decode cosmetic labels and recognize harmful components. If you’re unsure, you can always use the INCI search tool from The truth about cosmetics. By typing in the name of an ingredient (or even your entire product), you’ll quickly see whether it is safe or harmful for your hair and health.

DIY hair care: good or bad idea?

With the rise of slow cosmetics and the popularity of natural products, more and more consumers are trying to make their own hair treatments. Unfortunately, this is not always the best idea!

Creating your own natural hair care for colored hair can come with disadvantages, and even risks. You have no way of knowing if the ingredients you use are truly natural, and you have no clear benchmarks for dosage. A hair care product needs to be formulated with precision and strict hygiene standards, something that is very difficult to achieve at home.

It is therefore better to choose professional, reliable natural hair care treatments for bleached or colored hair, developed in laboratories and certified organic.

With all these tips, you are now ready to bring back shine and vitality to your hair and revive the radiance of your color, thanks to the power of plants!