What is the best hair dye without chemicals?
Are you tired of oxidation dyes that damage your hair and pose health risks? Let us guide you through everything you need to know about the only truly chemical-free hair dye that exists: 100% natural plant-based hair color.
Choosing your natural, chemical-free hair dye
A 100% natural and biodegradable option
People who look for a chemical-free hair dye generally have two main concerns: preserving their health and protecting the planet. Plant-based hair coloring meets both of these needs, provided you choose carefully.
The growing trend toward natural and organic products has, unfortunately, led to certain abuses. Many industrial brands, tempted by this booming market, now market so-called “plant-based” dyes that in reality contain synthetic pigments, which are much cheaper than true botanical coloring powders.
This is what’s known as greenwashing, a marketing technique that makes a conventional product look “natural” through eco-responsible packaging or misleading terms like “organic” or “natural.”
That’s why it’s essential to choose your 100% natural chemical-free hair dye with care. Hairborist pigments are made exclusively from plants, flowers, spices, and barks that are sun-dried and ground into a fine powder to create what’s known as vegetable hair color. You simply add hot water, and that’s it: a 100% safe recipe for both humans and the environment!
A professional hair color
Using professional haircare products is always a guarantee of quality and performance. Our plant-based coloring system is above all a professional color treatment, used by our partner salons across Europe.
Every new batch of pigments undergoes thorough testing and quality control by our experts in natural coloring before it is made available. New shades are tested in salons for months to understand all their subtleties and to provide the best advice to clients.
This rigor has allowed us to create a color palette that is effective, reliable, and long-lasting. It ranges from very light blonde to very dark brown, including a variety of browns, copper, and reds. Depending on the technique used, it is possible to cover gray hair 100% opaquely or with a more transparent, natural look.
The possibilities and limitations of chemical-free hair dye
As we’ve already seen, plant-based hair color offers a wide variety of shades. Here’s a summary of the results you can achieve:
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tone-on-tone coverage
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darkening or completely changing the color depending on the base and desired result
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creating luminous tones
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adding highlights, more or less intense depending on the natural base and desired outcome
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covering gray hair with transparency or in an opaque finish
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using gray hair to create a natural “highlighting” effect
Since true plant-based hair color is 100% natural and free from synthetic ingredients, there are, however, some things it cannot do:
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lighten the hair: only chemical components can oxidize and break down natural melanin, the typical bleaching process that drastically alters natural hair color
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achieve fully neutral or ashy tones: plant-based color always contains henna, a dye plant ranging from yellow to red depending on the desired shade. These warm tones can be strongly neutralized with indigo, another dye plant that ranges from blue to green, to get as close as possible to a neutral result. A very slight warm undertone will, however, always remain.
How to achieve chemical-free hair dye
While natural hair dye has a very simple composition, its use and application techniques are more complex. They must be applied with greater precision than traditional oxidative coloring.
It is also important to note that plant-based coloring is unique to each individual: hair type, natural base, and percentage of gray hair are all factors that influence how the color takes and what the final result will look like. For this reason, there is no standardized color chart. It is the knowledge of the bases combined with experience that allows professionals to achieve stunning results.
For all these reasons, we strongly recommend visiting a professional Hairborist partner salon for your plant-based hair coloring. They will advise you on the possibilities available to you and create a customized blend tailored to your hair and your expectations.
A haircare routine adapted to your chemical-free hair color
After switching to plant-based coloring, a few new habits are essential. Because natural coloring works very differently from oxidation coloring (natural pigments gently coat the hair, unlike synthetic pigments that penetrate deep into the fiber and alter its structure), its maintenance is also different. Gentle, natural care products are necessary to keep your plant-based color vibrant for a long time. In fact, this is also recommended for non-colored hair: a routine made up of healthy, gentle, natural products helps preserve the overall health of your hair.
For the perfect maintenance of your Hairborist color, we recommend this routine, available in Hairborist partner salons in bulk format or on our webshop:
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Renovator pre-shampoo oil enriched with the color aromasynergy that matches your new shade. These synergies enhance vibrancy, boost shine, and add extra reflections. You can choose between Nacre, Écarlate, Cuivre, and Ébène.
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A certified organic shampoo without harsh ingredients. To cleanse gently and avoid color fading, Sensity or Daily Clean are the perfect options!
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A silicone-free conditioner, which seals the cuticles after shampooing and maintains the shine of your chemical-free color. Natural Color is ideal for fine hair, while Sweet Care works wonders on thicker hair.
Now you have everything you need to successfully transition to chemical-free hair dye. All that’s left is to get started!
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