Plant-Based Coloring: Application, Benefits... We Tell You Everything

Hairstyles

Well used, these 100% plant-based formulas offer an interesting alternative to traditional products.

Plant-based Coloring: Application, Benefits... We Tell You Everything

Easy application

Vegetable coloring consists of mixing several natural powders in a bowl of hot water and leaving it on as a poultice so that the color clings to the surface. But there are also new ready-to-use kits that skip the mixing step. Whatever option you choose, the exposure time requires patience, as it varies from a minimum of thirty minutes to two and a half hours, depending on the shade and its natural base ...

A real care benefit

Unlike chemical dyes, which modify the structure of the hair and weaken it, vegetable formulas only dye the fiber on the surface. The icing on the cake, the combination of different extracts of coloring plants, and the gums (xanthan and guar) used for adhesion bring sheathing, shine, and suppleness to the hair. Some blends contain, as a bonus, keratin and/or vegetable oils which protect and strengthen the fiber.

Better tolerance

Certain ingredients present in chemical dyes (PPD, ammonia) can cause irritation and allergies. But it's much rarer with plant powders. To ensure their quality and provenance, we can trust labels like Cosmos Natural. With Ivive, the René Furterer brand has made the choice, for its part, to use not powders, but plant extracts of which only the dyeing materials are preserved, and thus claims to get rid of any problematic substances (heavy metals ).

A mixed result

If it is impossible to obtain a lightening, you can sublimate its natural base in tone on tone with warm reflections, the "cold" being more complicated to obtain with plants. Note that the more the formula contains henna, the more the red will emerge over the weeks. The vegetable coloring does not cover white hair more than 30% either. On the other hand, the first silver threads are camouflaged in transparency without a "root" effect, as the color fades smoothly in about a month.

Why Is The Switch To Vegetable Coloring So Scary?

A limited choice of shades

Far from the variety of colors and reflections of chemical coloring, the plant formulas still go from light blond to dark brown, including red. And if the result is not satisfactory, one can redo another vegetable coloring immediately... On the other hand, one forgets the return to a chemical coloring or to scanning just after, because of the presence of indigo in certain brown or black shades, which may turn green or pale blue due to lightning agents!

Special thanks to Xavier Ormancey, R&D director Pierre Fabre-René Furterer, and to Eléonore Plusquellec, senior product manager for hair hygiene Natessance Léa Nature.