Advantages of using natural hair dyes and colorants. What wrinkling is to
skin, graying is to hair. Both are the signs that herald age. A woman despairs as much
over the wrinkles that begin to line her face, as she does over the hair that turns white.
This feeling of regret, for the youthful years that have passed is nothing new. In fact,
the effort to retard the aging process has existed since Eve. Beauty treatments, geared to
delay or camouflage the signs of aging, have been a major concern of the cosmetic world.
Aging, however, is a natural process. With time, the body ages and the signs of aging
manifest themselves in various ways, graying is one of them.
To understand the graying process, one must have a basic idea of
the structure of the hair. The hair consists of concentric layers. The outermost layer is
the cuticle, which is made up of tiny, transparent scales that overlap each another. The
second layer is the cortex. It is in the cortex, just below the surface layer, that
pigment, or coloring matter, forms. This gives the hair its color. More the pigment,
darker the color of the hair will be. With age, pigment may not form, causing hair to be
without color or white. There may be other reasons why pigment may fail to form, but age
is the most common factor.
The white strands mix with the dark ones and give the impression
of gray hair. Naturally, when white stands appear. The question of how to
deal with them causes much concern not just from the aspect of concealing them, but also
checking further graying. This question
makes is important that few facts about the hair be known, so that damage to the hair is
minimal.
To begin with the strands that have already turned white cannot
become black or dark again. The only way to change their color is by dyeing. Dyeing
has become a common practice and a number of women resort to it.
Unfortunately, most of them do not know the way the structure of the hair can be affected.
Unless this is known, one is not able to take precautionary measures that help to control
damage to the hair. Dyeing of coloring hair is not a modern beauty device. Women of
ancient Rome and other civilizations were known to dye their hair, or even bleach them.
Using ingredients that often caused irreparable damage. Often, some of these treatments
resulted in excessive hair loss. The chemical dyes and colorants that are in use today can
also harm the texture and health of the hair. They contain ingredients that penetrate the
cortex, resulting in damage to the texture. Regular dyeing, therefore, results in hair
that is dry, brittle, rough and without luster.
If hair damage is to be checked it is essential to set up a
protective care routine, as protection itself is one of the best preventive treatments. It
has also been seen that regular care, started in good time, not only delays graying, but
can also prevent it from spreading. These treatments include the use of products,
containing natural hair darkening and protective agents that have the added capacity of
improving and maintaining the health of the hair.
Shampoo, rinses, tonics and conditioning
powders, containing ingredients like henna, amia, shikakai, reetha and 'brahmi have proved
successful in maintaining the hair texture and health. These ingredients also have
specific curative properties. If the decision is made to dye hair with chemical dyes, it
is all the more important to
treat hair regularly with natural products. In order to protect the hair from harmful
effects of chemicals and keep hair damage to the minimum. Dye your hair, if you must, but
help to restore its beauty in terms of texture, quality and quantity.
One of the main advantages of using natural hair dyes and
colorants is that they are completely safe and subject the hair and scalp to no hazards.
Natural vegetable products are non-toxic and do not harm the structure of the hair. They
do not destroy the outer layer or cuticle, as they do not enter the cortex. Henna is
probably the best known natural colorant. It has the capacity of strengthening hair, as it
coats the hair shafts. This not only protects hair, but gives it body and sheen. If there
are only a few white strands, which are visible there is no necessity to use chemical
dyes. Henna can be used very effectively to conceal them.
Coffee or Kaththa added to the henna
paste gives hair a richer brown color rather than a reddish tinge. The colored strands
blend with the rest of the dark hair and are well concealed. A question that is commonly
asked is whether henna will color the entire hair a flaming red. The answer to this is
very simple. Dark hair will not catch a lighter color and will not be colored red. Henna
will, in fact, add gloss and brighten dull hair.
Special henna powders, containing other valuable
ingredients like amla and kohl are available. They have been used very successfully both
as protective and preventive treatments, apart from curing many hair disorders. The
regular applications of henna will, not only conceal but provide many other benefits. If
there are a considerable number of strands that have already turned gray and you decide to
dye them black, you should have a basic idea of the process that is involved.
Avoid: Chemical dyes have a toxic base and have
been known to cause irritations and allergies. The hairdresser will therefore do a patch
test before dyeing you hair. Applying the dye on a tiny area just behind the ear usually
does this. A period of 24 hours must be allowed to see if any skin irritations or
allergies are caused. If not, the
dye may be used. It is better to have the hair dyed by a hairdresser, as there are
particular instructions that must be followed regarding the lotions used and great care
must be taken. No attempt should be made to dye eyebrows or eyelashes with these dyes.
Fine hair can be dyed easily as it absorbs better, while coarse hair is more resistant to
color. This itself would require the use of more and more quantities of the dyeing lotion
as times goes on, since dyeing makes hair coarse, with repeated applications.
Regular Care: As far as the daily routine is
concerned, the hair should be washed with a very mild shampoo. So as not to subject it to
harsh detergents. An amla shampoo is ideal, as it lubricates dry hair and has a powerful
cleansing action without disturbing the oil moisture balance. It has restores the
acid-alkaline balance of the scalp. Amla keeps the hair soft and shiny and checks further
graying. The harsh ingredients in chemical dyes remove natural oil and moisture, leaving
both the hair and scalp very dry. A hair rinse, used with shampoo, completes the hair
washing procedure and leaves hair in a manageable condition. Regular condition treatments
with henna improve both the look and the general health of the hair. Thus hair that is
dyed requires special care, so that the damage may be
reversed to a great extent. One of the most important aspects of beauty is to be aware of
the detrimental effects of various treatments. Some treatments can have disastrous
results, involving a great deal of time, effort and expense to gain what is lost. In some
cases, damage may be permanent. As for as possible, avoid treatments that expose the hair
and skin to harm. For instance, when you feel you must resort to such methods, be sure to
supplement them with an appropriate routine of daily care, so that the natural beauty of
such valuable assets may be preserved as long as possible. |
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