After I was diagnosed with severe allergies to Nickel & Iron Oxide, I realized that most cosmetics with color, including hair color have Iron Oxide. Yikes! I am about 65% white/gray! I survive by using hair color! Is THIS the point in life when I would finally let my natural hair color take over?
I have colored my hair since I was around 26 years old, and now I am.... ummm.... well let's just say I'm in my 50's. At the beginning, I would go to my beautician for a professional color job with highlights.
As the years went on, I needed to color more often. And so for the price consideration, I decided to color my own hair with permanent color from the beauty supply. I haven't ever used the coloring products available in the drugstores, they are pretty harsh on hair.
About 12 years ago, I started experiencing blisters on my scalp and around my hairline. These would appear right after I finished coloring my hair. I've also shown a flare up of rosacea on my cheeks immediately after coloring. Little did I realize these were early signs of my iron oxide allergy.
It is important to realize blisters and allergic reactions to hair dye will increase in severity if there is continued exposure. So it really IS important to pay attention to your body's signal!
Searching for Alternatives & Help
I contacted a beautician who helps people treat their hair with more natural products. He recommended adding about a 1/2 tsp of Polysorbate-80 to my Wella hair color. It is a healthy product that is added to foods like ice cream and is also used in many hair growth and management products. Amazon sells Polysorbate-80 for $20 or less.
There Are Healthier Alternatives for Coloring Hair
http://www.allergictohairdye.com/ offers some great info and alternatives to the hair color I had been using. But ultimately, I've found iron oxide is included as one of the ingredients for those brands also. Henna is too difficult because I would have to wear the color and wrap my head for up to 6 hours. No way!
My dear friend, Terrie, owns a health food store. She recommended Herbatint hair color. I was hesitant, but tried it.
The Results....
I absolutely LOVE Herbatint! My hair color is warm, the texture is soft (for once), and it is shiny (finally!)
Click HERE to watch my video about Herbatint
And just as important - many others have complimented me on the color and texture of my hair since changing over to Herbatint. My beautician is amazed at how much softer my hair has become! My coarse horse-hair has a lot less frizzies sticking up like tiny antennae.
Take a look at the ingredients used in Herbatint:
Haircolor Gel: laureth-5, propylene glycol, water, peg-2 oleamine, ethanolamine, walnut extract, rhubarb extract, cinchona extract, aloe extract, meadowfoam extract, birch extract, cetrimonium chloride, echinacea augustifolia extract, hamamelis virginiana extract, sodium sulfite, ascorbic acid, tetrasodium edta, resorcinol, m-o-p aminophenol, 2 amino 3 hydroxypiridine, p phenylenediamine.Glycol Developer: water, hydrogen peroxide, etidronic acid, cetrimonium chloride. Royal Cream
I am convinced and will stick with Herbatint from now on. In fact, I recommend it for anyone who wants to bring healthier habits into their lifestyle! One woman I know brings Herbatint to her hairdresser, so it is applied in the salon.
Herbatint can be purchased at health food stores, and stores such as Whole Foods. It is also available at Amazon and Vitacost.
(This is an unpaid, unsolicited review)
