This guide provides tips and advice on natural hair colourings. You can now prepare your own home-made hair colourings by mixing various henna powders and 100% natural plants.
Plant-based colourings help obtain extremely varied hair colours : strawberry blond, light chestnut brown, deep chestnut brown, deep reddish-brown, flamboyant ginger, dark brown or black... You can even cover up your white hair.
More than a simple plant-based colouring, you will be offering your hair a natural conditioning treatment thanks to the many properties attributed to our coloured powders !
With 100% plant extracts and obtained from dry plants, Centifolia’s henna are pure and additive-free.
"Natural" henna is a plant-based colouring agent drawn from the dried leaves of an odoriferous plant : Lawsonia Inermis, which belongs to the Lythraceae family. "Natural" henna mostly originates from the Indian and North-African sub-continents and grows in the form of large bushes or small trees in hot and dry climates. It has been used for thousands of years to dye fabric as well as hair and is even used as body paint. The orangey-red molecule called Lawsone is extracted from the leaves and is sold in the form of a powder, used to make a paste. "Neutral" henna also exists, drawn from the Cassia Obovata plant, that belongs to the Cesalpiniacea family. Good to know: it does not actually dye the hair, it simply tones and strengthens it. Il existe aussi des poudres tinctoriales à utiliser seules ou en association avec du henné afin d’obtenir une coloration naturelle. (Exemple : henné noir = henné naturel + indigo). Coloured powders can also be used, by themselves or combined with henna, to obtain a natural dye. (Example : black henna = natural henna + Indigo + Amla). The natural dye envelops the hair and creates a protective sheath around it. The plant's pigments only settle onto the hair's external layers (as opposed to chemical dyes) and the colour fades away gradually without any demarcation or contrasted roots.
Below you can see the colour and highlights you can obtain using the following henna dyes (1) : * * Does not colour hair, simply enhances natural highlights ** We do not recommend you use this product pure *** Does not colour hair but strengthens it, makes it shine and tones it (1) For reference only
Below you can see the colour and highlights you can obtain using the following coloured powders (1) : * Does not colour hair, simply enhances natural highlights ** We do not recommend you use this product pure (1) For reference only
Apply a thick layer of the mixture preferably to clean hair, strand by strand. When hair is thoroughly coated, wrap it all in plastic film and let set. Keep your head warm using a towel. The leave-on time will vary considerably depending on your hair’s porosity and colour and the desired result (from 1 to 12 hours). Rinse hair thoroughly until all residues have been removed. The final colour result will appear two to three days after application, which is the time required for the colour to oxidise. Do not use shampoo for 24 to 48 hours after the leave-on period to guarantee optimal colour.
Recommended quantities (for reference only)
Powder | Water | |
Short hair | 50 to 100 gr | 100 to 200 ml |
Shoulder-length hair | 150 to 200 gr | 300 to 400 ml |
Long hair (half-way down the back) | 200 to 250 gr | 400 to 500 ml |
Very long hair (hips) | 300 to 500 gr | 600 to 1000 ml |
Apply a thick layer of the mixture to unwashed hair, strand by strand. Once the mixture has been spread out properly, wrap your hair up in a plastic film and let it sit. Waiting time can vary according to hair porosity and colour, as well as to the desired end result (between 1 and 2 hours).
Rinse your hair out thoroughly until any remaining residue has been washed out. The dye's final result will only be visible two to three days after application, once the dye has been properly oxidised.
We suggest using our no-rinse detangling lotion with raspberry vinegar that will close the hair’s cuticle to set colour better while also adding shine and suppleness. We then recommend using an organic, sulphate-free shampoo that will not dry out your hair so that the colour lasts longer.
Ingredients (quantities for shoulder-length hair, for reference only) :
(2) for reference only Method :
Rinse thoroughly until all residue has been washed out.
My hair is already chemically coloured. Can I switch over to natural colouring ? What should I do? How long should I wait? We recommend you wait 2 months and apply 3 or 4 Detox Masks to absorb the chemical molecules and remove any chemical residues from your hair.
I want to cover up my white hair. What type of henna do you recommend? Use your natural hair colour as a guideline thanks to the tables "Choose your henna" and "Choose your coloured powders". Depending on the amount of white hair you have, and how it is spread out, you will obtain different coloured highlights. The natural effect will be gradually enhanced the more you dye your hair.
Recipe examples :
Blond hair: a mixture of 1/2 light-brown henna and 1/2 neutral henna.
Chestnut to dark brown hair ? two successive applications:
Some people add natural ingredients to their mixture. What are your thoughts on that?
Once my hair has grown out a little, can I just touch up the roots ? Will there be a difference in colour once my hair grows out? Touching up the roots is indeed possible. However, be careful: to prevent lines, you need to know the appropriate ratio of powder mixture that matches your colour, as well as the leave-on time, so you can reproduce it when you only want to colour your roots.
100% plant extract, taken from dried plants. Pure and additive-free. Our powders are carefully packaged in airtight packets so as to preserve the pigments.
Henna : | Couloured powders : |
Neutral henna | Indigo |
Natural henna | Walnut stain |
Blond henna | Charmomile |
Chesnut brown caramel henna | Rhapontic |
Black henna | Madder |
Campêche | |
Amla | |
Brahmi | |
Curcuma |