Henna’s back – but not as you knew it
As health concerns mount over conventional hair dyes, is it time to revisit a Seventies classic?
Forgive my bragging, but when it comes to hair i’ve always been blessed. Long, thick, pre- raphaelite waves that obediently hold their style.
it was the moment on a windy moor in the Lake District when i threw myself — and my auburn hair — down on a grassy verge, that my husband still recalls, ‘that’s when i knew you were the one’!
And aside from one minor brush with henna at the bathroom sink, aged 17, where i made my parent’s house smell like a barnyard, i have never dyed it.
With colourists telling me my auburn was a hard colour to match, and a fear that conventional dyes would aggravate the itchy ‘stress’ scalp condition i’ve had since sixth form, i’ve steered clear.
Until now, that is. At 53, with my babygreys escalating, i finally found myself ready to join the 21 million women in the UK who regularly colour their hair.
The solution lies in my first dyeing disaster. eco- friendly and virtually allergy-free, henna powder — a reddish dye made from the leaves of a Middle eastern shrub — is making a comeback.
Knightsbridge hairdresser Paul edmonds, a lifelong advocate of natural colour, says: ‘Natural colour is expected to work just as well as conventional colour — think high shine, great condition and reduced damage to hair and scalp.’
indeed, many salons say they’re seeing a shift to vegetable colour as clients worry where their colour comes from.
‘i’ve seen a 62 per cent increase year-onyear for natural colour,’ confirms Paul. ‘My clients have more holistic concerns about how they live, what ingredients they use and the environmental impact.’
Brands are taking notice. L’oreal is launching a 100 per cent herbal colour, L’oreal Professionnel Botanea, in salons nationwide, made up of three herbal powders — henna, indigo and cassia.
The shift reflects growing concern over the chemicals in synthetic dyes. exposure to ammonia is linked to breathing problems, while PPD (paraphenylenediamine, a common ingredient) is linked to skin irritation and even cancer.
The european Commission estimates one in 75 people who use hair colourants have an allergic reaction, while Allergy UK figures show reactions have tripled in the past 20 years.
KAriNe
JACKSoN, president of the Fellowship for British Hairdresssing, has been using herbal hair colour since 2005. ‘i started investigating alternatives when a client with cancer asked me to find a colour with fewer chemicals for her to use.
‘i thought they’d have poor performance, but i was wrong. Within months, 97 per cent of our colour clients had switched to organic.’
There were unforeseen benefits for Karine, too. ‘i’d had a nagging cough for years, which i put down to London living and pollution. once i switched to organic colour, my cough disappeared within a week. i think about the chemicals i was exposing myself to without even realising the effect they were having on my breathing.’
it’s not just allergies that women need to be wary of. According to a study by Professor Kefah Mokbel, a breast cancer surgeon at the Princess grace Hospital in London, women who chemically colour their hair have an 18 per cent higher risk of breast cancer.
‘We do not know precisely which chemicals increase the risk,’ says Professor Mokbel. ‘Some chemicals could increase the risk of hormonesensitive breast cancer.
‘PPD is a candidate, particularly in high concentrations; the darker and more permanent the colour, and the higher the frequency of use, the greater the risk.’
He recommends colouring less and reducing contact with the scalp. ‘if you dye every two months rather than every month, the potential increase in risk may be halved. i believe the safer option is to use natural products where possible.’
Celebrity hairdresser Hari Salem helped introduce henna into the UK in the Sixties, and has offered herbal colour in his salons for the past 40 years.
‘Like anything in fashion, colour goes through cycles. it was trendy to have henna in the Seventies. Now it’s making a comeback, especially with the trend in organic lifestyle choices.’
Hari is launching Hari’s Herbal Hair Salon, an oasis offering handblended, non-toxic plants including henna, hibiscus, turmeric, saffron, beetroot and coffee in powder form. i watch Clare Drawbridge, top colourist at Hari’s, mix henna with two shades of coffee. There’s a lovely cappuccino aroma — definitely no ammonia. She’s convinced that allergies to conventional hair dye are on the up, especially over 40. ‘ older women appear to be increasingly prone to an allergic reaction to conventional colour around the menopause.’
After shampooing, a vaseline-like balm is put on to prevent colour from staining my skin, then an auburn vegetable colour is first applied to the front of my hair, where it’s lightest, to give an even base before adding the henna mix.
This helps prevent the colour from becoming too bright, or more red than the rest of my hair.
‘it’s like undercoat before you paint,’ explains Clare. Section-bysection, my hair is coated. A shower cap sits over my head while heat is applied to speed up absorption.
once the henna is rinsed off, Clare checks my colour and decides my once-white hairs need to be a little redder, so adds a little more henna on these sections for five more minutes. rinsed, shampooed, blowdried, and £95 lighter, i’m done.
i meet my family for dinner. My husband Jim looks me over and says: ‘gosh they’ve matched it well. it’s brighter, but still looks like your hair!’
As for me? i think i look younger — joy! The greys have been replaced by coppery auburn hairs, the way my hair looked on my wedding day. And as it’s chemical-free, i’m pretty sure i can still claim to be a ‘natural’ redhead.