Natural Hair Color Tips

These pure vegetable products do not alter the structure or natural color of your hair and actually condition your hair while imparting color and sheen. No matter what you have heard, these products have come a long way.

You can create a wide variety of plant pigment color rinses yourself. These concoctions do not create radical hair color change, but instead accentuate your hair's natural tone and shine. If your hair is less than 15 percent gray, some plants will disguise the gray. In these cases, the product actually stains your hair - although very subtly. Cumulative usage creates longer-lasting, slightly more intense results. You can repeat the application as often as desired, depending on the color level you prefer.

If you do color, remember this advice for keeping colored hair as healthy as possible:

• Protect and condition your hair and scalp regularly.
• Don't stray far from your natural level and tone. Dramatic color changes require more upkeep, since outgrowth becomes very obvious very soon. (This reasoning also applies to texture services.)
• Follow your stylist's recommendations for home-care regimen.
• Color-enhancing shampoos do work, helping you hold on to your desired color between salon or at-home color treatments, so do try them out.
• Be especially vigilant about protecting chemically treated and naturally colored hair from the sun.
• The less you chemically process your hair, the more healthy it remains.