Organic Hair Colour: Guest Blog Post

This week, I am so excited to introduce my hair stylist, Holistic Hair Expert, Diana Osborne! She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to hair and especially about all things natural and organic hair colour and care. When I first went the all natural, holistic route about five years ago, I stopped dyeing my hair altogether. It wasn't until I met Diana that I trusted someone to dye my hair and use a natural and organic hair colour. I had really missed dyeing my hair so I was super excited for Diana to get started. I am so glad I did!Before we get started with Diana's post, if you are curious to see how food can affect your skin and hair, download a copy of my FREE eBook, "Get the Glow." In it, you will find tons of great info and tips on the best food to eat for radiant skin, hair and nails plus six delicious recipes that will show you how easy and delicious real food can be.

 Click Here to Get the Glow

Here is Diana's guest post:

Hi loves! My name is Diana Osborne and I’m a Holistic Hair Expert in Toronto, Ontario. This means that I get to help people achieve beautiful hair, using healthier products as well as educate them on what they can do internally to help feed their hair!Everyone wants beautiful, healthy hair right? Some of us are born with it #blessed, and some need a little extra help… but all of us should be feeding our body and our hair the GOOD stuff.

Ingredients to watch for:

Most people know the big toxins to avoid in hair colour but that can get tricky with derivatives and fancy science-y names. I’m going to break down what to watch for, as well as a better alternative, that still gives you stunning colour! I’ll also touch on ways you can feed your body to support the foundation of healthy hair, although following Jaclyn is a pretty damn good start!

Ammonia

Most people know about ammonia, or they definitely know the smell! Ammonia is the ingredient that allows the colour to go inside and do its great work. The problem, is that ammonia is an irritant and can cause sensitivity as well as not being great to breath in (especially for that hairstylist working with it 40+ hours a week). Ammonia has now been replaced in most colour lines with MEA (mono ethanolamine) or ethanolamine, which are both said to be less volatile (and less smelly #win). They do keep working, where as ammonia dissipates and stops, so they must be removed from the hair properly after a colour service.

PPD/PTD

Remember those science-y words I was talking about earlier? P-phenylenediamine and toluenediamine, say it five times fast! These sneaky ingredients are in all permanent haircolours and are usually the cause of allergic reactions to colour! Both are synthetic dye pigments and without them, colour wouldn’t cover those nasty grey hairs or stay much longer than a couple weeks. A lot of companies have now replaced PPD with PTD (which cuts down on the allergic reactions by about 50%) but unfortunately they have to add a lot more PTD to replace the original and we don’t have as much research on it. If you have had an allergic reaction to black henna or haircolour (even tingling/itching), you should be very cautious with the products you’re using to colour your hair. There are ways to still work around some allergies, such as doing the colour in foils (like highlights or lowlights) so it doesn’t touch the scalp during processing.

Sulphates/Parabens

These bad boys have been removed from a large majority of hair products but some companies still haven’t gotten rid of them completely. Many people watch for them in shampoo and conditioner but they also sneak into colour. Sulphates (SLS and SLES) can be drying to the scalp and hair (and some may be cancer causing) so should be avoided. Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics and may cause hormone disruption, no thanks!

Organic Hair Colour: A Natural Hair Dye Alternative 

So with all this info…. How do you still get that awesome blonde, or stunning red or cover up those silvery highlights coming in? There’s no perfect option, however, one that I’ve been using for a couple years, Organic Colour Systems (OCS), gets pretty darn close.Organic Colour Systems is a company from the UK that has been around for over 25 years and has a full range of colours as well as a haircare range. I’ll be totally honest with you, I LOVE their colour line and treatments but the shampoo and conditioners aren’t my fave. They have 64 customizable colours, permanent, demi permanent, semi permanent, pastels, unicorn hair… you name it. And YES, it does actually last just as well if not better than traditional colour.I think the biggest reason I like OCS is how transparent they are with what they put in the colour and why. They disclose the exact amount of PPD they have in their colour (0.04% to 1%, the ONLY company I’ve actually gotten a specific answer from) and I have clients that have diagnosed PPD allergies that can safely and comfortably use the colour.Organic Colour Systems is also ammonia free and uses a small amount of ethanolamine with oils and a small amount of heat to gently open the hair up to accept colour. This GENTLE way of penetrating the hair leaves the hair healthier and able to hold on to colour longer, as well as super shiny #hairgoals.Bonus… vegans and animal lovers rejoice! The line is vegan friendly and cruelty free, as well as gluten free, Ecocert, GMO free and 60% certified organic as a full line.

How to Feed Your Hair, Naturally

Now I can’t just talk about healthier hair colour and not touch on what you should be doing to feed your hair from the inside. #funfact, your hair is dead as soon as it leaves your hair follicle inside your scalp! This means we can do treatments to strengthen it externally but the BEST way to make sure your hair stays strong is providing nourishment internally before it even leaves your scalp.Proper nutrition, like protein, vitamins and minerals are very important… but there are some specific things to watch for, and perhaps even get tested for if you’re having hair loss issues. Iron deficiency is an easy one to test and treat (my absolute favourite is Megafood Blood Builder) as well as thyroid imbalances.

Any hormone changes, such as pregnancy (before and after), menopause, traumatic experiences (surgery) and even stress can cause our hair to lose its lustre as well, although these should be addressed by a nutritionist, naturopathic doctor or medical professional. My recommendation is to get a good hair, skin and nails supplement (AOR, Megafood or BioSil are great), make sure you stay hydrated and eat lots of the good food!Also, a great practice to start is to get a boar bristle or mixed bristle brush and brush your scalp at night. This brings circulation and nutrients to the hair follicle, plus, it feels great too!Here’s to healthy hair and a healthy YOU!

Diana's Bio:

Diana helps people achieve beautiful hair using healthier ingredients, as well as educates them on practices and how to feed their hair internally. She has always loved pampering people and making them feel good about themselves, so she followed that passion to start her career in 2006. Since then it has spanned two different provinces, with photoshoots, work for E! Canada and education from many companies, but she still lights up when a client sits in her chair. It’s because of her love for the guest experience and professionalism that Diana has built a loyal following since moving to Toronto in 2014.Diana has been researching ingredients in hair products and colour for the last three years, but it was after two serious health scares in a row in 2016 that she made the move to being an independent Holistic Hair Expert. This allows her to curate the products and companies she wants to work with but also ensures that it is what’s best for herself and her clients health.“I believe we shouldn’t have to sacrifice our health for our beauty. These things go hand in hand.”She never stops learning and is proud to attend multiple classes on cut and colour every year. Her true love is a good precision cut or a beautiful style that enhances someones unique beauty.Diana’s passion for empowering people also lead Diana to start volunteering haircuts at local shelters in her spare time.She always welcomes fresh faces in her chair.

Thank You to Diana

Thank you to Diana for sharing her expertise and knowledge about all things hair care. It was super helpful for me to read through this, so I hope that you all enjoyed it too. If you are looking for an amazing stylist and holistic hair expert and you live in Toronto, go see Diana, you will not be disappointed! Tell her Jaclyn sent you. Of course, I know that organic hair colour isn't perfect, or completely natural, but I am ok with that. I usually do balayage so it doesn't touch my roots and I also am realistic when it comes to things too. I don't have to colour my hair, but I like it, so this is a great option for me.

‍

Here is a pic of me after Diana cut and styled my hair.

Do you have any questions about natural hair care or organic hair colour? If so, leave them here and I am sure Diana or I can answer them.Get in touch with Diana via her website, Facebook or send her an email. And tell her Jaclyn sent you :)