Your Hair Color

Whether you dye your hair to follow trends, to cover pesky grays or to test for truth in the saying "blondes have more fun," hair color can have a big impact on how you look and feel about yourself. So it's not surprising that a 2005 P&G survey found that 65 percent of women aged 15-75 had colored their hair in the past 12 months. But studies show that hair dye isn't having such a positive effect on your health or that of the environment.

The Downsides of Dye

Hair dye contains a long list of toxic chemicals that you and your colorist are exposed to. Those same chemicals can seep into our waterways after they're rinsed down the drain, too. When you step into a salon or develop color at home, you probably immediately catch a whiff of ammonia, which has been found to have adverse affects on the lungs and brain cells. You can't ignore that skin test recommendation in hair color instructions either. That's because there are known skin irritants in color formulas, including coal tar and peroxides. Almost 90 percent of the hair coloring and bleaching products on the market include coal tar, peroxide or both, says Sean Gray, senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Beyond skin irritation, coal tar dye (used for dark hues) is a known neurotoxin and has been linked to cancer. In fact, any product containing the dangerous ingredient must carry a caution statement on the label per a FDA mandate. You'll see it on the list of ingredients as toluene, phenylenediamine, diaminobenzene or aminophenol. Peroxides, other skin irritants, are added to dyes to bleach hair before color adheres to the hair shaft — they're strong enough to cause skin burns. While most women won't notice short-term trouble from hair dyes, the jury is still out on just how severe the long-term effects can be. According to the EWG, studies have linked continued dye use with cancer and a 2008 study from the Yale School of Public Health showed an increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma in women who began using hair dye before 1980. This is why some salons are starting to focus on alternatives using vegetable-based or herbal ammonia-free dyes. You can show the same caution when dying your hair at home.

Pick a Less Potent Potion

Even though there are a lot of safer alternatives to choose from, there is no such thing as organic hair dye, and most aren't entirely chemical free. Semi-permanent and temporary colors are much less toxic than permanent colors, according to Julie Ebner, owner of Juju Salon & Organics in Philadelphia. A vegetable-based dye like Vegetal Color Semi-Permanent Gel by Herbatint will last for several washes without using any of the worst offenders, such as ammonia, peroxide or coal tar dyes.

John Masters, owner of John Masters Organics Salon in New York City, favors herbal-based ammonia-free dyes. "Although they aren't 100% natural, they're still better and have less chemicals than conventional colors," he says. These dyes will work to color blonde, brunette and black hair by coating the hair shaft with a layer of color rather than penetrating color into the hair shaft. Master recommends Herbatint. The brand is safer than most traditional hair dyes, but isn't entirely chemical-free. If you want to go one step further, try a chemical-free herbal option like Aubrey Organics Color Me Natural. Or plant-based Lagona Herbal Color in Golden Blonde, for example, has an ingredient list that's free of chemicals and also includes jojoba oil, hibiscus, coffee, walnuts and other plants.

Non-permanent henna-based hair dyes are naturally free of chemicals too, but Masters cautions against henna unless you want to go red—the only pure henna hue. Even then, he says the results can be unpredictable and messy. However, Ebner believes some brands got henna or plant-based color right. Auburn seekers should try Rainbow Henna. And Light Mountain Natural’s Color the Gray line has a full color range formulated specifically to cover grey, a rare find in the natural aisle.

If you live a little on the edge and want to experiment with wild colors, say purple or pink, Ebner says your best option is the punk favorite Manic Panic. It's not natural, but the semi-permanent dye is free of ammonia, resorcinol, coal tar dyes and peroxides.