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Apart from Henna, can anyone recommend a good natural hair dye? I have fairly dark brown hair with a few greys. I don't want anything to dark (it makes me look ill), too light is no good (I'd look daft blonde!) and as much as I'd love it, I'm afraid funky colours are out! So what do you use?

There are a few natural hair colours, but they're not really dyes. I'm not totally certain what the difference is - something to do with grey hair being completely devoid of colour and these things don't replace it just sort of cover it up

Anyway. After all that blathering. You can make a really strong tea, with sage, rosemary (the herbs not the oils) and potato peelings. Then you use a cupful as a final rinse for your hair. The colour apparently slowly builds up and helps get rid of the grey.

I tried it briefly, years ago when I stopped dying my hair, but to be honest I didn't have the patience to stick with it. Oh, and I'd put a little essential oil in it - just a drop or two. Boiled potato peelings aren't that good a smell!

have a look here:

http://www.baldwins.co.uk/Miscellaneous/Herbatint/419

I've not tried them myself - anyone else?

In the catalogue, it says that it uses rosemary, cinchona and walnut husk...

Mullein wrote:walnut husk...

... which i suspect would also leave you with a nicotine brown scalp and any other parts that it touched

I remember when I was little my mother reading something out of the newspaper saying that the Queen is going to stop dying her hair, and is going to go with her natural grey. Then, not long after, I remember seeing on the TV the coverage of the Queen emerging from wherever, donning her 'new' natural look. I vowed, even back at that early age that as soon as I start going grey, I'm not ever going to dye my hair again. And I've stuck with it. I really don't want to do that whole 'coming out' thing and suddenly having everyone telling me I'm looking old. I'm just going to grow old slowly - a bit early perhaps, but still slowly.

That said, I remember reading about sage as well. Something about if you rub sage leaves on your scalp every day your hair will be a lovely dark brown. Can't remember where I read that now.

Rosendula wrote:I vowed, even back at that early age that as soon as I start going grey, I'm not ever going to dye my hair again.

I probably would have shared that sentiment, had I not started with a "Cruella" stripe in my hair at age 19! It somehow seemed like a really good idea not to be grey before I turned 20.

Like most of my family I started going grey in my late teens so colouring my hair was a way of life. Until I started getting very unreliable results a few years ago! Even light golden brown shades were coming out virtually black, not a look which suited me in the slightest, so I decided to grow out the grey and see what's been hiding there all these years. Like Susie, it's taken me a couple of years and I'm not actually as grey as I'd hoped - it's grey at the front and on top and brown at the back underneath. I've got used to it and people have told me it suits me but a few of my friends still think I'm insane and my mother was horrified! It's very liberating though, not being a slave to my roots

.. and everyone knows that grey is the new blonde

Wow - I am on trend for the first time in my life then