Natural hair dye with Surya Henna Brasil Cream
Reviewed by Leslie
I have been dying my hair since I was in my late 20's (I'm now 56). I am also a breast cancer survivor, 16 years out now, and so am particularly sensitive about toxins to the body. I've asked various doctors several times over the years about the links between chemical hair dyes and cancer and they have all said there is no relationship. So out of habit and convenience, and because Henna is such a royal pain in the ass, I have stuck to my tried and true Preference by L'Oreal.
But as I've aged, so has my hair and I have increasingly wanted to be kinder and gentler to it, and to my body. Since there was a report in the news several months ago about new (still inconclusive) studies linking chemical hair dyes to cancer, I have decided to ditch the L'Oreal and try some natural products. "Surya Henna Brasil Cream" caught my eye and I bought a bottle for $12.99 at Rickey's.
It says on the box that it is made with organic extracts, is hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested. It also states that it "Does not contain ammonia, PPD, peroxide, parabens, resorcinol, heavy metals or GMOs." You apply it to still wet and washed hair, so it goes on brilliantly easy. And contrary to my expectations, it has superb coverage - especially the grey temples that seem to always allude the regular dyes. I was also expecting it to rub off on my pillow the first couple of nights, but happily that didn't happen.
I don't know how long it will last, but even if I have to apply it more often than I normally do, I think this is definitely preferable. It has a lovely gentle smell and the color ("Chocolate") came out a beautiful deep reddish brown, with none of the usual burgundy overtones that many of the auburn dye colors have, and which I don't like.
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Ingredients
Deionized Water, Dipropylene Glycol Methyl Ether, Genipa Americana Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Glycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Essential Oils (Rose Flower, Canaga Odorata, Jasminum Officinale and Santalum Album), Achillea Millefolium Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract, Arnica Montana Extract, Bertholletia Excelsa (Brazil Nut) Extract, Chamomilia Recutita (Matricaria) Extract, Corylus Rosatrata (Hazel) Seed Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract, Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Leaf Extract, Malphigia Punicifolia Fruit Extract, Malva Sylvestris Extract, Paullinia Cupana (Guarana) Fruit Extract, Phyllanthus Emblica (Amla) Fruit Extract, Ziziphus Joaseiro (Jua) Extract, Aminomethyl Propanol, Sodium Citrate, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, HR Red 3, HC Yellow 2, HC Yellow 4, Disperse Black 9.
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I saw this on Amazon.com:
This product says it's made from all natural ingredients, but once you really read the fine print, it has the following:
May contain the following:
HC Blue 2
HC Yellow 5
HC Red 3
HC Yellow 2
HC Yellow 4
HC Red 1
Disperse Violet 1
HC Violet 14 D
Disperse Black
So basically you are putting a bunch of synthetic dyes on your head. If you search on any of these synthetic dyes, they are pretty scary.
The product does a nice job of coloring your hair....but it certainly isn't a natural product. I tried calling the company, but they are down in Brazil and my portugese is pretty lousy!
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Hi Kathy,
Before we posted Lesley's review, we checked the ingredients and these dyes all appear to be safe and not to be confused with FD&C colors.
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Whew -- that's good to know!
Thanks
Kathy
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Does anyone know the answer to this: I have my hair colored and highlighted too. Let's say I decide to touch up any regrowth at home with this henna product, then go to the salon occasionally for a coloring and highlighting. Would using a henna product make it more difficult to color with regular dyes later? or ruin the color I'd get from regular color later?
Thanks
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Love this review! I recently used Natur-Tint and liked how it made my hair feel although the color was dull and one-dimensional. I also noticed it was given an "8" on the cosmetics database so there goes the idea that this natural product was a better alternative. So I keep looking for better coloring options without all the "henna hassle". This seems like a good product to try. Thanks Lesley! Keep more natural hair color reviews coming!!!
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 10:25 am
I've been using this for probably over 1/2 a year and doing my mom's hair also using it. We absolutely think it is great. It leaves our hair soft and even fuller. It does cover the grey well. My mom now looks almost as young as I do.
It is a winner for us.
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I love this stuff. I bought a box for me and one for my mom. She's completely gray and dyes her hair all the time so it's very dry and brittle. My hair is long but one box did the trick. If I'm going to do an intense color, I might use two. No one really noticed the color, you could see red tones under my dark brown natural hair but everyone commented on how shiny and healthy looking my hair was. It washes out quick but at least my hair is still soft. Make sure you use an old towel everytime you dry your hair. I would also suggest buying a better pair of rubber gloves at a salon store because one of the fingers broke in my plastic glove. I didn't realize it until I pulled them off and my index finger was a dark maroon color! The majority came off soaking it in acetate. That's my only gripe. But I'm lifer. I never thought I would love dying my hair so much!
Posted on December 4, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I've been using this product for about a year and it works well, covers gray and conditions at the same time. I use dark brown, which turns slowly more red as the month wears on. However, today I tried to buy dark brown before going to my salon appointment and the health food store where I purchase this product only had colors named chocolate, mahogany and light brown. I chose chocolate, thinking it would be the closest to dark brown. Big mistake! My hair turned a bright orange! I believe that henna based products tend toward red anyway, so it is probably best to pick something on the darker side of the spectrum or to mix colors.
Posted on August 11, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I'm so pleased that my 2009 positive review has been confirmed by so many other users. I'm still happily using it and would only add these few updates based on my past year's experience. One is that I do need to recolor more often than I did using chemical dyes, and I would say that it's around once a month. As for my initial claim that it doesn't rub off on the pillowcase - wrong. It does for the first few nights. But it comes right out in the wash. And lastly, to address your concerns about the brown vs. red coloring Amy, I've been using chocolate for a year and find that my hair has turned redder and redder over time as I cover the color with more color. So recently I bought light brown and mixed it with the chocolate and got a much better result. I suggest being creative and mixing colors if you don't find the exact shade you want.
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Hi Lesley, you just reminded me that you were using Nutra-Lift's goat milk shampoo at one point. Do you still like it? I am tempted to give it a try.
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I would like to use this product to dye my dark blonde hair a LIGHTER color. Does anyone know how well it works for this purpose. Do you have a color recomendation?
Posted on February 27, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Lorene,
I used the "Strawberry Blonde" color of this product on my light ash blonde hair, hoping to just add some nice coppery red. It turned it dark ash brown, then faded to an atrocious gray-blue-brown. Very disappointed. To lighten hair, one really must use chemical dye. The best non-bleach lightener that I've used is that cheap Revlon Colorsilk in 03, followed by a protein treatment and deep conditioning.
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 7:43 pm