使用天然染发剂的好处

使用天然染发剂的好处

If you need to lighten or bleach your hair, there's no chemical-free way to do it, though plenty of sun exposure should help. But if you want to change or enrich your hair color and cover those grays, there are lots of herbal and plant-based options to chose from.

如果你想让头发变亮或变白，没有不含化学物质的方法，尽管大量的日晒会有所帮助。但如果你想改变或丰富你的头发颜色，覆盖那些灰色，有很多草药和植物性的选择。

Henna is just as messy as any hair dye, so wear your oldest clothes in the bathroom so you don't leave stains behind — or do it outside! (Photo: AUKARAWATCYBER/Shutterstock)

These alternative hair dyes have become popular because the ingredients in conventional dyes have come under increased scrutiny. We'll go into in more detail about why you might want to switch in a minute, but first, let's talk about natural coloring options and what to expect from each one.

这些替代的染发剂已经变得流行起来，因为传统染发剂的成分已经受到越来越多的审查。我们稍后会更详细地讨论为什么你可能想要转换颜色，但是首先，让我们讨论一下自然的颜色选择以及从每一种颜色中可以得到什么。

Blackcurrant

黑醋栗

Scientists in the United Kingdom are investigating blackcurrant as a future hair-coloring agent. After the delicious flavor of these berries is extracted to make Ribena (a popular British fruit drink that offers vitamin C and antioxidants), there's plenty of plant material left over. Some researchers are creating a way to make that waste into a natural hair color.

英国科学家正在研究黑加仑作为未来的染发剂。这些浆果的美味味道被提取出来制成利宾纳(Ribena，一种英国流行的水果饮料，提供维生素C和抗氧化剂)之后，还剩下大量的植物物质。一些研究人员正在创造一种方法，使废物变成一种自然的头发颜色。

Indigo

靛蓝

You might think of indigo as the plant that colors your dye-your-shirt-at-home projects, or has gone into making your jeans, but it can also be used as a hair-coloring agent. Used to color hair black, it was so popular in the 19th and 20th centuries in the U.S. and Europe that it was often referred to as "black henna."

你可能认为靛蓝色是一种植物，它可以为你在家给衬衫染色，也可以用来做牛仔裤，但它也可以用作染发剂。它被用来将头发染成黑色，在19世纪和20世纪的美国和欧洲非常流行，因此经常被称为“黑色指甲花”。

It takes some time

这需要一些时间

Natural products typically take much longer to work than traditional dyes (and are just as messy!) (Photo: AFPics/Shutterstock)

Yes, natural products do take longer to "develop" on the hair — three hours is the typical recommendation. The upshot is that you can do it at home, so it's less expensive, and you don't have to make an appointment or travel to the salon. (Some salons do work with henna, so try Googling it.) But three hours is definitely longer than the 30 to 40 minutes conventional hair dyes take. I tend to apply my henna in the morning after I've worked out, then leave it on much of the day while I work. You can't hurt your hair by leaving henna or indigo on for "too long" — some people even sleep with their heads wrapped up and leave it in overnight.

是的，天然产品需要更长的时间来“发展”头发- 3小时是典型的建议。结果是，你可以在家里做，所以更便宜，而且你不需要预约或去美容院。(有些美容院确实用指甲花做文章，所以你可以试着谷歌一下。)但3个小时肯定比传统染发剂30到40分钟要长。我倾向于在锻炼后的早上涂指甲花，然后在一天中大部分时间工作时把它留在脸上。你不可能让指甲花或靛蓝“太久”而伤害到你的头发——有些人甚至在睡觉时把头包起来，让它过夜。

The problem with traditional hair dye

传统染发剂的问题

And if you need more reasons why you should consider natural dies, there's this: A recent study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that permanent hair dyes and chemical straighteners may be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the study tracked 46,700 women in the U.S.

如果你需要更多的理由来解释为什么你应该考虑自然死亡，这里有:最近发表在《国际癌症杂志》上的一项研究发现，永久性的染发剂和化学拉直剂可能会增加患乳腺癌的风险。这项研究由美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)和美国国家环境卫生科学研究所资助，追踪了美国46,700名女性。

Researchers found that overall, permanent hair dye was associated with a 9% higher risk of developing breast cancer. Black women who used permanent dye had a 45% higher risk of breast cancer, and women who colored their hair every eight weeks or more frequently had a 60% higher risk.

研究人员发现，总的来说，永久性染发剂与罹患乳腺癌的风险增加9%有关。使用永久性染发剂的黑人女性患乳腺癌的风险高出45%，而每八周或更频繁染发的女性患乳腺癌的风险高出60%。

The study doesn't identify specific ingredients or compounds that may be suspect.

这项研究没有确定可能存在问题的特定成分或化合物。

Some people also develop allergies to the chemicals in hair dyes — the stories online are numerous, and include plenty of scary skin-burning or hair-falling-out narratives.

有些人还会对染发剂中的化学物质过敏——网上的故事数不胜数，其中包括许多可怕的皮肤灼伤或脱落毛发的故事。