“Organic Hair Colour” – What does it really mean? Is there such a thing?
Lets talk about ” Organic Hair Colour”….
Is there such a thing as Organic Hair Colour?
What does it mean for a cosmetic product to be labeled organic? Nothing really organic is a generic term that suppliers can use to market their products. Under Australian law manufacturers don’t even need to have any organic ingredients in their products except one and that’s usually water, the rest of the ingredients can be synthetic. Some manufacturers that call their product organic hair colour contain few if any ingredients that meet the muster, they may contain ingredients to help moisturise and hydrate the scalp but that’s where it ends. If your really looking for something that is truly organic then you need to be looking out for Certified Organic. To use the term Certified Organic on products manufacturers have to show that at least 95% of their ingredients have come from pure non sprayed ethic means, often they are made up of extracts, oils, sea salt and water. You have to realise that hair colour contains pigment – mostly from petroleum pigment. These do not come from agricultural products, they are made in the laboratory so you have to wonder how are these companies getting away with marketing their products this way!
Permanent hair colour works by forcing the hair cuticle open to allow the penetration of colour into the hair shaft. This process permanently changes the structure of the hair and can only be achieved when a chemical reaction between hair dye and hydrogen peroxide occurs, this reaction is called oxidation. For oxidation to occour there are many key chemical components that must be present in the hair colour. Some of these ingredients include:
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Ammonia
- 2-methylresorcinol
- Resorcinol
- PPD
- PTD
- Toluene 2.5
- Diamammine
None of these are natural or organic, they are made synthetically, and they cause a myriad of health problems.
i.e. A commonly known hair colouring system that claims to be organic contains five Certified Organic ingredients – Alcohol, Symphytum official, comfrey root, aloe Vera leaf, citrus uranium dulcet, orange peel and citrus grands. These are your feel good ingredients but the product actually needs an additional 25 chemical ingredients to it to make it work.
So called “Organic Hair Colour” Is all part of a marketing campaign.
Oxidising hair colour is potentially toxic and harmful to both humans and the environment.