Professional Organic Hair Color | Natural Hair Salon Color

Is There Such A Thing As Professional Organic Hair Color?

How many times have you answered the salon phone to get the question, “Do you use professional organic hair color?”

If you are like me, you want to reply with, “yes, we carry organic color.”

There is no such thing as 100 percent natural hair color, except henna or vegetable-based direct dyes. 

No salon would want to use henna as it doesn’t come out of the hair effortlessly.

Even henna can contain bad things like heavy metals in soil. 

We’ll explain henna later, but let’s focus on professional hair salon products.

The salon hair color game is competitive and getting more so every year.

We, as hairstylists, have our favorite companies. 

Many of us choose what hair color we use based on education offered price and even popularity.

Almost all professional hair color companies provide these things, but none can deliver natural hair color without chemicals.

Why Do Salon Clients Want Professional Organic Hair Color?

We live in a society now that is more health-conscious.

People want to feel better about the products they use every day as consumers.

Welcome to the vegan, gluten-free, and new world of professional organic hair color.

Gluten-Free Professional Organic Hair Color

Over the last decade, the phrase Gluten-free has been one of the most commercial campaigns product companies have used to capture consumers.

I look for Gluten-free products when I can.

 Both my children have been gluten-free most of their lives.

Some people are severely allergic to Gluten and diagnosed with celiac disease.

Gluten is wheat and barley and can cause problems when consumed or even to come in contact.

Some avoid Gluten just for diet reasons.

 Others say it affects their energy and ability to focus daily.

Both are valid reasons to avoid gluten products, but a lot of people who avoid the products do so because they have bent told by media to do so.

If you want to learn more about gluten products and the lifestyle of Harvard Medical School has some great info available.

So the question you have waited to for is, are there gluten-free hair color options?

Yes, there are some companies like Framesi and Madison Reid, who have replaced wheat proteins with the keratin protein in their hair color formulas.

Proteins in hair color are needed to ensure the cortex of the hair shaft stays preserved and healthy.

Replacing wheat protein with keratin proteins now makes sure the hair color is gluten-free.

There are many other vegan hair color companies to choose from, and would I advise you to do more research.

Ask your distributor what option they offer for professional organic hair color.

PPD And PTD Free Hair Color

Paraphenylenediamine or PPD is an additive in almost all hair color brands to help with longevity and less fading. 

Some people are allergic to ppd and why product companies suggest a patch test before applying hair color to customers.

PPD can cause dermatitis, inflammation, and eczema to some people.

An alternative to PPD is another additive called para-toulenediamene sulfates (PTDS) or PTD for short.

PTD is less of a burden on the skin and clients who would normally have reactions to PPD.

Although not an exact replacement or cure-all ptd has shown in most cases, do not affect nearly as many people.

It is still possible that your client could still experience a skin irritation so be careful and check always do a patch test before applying hair color to your clients for the first time.

Manufacturers are working on safer options like using Toluene 2,5-Diamine Sulfate (TDS).

TDS is promising and has shown to work in most cases but still needs a lot more testing.

Is There Such Thing As Ammonia Free Professional Organic Hair Color?

Ammonia is added to the hair color formulas as a way to open the cuticle of the hair.

We are allowing for the hair color to lift and to deposit to the desired shade.

Most permanent hair color brands contain ammonia.

Semi-permanent hair color does not contain ammonia as it deposits or stains the outer cuticle of the hair shaft.

If you are trying to achieve a darker color and do not require grey coverage, the semi-permanent color should be used over permanent hair color.

Semi-permanent will blend grey hair but will not give you 100% coverage.

So How Do Hair Color Companies Promote Ammonia-Free? 

Hair color companies have an alternative to ammonia called Ethanolamine.

Like ammonia, even in smell, both work the same way to open the cuticle of the hair.

Here is the kicker ethanolamine is rated on the Environmental Working Group Database as more toxic. 

The rating is from 1-10, where 10 is the highest in toxicity. 

Ammonia is between 4-5, and Ethanolamine is 5-6 on the chart.

So companies can promote their hair color lines as ammonia-free and no ones the wiser.

Pretty cool card trick, huh?

Best Professional Organic Hair Color Companies You

Should Look At

Okay, so the title may be deceiving, but some notable professional hair color companies may promote themselves as organic.

We have researched some of the industry top manufacturers and have come up with our top picks for you to checkout.

• Wella organic hair color 
•  Wella EOS is a plant-based direct dye option if you want to deposit only. It is ammonia-free and claims to cover up to 50% grey.
•  Zero damage; no peroxides, and parabens; ppd and ptd free. 15% direct dye.
• Schwarzkopf organic hair color
•  is available in many tonal shades, from dark levels to light blondes. Claimstrobe ammonia-free and can provide up to 100% grey hair coverage and up to 4 levels of lift.
• Matrix organic hair color Biolage color is 82-100% plant-based vegan hair color. A no-lift option for deposit only clients. The line comes in 20 multi-tonal customizable color options.
• Loreal organic hair color Oiled based ammonia-free opportunity from Loreal professional.
• Kevin Murphy organic hair color PPD free, ammonia-free, and naturally derived ingredients like Aloe Vera, Honey, Shea Butter, and Pomegranate.
• Keune organic hair color So Pure is a line of color from Kuene that is ammonia-free, sulfate-free, and paraben-free that prides itself as vegan free.
• Goldwell organic hair color 100% ammonia-free hair color says it will cover up to 100% grey hair. Claims to give you up to 3l levels of lift. 91 % of ingredients of natural origin and infused with argan oil.
• Davines organic hair color A New Colour is Davines’ ammonia-free permanent coloring system, designed and formulated to offer total coverage and perfect lifting. Provides up to 3 levels of a color lift. Ammonia free with natural antioxidants.

Read The Fine Print Before You Buy Into Natural Hair Color Without Chemicals

So I have listed several brands that claim to be professional organic hair color lines. 

As I have also mentioned throughout this article, there is no such this as 100% organic hair color.

Some of the ones in the list above are deposit only semi-permanent, which allows them to be organic.

Most claim to be ammonia-free but read the ingredients, and you will find ethanolamine.

Almost none claim to be PPD free or claim they have PTD alternative.

I could only find just a few that said vegan and animal cruelty-free.

When choosing a brand of hair color for your hair salon, ask questions, and read the ingredients.

If having a real professional organic hair color option for your clients is essential, do your research.

We are getting close to being genuinely organic, just not entirely there yet.