Introduction
The early occurrence of grey hair has become a common concern. Gone are the days when grey hair would become visible at the age of 50 or maybe even more. Nowadays, thanks to our changed lifestyle and stress, premature greying is a common factor. People in their 20s are also seen searching for ways to cover grey hair! Though we might be able to control this by changing our nutrition and lifestyle habits, this might not be a comfortable road to ride on for everyone. So as we look for solutions to cover our greys, why not explore some home remedies as well for haircare.
Honestly, home and natural remedies are never an instant solution for covering greys. One has to be really patient to see the results and it does require some effort and time commitment. You will have to repeatedly keep doing these and further keep maintaining the process to see your greys develop a darker tint. These tips are not a substitute for absolute hair colors. So please don’t take these as magic or instant tricks! That is not true. You should be prepared to accept this fact before subscribing on to any home remedy to darken your greys. So if you are ready to take this all natural, DIY route to cover your greys, here are some of our favourite and easy, 5 home remedies to cover grey hair.
5 Home remedies to darken grey hair
1. Curry leaves oil
Curry leaves are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin B. They have natural darkening properties and also promote melanin production, thus controlling premature greying.
Ingredients:
- Handful of curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
Method:
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan.
- Add fresh, washed curry leaves and let them sizzle for a few minutes.
- Once the mixture turns black, turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Strain the oil and massage it into your scalp, leaving it overnight.
- Then wash your hair with shampoo the next day.
2. Tea/Coffee
So what’s your favourite? Tea or coffee? These drinks found in almost every household also have the power to darken our greys! And they can do it in really simple ways.
Ingredients:
- Some tea leaves or coffee
- 2 cups of water
Method:
- Add water in a pan and let it boil.
- Add a spoonful of tea or coffee to this and let it boil, until the water catches the color of the ingredient nicely.
- Strain the water and let it cool down.
- Apply this water on your hair, ensure they have no oil and leave it on your hair for about 15 minutes. Then proceed to wash the with normal water. You could also give it a last rinse after shampoo, but let it remain in your hair for a few minutes, before washing with clean water to avoid staining clothes/things around you later.
Should you pick tea or coffee to cover your grey hair?
As you must have noticed, both these ingredients impart a dark color to water and hence a regular application can darken your hair too. Tea gives a blackish tint whereas coffee imparts a brownish tint. So go ahead and have fun and choose the ingredient as per your choice of color! How about even experimenting with a little bit of mix in here?! There are no set rules, sometimes what works for one’s hair might be very different from someone else. Our hair density, texture differs, and hence you must experiment to see what color works better for you.
Bonus: You could also try mixing a little bit of tea water or a spoon of coffee in hair masks or some other recipes that you might try for your hair. They are likely to add shine to your hair and darken them. So we say, experiment with these 2 beautiful drinks/ingredients!
3. Bhringraj oil
Bhringraj is a powerful herb that can help enhance hair growth. It has darkening properties and regular use can give a slightly darker shade to your greys. It further helps to enhance the production of melanin in hair, the substance responsible for color in our hair, thus helping to fight premature greying.
Ingredients:
- 1 spoon bhringraj powder
- 2-3 spoons of Coconut oil, or as per your hair length
Method:
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan.
- As it gets warm, add the bhringraj powder to it and stir to mix it in the oil.
- Let the oil cool down and then apply on dry hair.
- Massage nicely and leave on hair for about 45-60 minutes. Then use shampoo to wash it off.
4. Sage leaves
Sage leaf is another powerful ingredient that could help with darkening of greys. This is known as ‘tej patta’ in hindi. In addition to imparting a dark-brownish color to hair, it helps to enhance hair growth as well. It hence works very well against thinning hair.
Ingredients:
- 4-5 fresh sage leaves or 1-2 dried sage leaves
- Rosemary leaves/cloves/tea leaves (optional add-ons)
- 2 cups of water
Method:
- Heat water in a pan.
- Add the sage leaves to it and some of the optional ingredients for a richer color.
- Cover the pan with a lid and let it boil until the water becomes brown in color.
- Allow it to cool.
- Strain it nicely and apply the water on hair. Rinse with normal water after 45-60 minutes. If you can leave it longer, do so. But remember the dripping water is likely to stain clothes. So please keep an old towel to prevent the same.
5. Carrot and Beetroot - the bold choice
If you are ready to go for a different twist for your greys and give them a red tint, then this method is for you! In turn, these vegetables are bound to nourish your hair with their properties too! So a bonus advantage. You could also get similar shades from Caaru’s Dark Plum or Burgundy hair color.
But let’s come to this natural recipe –
Ingredients:
- 1-2 carrots (Should be enough for about half cup juice)
- 1 beet root (should be enough for about half cup juice)
Method:
- Prepare a mix of carrot and beet root juice. You could do this by cutting the vegetables in small pieces and churning the same in a grinder. If beetroot feels too hard to crush, give it a little boil and then do this process. Avoid adding too much water to the mix.
- Strain out the juice from the pulp you get, using a thin cloth.
- Apply this juice on hair, either by pouring in small amounts and massaging well or use a spray bottle.
- Leave on hair for 3-4 hours.
- Wash with normal water to get rid of the excess juice in hair.
Conclusion
While we have suggested some ways to darken your greys, it might be nice to know about some natural ways to control or delay the occurrence of greys too. Isn’t it? Complete reversal of grey hair is still not a very fool proof concept. This claim is also considered as fake by many. We also believe, that complete reversal or permanent coloring of grey hair is not really possible, but yes, we do believe in controlling the occurrence of greys. Coming from a family of yoga believers, we believe that regular yoga can really help with controlling grey hair. We further look upto Dr.Hansaji for her ever enlightening tips. Check out her video here on natural tips for controlling the growth of grey hair!
Ending this with a note of gratitude to nature for all the amazing things it has given us, which if used wisely and correctly can do wonders for us, not just for our greys, but for so many things in our body and mind. Truly grateful! 🙂
And meanwhile, if you are looking for some touch-up using some safer hair colors, we are of course here! Like they say, For grey hair, Caaru is there. Just Caaru it!
Add comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.