Does anyone know of any hairdressers who recommend using natural hair colours like henna and indigo?

[Jyoti]

I have spoken to a few hairdressers about the benefits to themselves and their customers of using chemical-free 100% natural hair colours like henna and indigo. I have explained that they are truly natural and using them in different proportions can produce different shades ranging from orange to brown to almost black. A few hairdressers like the idea of using henna and indigo for themselves and seem attracted to the environmental and personal benefits but are reluctant to recommend them to customers because they cannot guarantee the exact shade they will get.
Caution: I have heard that hairdressers don't like henna because the henna they have come across in the past is “compound henna” - i.e. henna powder mixed with dyes and metallic salts such as lead acetate which act as fixatives to “fix” the so called henna shade which the manufacturer is marketing. It’s the metallic salt fixatives in the compound hennas that get onto your hair and react badly with perms and chemicals in hair dyes and bleach solutions. I must stress that the henna and indigo we sell is pure, it is dried powdered leaves of the plant 'lawsonia inermis' (pure henna) and 'indigofera tinctoria' (pure indigo).

[HennaHelen]

I have my hair cut by a friend - an ex-hairdresser (though still young) who cuts my hair at her house and when we discussed henna she was suprised by how little she actually knew about it. She just had it in her mind that there were metallic qualities in it - she wasn't even sure where she had got the information from.

When I explained that pure henna - the real stuff with no compound mix - was actually just plant, she was fascinated.

[Jyoti]

Hi Helen,
Like you, my hairdresser is a friend who has seen my hair with and without henna and has commented on not just the superb grey cover but also how soft and shiny it feels when it has been hennaed(and indigoed!). She initially didn't think any of her regular clients would try it but has now started talking to them about it. I got her to apply it on my hair so she could offer this service to people locally and guess what- she has found a client who is willing to try it once.I shall report back when it has been done.
I am sure most people would be fascinated when they learn about it so we need to show everyone what it does. If we can convince some hairdressers of its benefits and let them see how easy it is to apply, they may spread the word to their (captive) audience.