Logwood: Natural Purple Hair Dye!

Note that I have a new favorite method, which you can find here . First, here are some images. After rinsing the dye out. Still has residue. The black on the bottom was from prior dye jobs using indigo. After the first wash = residue removed. It will stay at this color.  This is the easiest method because it's an all-in-one henna and logwood mix. It was recommended to me on an FB group by someone who has used it for years. I've adapted it for making a logwood infusion, then using the liquid to wet the henna. Using an infusion is better than using the logwood powder directly on your hair because the tiny wood pieces swell to a larger size and become difficult to rinse out. And I added my alum after-soak option for greater permanence (and keeping it pink-purple rather than letting it turn red with time), but some find this step unnecessary. Omit, if you prefer. DO NOT add aloe to this mix as it seems to deactivate the logwood. A small amount of guar or aca

I first heard about logwood's use as a natural purple hair dye in a Facebook group for henna users called Henna Hair. Somebody living in a country other than the US described how she used henna and logwood in equal parts by weight, along with distilled water and baking soda using a particular preparation method, to achieve a wine red purple color as an alternative to the typical range of colors achievable with henna, indigo, and cassia mixes. It's a nice way to neutralize the orange tones in henna while adding a fun purple tone, without turning it browner.  The method involves boiling the logwood (powder or soaked bark chips) in a small amount of distilled water for 5 minutes, then letting it cool for a couple minutes before adding baking soda to turn the dye from orange to purple. (It's a ph-sensitive dye.) She then heats this liquid without boiling for 5 additional minutes. Then, she adds the liquid to her henna powder in a mixing bowl, optionally adds a little indigo to

After 3 weeks of nonstop experimenting on both my spouse's shaven off hair samples and my own attached hair, I finally achieved a purple shade I love! (Photos below) This is with logwood (campeche) bark, a solution of alum powder and baking soda, guar gum for thickening, and distilled water. Alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) is a mordant that fixes the dye to fiber, in this case hair. You can web search its use in fabric dyeing. Alum (and its variations) is pretty much the only safe metal mordant when used topically. Without a mordant, it's hard to get natural dyes to stick that aren't henna or indigo. Alum is safe to use on skin because the aluminum cannot be absorbed. The size of the molecules is too large to pass through skin. But don't inhale the powder or ingest it, because then it can cause issues.  Baking soda is fine other than it can strip natural oils from hair with repeated use. But this does not happen when using it only once per month, so not to worry when

This 2-step method is for those who want the darkest and most permanent purple hair color possible, especially on light roots. You'll get a dark plum color with pink undertones which will be most visible in bright light or on light colored hair. As all natural hair dyes are translucent, greys turn out purple-peach, about one shade darker than pastel. This mix feels pretty slimy due to the gum thickener. Another post describes the 1-step method, which yields a wine red purple color. The alum after-soak improves permanence, but some people don't need it. IMPORTANT: Do your usual henna application at some time prior to this logwood step. The logwood won't stick well otherwise.  INGREDIENTS IF YOU HAVE POWDER - half head 4.33 T logwood powder 1.56 tsp baking soda 1 tsp guar or xanthan gum powder to thicken  1.5 cups distilled water  Alum after-soak:  1 tsp potassium alum (Or 2/3 tsp aluminum sulfate) 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup warm water (about 100 F) 1/3 tsp guar or xanthan gum