Hair coloring

How to Darken Hair without Dye

Mary Smith
By Mary Smith. Updated: July 17, 2017
How to Darken Hair without Dye

Dye is an effective method for changing your style and give a new look to your hair. However, dyes can really damage your hair, as they contain many chemical products you can be allergic to. If you do not want your hair to lose its natural oils and look dry, stringy and very damaged, try this home remedy. On oneHOWTO we show you how to darken hair without dye. With this natural remedy you will avoid using chemicals and your hair will look strong, healthy, shiny and spectacular.

You may also be interested in: How to Dye Your Hair Blue without Bleach

How to darken your hair with coffee

Coffee is one of the best ingredients to darken hair without dye. It is a pretty simple procedure and offers a chemical-free solution for hair darkening:

  1. Remember to put in triple the amount of coffee you normally use, to make it extra strong. Once the coffee is made, let it cool.
  2. Wash your hair as you normally do. Use the same shampoo. Then, rinse with water.
  3. Next, pour the prepared coffee on your hair. Repeat this process two or three times and make sure your hair is well covered and soaked with coffee.
  4. Once your hair is full of coffee, leave it for 15 minutes or so. Then rinse with water and you will see that your hair will be darker. It's as easy and quick as that

Did your know you can dye your hair purple without bleaching? Learn how in this article.

How to Darken Hair without Dye - How to darken your hair with coffee
Image: radiowebrural.com

How to darken your hair with tea

You can also do the same process to darken hair without dye using strong black tea. However, once applied on the hair you have to leave it on for an hour before rinsing. To do so, follow these instructions:

  1. Boil thee black tea bags with two cups of water in a saucepan
  2. Leave it to brew for at least five minutes or until the tea cools down a little.
  3. Apply from the roots of your hair and leave the solution on for one hour.
  4. Rinse with warm water.

If you want to color your hair dark blue, here we show you how to do it without bleach.

How to Darken Hair without Dye - How to darken your hair with tea

How to darken your hair with sage

Another home remedy is mix one cup of dried sage with boiling water. This will be a great way to cover white hair without bleach. Follow these easy instructions to darken hair and covering those annoying grey areas too.

  1. Add three teaspoons sage for every teaspoon of water. Make as much as you need to cover your hair.
  2. Boil the water and let it brew for 10 minutes.
  3. Let the liquid sit for 8 hours and then apply it to your hair.
  4. When the mixture is dry, remove it with water.
  5. Repeat daily for efficient results.

For other methods, take a look at our article on how to use sage to darken grey hair.

How to darken your hair with cocoa

To maintain the dark color of your hair, you can mix your regular shampoo with ground bitter cocoa. Regular use will help keep the dark color of your hair longer. You will have spectacular dark hair! Take a look at this recipe to darken your hair naturally:

  1. Mix two spoonfuls of water per spoonful of dark organic cocoa
  2. Stir until you get a thicker paste.
  3. Apply to your hair from the root with your fingers
  4. Leave it on for around 20 minutes.
  5. Repeat daily for best results

Another great way to darken your hair is using Indigo or katam, although that is permanent.

How to darken your hair with henna

If we mix two highly efficient natural ingredients, we'll get a great way to darken hair naturally. These ingredients are indigo hair dye and henna, which is great for grey Afro hair.

  1. Mix the pure henna paste with the amount of indigo dye until you get the perfect dark shade you want.
  2. Apply on your hair and leave it on for 5 hours.
  3. Rinse with water.
  4. After 72 hours have passed, repeat the procedure and leave of 5 more hours.
  5. Rinse but do not use shampoo to wash your hair for at least 48 hours.

There are also a few semi-permanent, henna-based coffee color hair dyes available in the market, which should be less damaging than normal dyes.

How to Darken Hair without Dye - How to darken your hair with henna

How to darken your hair with black walnut powder

If you're looking for a very dark natural hair dye, then the mixture of black walnut powder and black tea is perfect for you. Take a look at the recipe.

  1. Add one quarter cup of black walnut powder, one black tea bad and boil in three cups of water.
  2. Leave to steep for 6 hours at least.
  3. Rinse your hair in the shower with the solution and dry in the sun.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Darken Hair without Dye, we recommend you visit our Beauty & Personal Care category.

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3 comments
Laurel
My hair is 95% white from top down to ears...the bottom hair at neckline is 75% dark brown. I don't want to dye my hair, but want to tone down the white. I don't want a yellow or brassy look...more of very pale or light tan...what would bring about this pale shade to soften the white?
OneHowTo Editor
Hi Laurel,
We'd advise you to go for the tea recipe.
Let us know how it turned out!
ilona
This worked sooo good love it :)
E from ak
I don't know why, but this didn't work for me. I used a French press with a dark coffee blend and very strong - like, can't see through it held up to the sunlight, kind of strong. I rinsed with cool - Luke warm water. Blew dry with cool air. Anyway, smells good if nothing else.
Becca
I have a tweaked version if you want to try it: Make a QUADRUPLE strong pot of coffee, wash your hair of any conditioner (which seems to "close" the cuticles from effective dye distribution), air or blow dry hair until COMPLETELY dry, add cooled coffee to an empty spray bottle, spritz coffee in until hair is completely saturated wet with it, then either leave to dry or wait a good night before rinsing it out! Much more effective than applying wet IMO. Hope this helps! ☺
Image: radiowebrural.com
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How to Darken Hair without Dye