October 12, 2018, I have begun to use a black tea rinse to darken and color my gray hairs naturally. I use it on weeks between using Dark & Lovely Reviving Color – Radiant Black #391.
My hope and goal is to reduce using the color more and more depending only on the black tea rinse. We’ll see if this works. Here is the recipe and regimen I used.
Black Tea Gray Hair Rinse
Ingredients:
3 cups water
4 Black Tea bags
1 tsp salt (helps tea adhere to hair)
pan
plastic cap
microfiber towel
Directions:
1) Boil 3 cups water
2) Put 4 Black Tea bags into boiling water.
3) Let boil for approximately 5 min.
4) Take tea bags out and add 1 tsp salt. Let cool.
5) Wash hair
6) Pour rinse over hair and work through.
7) Cover with a plastic cap and a microfiber towel.
8) Leave on for 1 hour, then rinse lightly with luke warm water.
9) Then maintain color every week
I Don't recommend Shampooing the hair after using the tea rinse because it will pull the rinse out. You may not get full coverage of gray hair with the first application, so continue to do it weekly until the desired shade is reached.
Benefits:
The high levels of antioxidants and caffeine in black tea both benefit hair health. The caffeine decreases a hormone that causes hair loss (known as DHT or dihydrotestosterone), while the antioxidants promote healthy hair growth. Black tea acts as a natural dyeing agent. It is suitable for women who have dark brown or black hair and wish to get rid of gray hair. Black tea rinse will help to bring out natural highlights in the hair.
I can't tell you if this worked because I abandoned the idea after using it for 3 weeks. I'm not saying it doesn't work, I just didn't have the patience to see it through. I needed my gray hairs covered NOW!
This transition to natural hair process is soooo! frustrating sometimes. If you decide to take this journey, remember the learning curve is high.