Can You Use Beet Juice To Dye Your Hair?

Coloring your hair is a fun way to bring out your personality. Whether you're someone who dyes your hair often or you want to try it for the first time, you likely want to know the best ways to get the color you want without damaging your hair. You want something that looks natural but doesn't mess with the healthy strands on your head. 

There's a lot that happens to your hair when you dye it using commercially produced hair dyes, and ammonia is one of the biggest concerns. Speaking to Health Shots, Dermatologist Dr. Nirupama Parwanda explains that ammonia "serves the purpose of breaking through the hair cuticle and allows the color to deposit itself there." However, repeated application can lead to hair damage. Even if hair dyes claim to be ammonia-free, they will contain other harmful chemicals that can lead to dry and dull-looking tresses as well as hair breakage and loss. Some people also experience allergic reactions to some of the chemicals found in hair dyes, according to the U.K.'s National Health Service.

For these reasons, many people seek more natural modes of getting their desired hair shade. While you might be skeptical, coloring hair using vegetable juices is something that has been a part of many cultures around the world for centuries, per Storey. Plants like henna, amla, and cassia are some of the most popular options, but you may also have seen beetroot juice pop up as a suggestion and wondered if it works.

From YouTube to beauty blogs, it's not difficult to find enthusiasts who've jumped on the beet juice bandwagon to naturally tint their tresses and give us their verdict. 

Beauty blogger Stella Cini tried the experiment out primarily because she was bored. She cooked up different versions of the homemade hair dye but used a mixture of two of them to actually get the job done. She baked some beet cubes wrapped in foil in the oven for 15 minutes and proceeded to blend the vegetable with coconut oil to create a thick mixture. The other concoction was made by blending more of the boiled beets into the thicker mixture and adding coconut oil again. She eventually mixed both of these together and applied it to her light blonde hair. After washing the dye off, she seemed happy with the result, even though the result was not what she thought it might be. "I'm impressed," she shared. 

YouTuber Jennifer Campestrini, who has naturally dark brown locks, tried the beet juice hair dye as well. After following the baking and blending method, she applied the natural dye to her hair and left it on for one hour before rinsing it off. She stopped rinsing at the point when the dye washing off her hair was pink. While the difference in hair color wasn't as drastic as Cini's, her locks had turned a darker shade of brown. 

Beetroot is a vegetable that comes with added benefits for your locks as well. Hair dyes made using the vegetable can tackle dandruff and promote hair growth too, per Beauty Glimpse. Preparing the natural dye can be done in a few different ways. The most simple method is to blend freshly cut beetroot slices into a juice, add an oil of your choice to the mixture, and apply the tint to your locks, according to Healthline. After an hour's resting time, you can rinse the dye off and blow dry your hair to survey the results.

Alternately, you can bake the wedges of beetroot for 30 minutes covered in aluminum foil, reports Pulse. Add the softened cubes to the blender and mix, adding pure coconut oil next. Your natural hair dye is then ready for application. Pro tip: Wear clothes that you won't mind discarding and gloves in your hands while applying the deep red tint to your mane. One way you will know ahead that the pigment is going to do its job is by all the dark red tint you're going to see on your clothes and fingers. 

The coloring you get from beet juice should last you 10 to 15 days (via Sweetish Hill). It's not that long but the health benefits from the vegetable far surpass box dyes that will ruin your hair.