REVIEW | Tints of Nature Permanent Hair Color

Goal: To find a less-toxic, permanent, non-drying Hair Dye that covers gray with no fumes.
Brand I Tried: Tints of Nature
Product:  Permanent Hair Color in 4CH (Rich Chocolate Brown), & 4RR (Dark Henna Red).
Product Description: (Directly from their website) Tints of Nature is the only available line of permanent hair colors to use natural, certified organic ingredients wherever feasible. The highly effective formula also has a naturally derived base. It is paraben free and contains no harsh ammonia, resorcinol or nonoxynol, thus helping to ensure damage free results. We use extra mild, low odor, pharmaceutical grade peroxide and the lowest possible percentage of PPD pigments (Paraphenylenediamines) – ranging from 1N (the darkest) at 2.0% to 10XL (the lightest) at 0.03% – giving an average of 0.6% across the line. You can darken your hair by several shades, lighten it by 1- 1 1/2 shades, simply match or even enhance your natural color, and gently but effectively cover all gray hair. You can choose the color and we take care of the condition – leaving your hair soft and silky with a deep and lasting shine. Every carton contains a bottle of Tints of Nature color gel and a bottle of Tints of Nature color fix plus shampoo and conditioner sachets, a pair of plastic gloves and full instructions.
Ingredients: Color Fix & Color Gel (Hair Color)… Read Here.

• Price: $17.99 (you can usually find them on sale though).
• Size: 120 ml. / 4.2 oz.
• Uses: Permanent Hair Color.
• Amount Of Product Used For It To Be Effective: All. I have very long, thick, curly hair. Now that my hair is getting longer (almost down to my bra strap in the back) I think I might start needing 1 1/2 – 2 boxes of dye. It covers very well though.
• First Impression: WOW, no bad smell!
• Visual Attractiveness: Natural-looking packaging. Bottles are nice too. However- the pictures of the women on the boxes are a little scary (they look possessed) yikes!
• Texture: Like conventional Hair Dye gel.
• Scent: Very low-odor, which is awesome! Smells faintly like a mix of licorice & bananas (in a good way). Don’t ask LOL.
• How Long I’ve Used It: Several times since May 2010.
• Easy To Find And Where? Whole Foods Market, TintsOfNatureUSA.com, Amazon.com. 
• Acquired: Purchased with my own money.
• Customer Service: Haven’t used it. They have a very informative website if you just click around.
• Sample, Trial, Travel Sizes?: No.
• EWG’s Skin Deep – Cosmetic Safety Database Rating: I don’t know for this one- but it has to be better than conventional ones- it is paraben, ammonia, resorcinol or nonoxynol free and has the lowest percentage of PPD pigments possible. Sadly, this is one of those products where none of them are actually natural or healthy- just less toxic (except Henna, I think).
• The GG’s Opinion: I’m not gonna lie. I am sooooo not ready to start going gray at 32. If you’re anything like me- there are just some things you’re going to do anyway- so you might as well be realistic and choose the lesser of the two evils, right? I used frequent high-end salons for highlights/ lowlights, etc. but times are tough and I’m on a VERY strict budget these days! When I used to play “Beauty Salon” at home, I was a pretty loyal Loreal Feria / Excellence user. To cover grey the best, have tried a a few different methods. I shampoo & condition my hair BEFORE I dye it, towel dry it really well and apply the dye to damp hair (this also helps the color to spread more easily). I leave it on for about 45-50 minutes, and I have even mixed colors 1/2 & 1/2 (like 4CHh & 4RR) which gave me better grey coverage. I noticed the reds don’t get as orangey and last way longer if mixed with a brown. I also, shampoo & condition after I rinse the color out. They have a lot of great Tips & Techniques here and FAQ’s here.  I initially chose Tints of Nature because they had color swatches (dye runs a little darker- so I would go a shade or two lighter than you think) with very natural and realistic hair colors. Things I heart about it:  it didn’t sting my scalp, my eyes and nose don’t burn from the toxic fumes, I don’t have to freeze my ass off (having to keep the windows wide open with wet hair in the bathroom when it’s snowing out) anymore, my boyfriend didn’t complain about the fumes, no dry, damaged hair or breakage at all. I like that this product gives you multi-faceted color (similar to Feria) and has lasted about 3-4 weeks with no fading. Woo-hoo! Downside: it’s a little pricey for an “at-home-dye” (especially if you have long hair and need two bottles), feels like forever to rinse color out (which I’m okay with), I usually use my own shampoo & conditioner instead – not because they are not good, but because I have hair products with cleaner ingredients (I wish these did too). It also does fade a little on the stray greys around my hair-line (from my face wash though, I think). As soon as I realized it and was more careful, it stopped. YAY for listing the % of PPD’s and more specifically EVERY single ingredient on their website, including for the Shampoo & Conditioner Sachets. Love, Love LOVE this Hair Color and would definitely purchase it again unless I find something safer that works just as well!