If you’ve been vegan for a while, I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of scary stories that go along with it.
They try to scare you into giving up your lifestyle by telling you about nasty reactions you might have to soaps and shampoos.
Is vegan hair dye cancer-causing? As someone who actually uses it every other week (I don’t go vegan every time I color my hair), here are the facts.
Does vegan hair dye cause cancer?
Vegan hair dye does not cause cancer. It is a common misconception that chemicals used in vegan hair dyes are carcinogenic. The truth is that many non-vegan hair dyes also use the same chemicals as vegan dyes, but people confuse the two because they do not know what these chemicals are called or what they look like.
Trying to find vegan hair dye that is 100 percent free of all chemicals is impossible, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
There are some brands that advertise their products as “organic,” which means they don’t contain any harsh chemicals and use natural ingredients like seaweed extract, tea and chamomile instead.
Whenever using a chemical-filled product, it’s recommended to do a patch test on your skin first to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction.
It’s also smart to opt for a brand that has minimal or no ammonia in its ingredients.
Ammonia can cause a burning sensation on the skin and make your scalp tingle.
Although no reputable brand will flat out say their products cause cancer, some brands may not be open about what exactly goes into their coloring formulas, so I encourage you to do research before buying certain brands.
Does vegan hair dye damage your hair?
No. Vegan dyes do not damage your hair. Vegan hair dyes are designed to be gentler on your hair. They contain vegetable-based ingredients such as henna, amla, indigo, and cassia. These natural ingredients make vegan hair dyes better for your hair than chemical dyes.
Vegan hair dye does not contain the harsh chemicals that damage your hair.
Unlike animal-based products, these dyes do not require ammonia or a peroxide base. Ammonia and peroxide are harsh chemicals used in conventional hair dye to break down proteins in the hair shaft so the dye can reach the cortex and deposit color.
This makes vegan hair dye less damaging to your hair than chemical dyes.
By breaking down the hair shaft, conventional dyes strip away essential amino acids and weaken the cuticle of your hair.
Vegan dye doesn’t contain these harmful chemicals so they don’t strip away essential amino acids or weaken the cuticle layer of your hair.
Vegan colors can achieve rich, vibrant colors without compromising the health of your hair.
How does vegan hair dye work to cover grey hair?
Vegan hair dye works by altering the surface of your existing hair strands and covering up any grey or white hairs that you might have.
This process happens quickly and the results last longer than traditional chemical dyes.
To understand how vegan hair dye works, you need to know what it is that makes up your hair.
Hair is made up of keratin fibers, which act as a protective layer around your hair follicles.
The color that you see on your head is actually created by pigments found inside of the keratin fibers, called melanin protein.
When light hits these proteins, they give off the color that we see in our hair.
When using a vegan hair dye, the process is much easier than trying to cover grey hairs with traditional chemical dyes because there are no harsh chemicals involved.
Final Thoughts
I approached this research with a genuine desire to find out whether or not there is any truth to the horror stories circulating around vegan dyes and cancer.
In my opinion, this research has been fairly successful. I have answered the question posed above, and I have done so without getting overly technical.
So if you’re wondering whether using vegan hair dye is safe for you, the answer is yes.
