Want to darken your hair? Try this easy and natural rinse that uses herbal ingredients to make your hair shades darker.

Premature greying is a problem that causes melanin depletion leading to grey hair. Unlike the greying that comes with ageing, which is a natural process, premature ageing begins before or during twenties. This can be a problem and can cause many women to shy away from spotlight or use chemical coloring or dyes to cover them up.

We have shared scores of natural hair coloring options for you to try out. This is one such option in that list. This is a natural herbal rinse that darkens hair and can be used between coloring, or just to darken the strands as needed. Also, you can use this rinse if you’re coloring your hair and improve the end-result to get darker finish.

However, it is important to note that the results will vary on the porosity of your hair. We have dealt with hair porosity earlier. So you can read through the post to get an idea of how it matters, how to determine and how it affects the results. Basically, the more porous your hair is, the faster it absorbs the stain. Depending on your hair porosity the end result can be light – medium – dark brown

If you have fully white, or there are grey strands more than dark strands (like when more than 60% of your hair is grey), then this rinse alone won’t be enough for darkening. So, this is more of a beginning stage fix or can be used along with hair color to darken the results.

Let’s get to the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

Distilled Water – 4 Cups

Nettle Leaves – ¼ Cup

Rosemary Leaves – ¼ Cup

Sage Leaves – ¼ Cup

Thyme Leaves – 2 Tbsp.

Walnut Shells – 1 Cup

Black Tea – 2 Tbsp.

Argan Oil – 2 Tsp.

Instructions

Bring the water to a boil on a stove and switch of the flame when it comes to a rolling boil.

Add all the herbs, walnut shells and vinegar and cover it. Crush the walnut shells before adding to the water.

Let it steep for a good 3 – 4 hours – the water should be a deep brown color.

Strain and you’re done.

How to Use the Rinse

Wash your hair and pat dry.

Wear gloves and massage this rinse to your scalp and cover the strands too.

This will stain your hands and fingers, so don’t forget the gloves!

Wait for a minute, squeeze out excess rinse and pat dry – yes, use a dark towel, or an old clothing. This will stain anything while your hair is wet.

If you use a leave-in, apply it now. You can apply the Argan Oil at this time instead  of conditioner. 

Let it dry completely.

Style as usual.

Shelf Life

It lasts for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. So you can refrigerate any leftovers.

Why These Ingredients?

This is a nourishing mixture that will also darken hair and leaves your hair soft and silky.

With regular use, sage, rosemary and thyme are said to reverse greying and promote hair growth.

Nettle is another ingredient that can promote healthier hair and scalp.

Both Walnut and Tea offer the darkening or coloring of strands – you can add more of these ingredients per your shade requirement or end results for the given measurement.

Who can Try This Rinse?

This is ideal for darker hair – medium brown, dark brown, auburn, etc.

This is not ideal for those with lighter hair, when the greying is more than 50%, for chemically treated hair.

Frequency

Initially you will need this rinse every day for the first 15 days, then you can use alternative days or leave more days in between according to your requirement and results.

Tips to Tweak the Recipe

You can also add Fenugreek for better conditioning. Make a tea with fenugreek seeds and use that for preparing this infused rinse.

You can also add Lavender Buds for added aroma and soothing effect.

You can add any hair care herbs or essential oils to this recipe if you prefer.

As always, feel free to write to us for any questions, queries, or requests. We love hearing from you. Don’t have time for DIY Recipes? We have you covered with Vitamins Argan Oil for hair and scalp care products.