Darkening Hair Color with Coffee

By

Chloelizabeth

Before I was very grey, I used strong tea rinse on my brown hair. It darkened the grey and gave a wonderful shine and smelled good, too. I would boil ordinary tea until the water was very dark, strain out the tea leaves, and use this as a rinse when I washed my hair, leaving it on for a few minutes and then rinsing until the water was clear. It added some color and I am guessing the oil in the tea added the shine.

Does anyone know how to get the coffee smell out of your hair? I did the rinse 3 days ago and washed my hair every day since then and the smell won't come out. Please help!

By Trina (Guest Post)

I have tried almost everything when it comes to these treatments. (keep in mind that the amounts I use is for shoulder length hair). The coffee method worked well on my dark hair, helped with shine and color intensity.
I used:
- 2 cups of leave in conditioner
- 2 tbs of ground coffee
- 1 cup of cold brewed coffee
Mix the leave in conditioner with the ground coffee and the cold brewed coffee in a bowl. Then put it in your hair like you would any 'regular' hair dye. Leave it in for 1 hour or as long as you see fit.

When I had red hair
I used:
- 2 cups of leave in conditioner
- 1 tbs of paprika
- 1 cup of cold strong tea, 4 teabags used (use any tea that will give a red color)
Mix the 3 things together and put it in your hair. Leave in for 1 hour or as long as desired. This worked well also for adding extra shine and color to my (dyed) red hair.

When I was blond
I used:
- 2 cups of leave in conditioner (again)
- 1 cup of lemon or lime juice (bottled or fresh)
- 1 cup of cold chamomile tea
Mix (again) and put into hair.
Leave in for 1 hour or as long as desired.

The coffee method and the red hair method can also be used for blonde hair to add some golden or reddish highlights. If the red hair and the blonde hair method works on dark hair I do not know.

Sorry for posting a novel length comment. Hope it helps.

By rica (Guest Post)

I dont know about the coffe. I would like to ask if at my age of 17, I should use coffee as a dye of my hair? I haven't tried the coffee in my hair?i Is it a natural wy to color my hair or if ever I will apply it, is a side effect or allergies?

By Noelle (Guest Post)

I just tried the coffee method. I used 3 tbs coffee grinds (a starbucks decaff bold kind) and made 3 cups of coffee. I think this is too much. Then I mixed 4 tbs of plain yogurt with 1 egg and added a little vanilla extract for smell. Then I also added about 1 tsp olive oil and stirred. Then I chilled the coffee once it was done brewing and mixed it all together. It was too runny and created a huge mess in the bathroom, so if I do it again I will definitely make it more conditioner-like.

Then I did the best I could at getting it saturated evenly through my hair and threw an old towel around my head for about 15 min. Rinsed with warm water, re-conditioned with normal conditioner and dried. It is very slightly darker, if at all. My highlights are definitely still on the blonde side. My natural color seems the most effected, which seems contradictory, but who knows.

I'd recommend doing it because my hair feels really nice now (probably the mixture besides the coffee, but still) and my husband thinks it looks a bit darker, so maybe it is!

By pikka (Guest Post)

I am 63 and have stopped doing anything to my hair for 13 years. It is shiny and I need no conditioner.

However, when I did do something and was poor at the same time I would pick a color of lighter shade for highlights. In a small dish mix EQUAL parts using stainless or plastic spoons about 1-2 tablespoons will do. Put caps back on bottles, tighten and put in box and put away until next time. It keeps. Use an old toothbrush or small cheap paintbrush to put mixture on a comb. Come carefully from roots where you want highlights, covering dark area. Leave on 3-4 minutes, then cover area already light on same strands. Leave about a minute. It's just to make it the same tone. After no more than total time of 5-10 minutes, wash your hair. After a few days, for darker color, use a box of darker shade you like, and tone a few darker strands. Then your natural color will be the mid tone. You can get 3-4 applications out of a box, and if you do it gradually, it looks natural.

But consider giving your hair a break eventually and only do highlights, because natural hair has more than one shade in it.

As for dye with natural things, I wouldn't do it until hair is back to its natural self. Coffee or a solution from dark walnut hulls shouldn't do anything to normal hair, but if you've done a lot to it, who knows what it will do, both being kind of acid. Certainly could relax a perm. But if you've only had your hair done once, maybe no big deal if you wait at least a couple of shampoos between what you just had done and your experiment. You can also buy toner from hair places out of which you could make a rinse by itself and it might equalize the colors to some degree if you applied it over all color variations.

By laramay (Guest Post)

I heard about the coffee dye too. Dye is pretty expensive and doesn't last very long lately, so I use the coffee rinse whenever I wash my hair to make the dye last longer. It doesn't seem to hurt my hair, just keeps it the same color longer. But you have to be a brunette to use the coffee, won't work on blondes or redheads. Try it and see.

By

pamphyila

I haven't tried the coffee myself, although I have read about it & using sage tea - and I do my own highlights by putting regular drugstore hydrogen peroxide on very dirty hair - and then using color shampoo - I recommend that you experiment with those techniques - and don't forget dark RINSES for a temporary fix. (Roux is the most common brand at beauty supply stores.) But beware - they are not waterproof, if you sweat on your head, as I do!
I have worked out an inexpensive regimen that works very well for me.

By

michawnpita

I don't know about the coffee, I would think that a kit to darken it would be better (and faster) then do the bleaching.

If you have a beauty store, Sally's, nearby I would go to them. You can get salon quality ingredients for a good price, buy the card if you think you'll be back, it's on $5 and WAY worth the price very quickly.

Also, I just heard of this great thing called ColorFix by One n' Only, it's a dye (permanent) remover product, you can then dye to what you want. Maybe try that?