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Black walnut hair dye (using hull powder)
When I was looking for ways to all naturally darken my hair I came across the method of using black walnut hair dye. At first, I couldn’t find too much information online about how to use black walnut hair dye or if it really worked. So I figured I would try it out myself. At first I tried to buy the actual black walnut husks, but since no one sold them I bought a bag of black walnut powder online. It was about 3 dollars for 8 oz. I was even able to find organic black walnut powder.
After the walnut hair dye powder arrived, the next question was how do I make the black walnut hair dye from the powder. I decided to use a method that is used for dying cloth.
So I boiled a pot of water (about 5 cups of water), took it off the stove and put in 5 tablespoons of black walnut powder. I let this steep for about an hour.
Then once my walnut hair dye mixture cooled down, I dipped the ends of my hair in the pot (since this was my first time using it, I only dipped the ends of my hair in to test it out). I let it absorb for about 15 minutes and then just let my hair air dry for 3 to 4 hours. (note: After applying the black walnut hair dye I did not even rinse with water.)
The black walnut hair dye results:
The walnut hair dye did darken my hair! Yay, success! My hair is a light to medium brown color naturally. The picture above compares my test strand to my natural hair color. It seems it may work even better for someone with a lighter hair color.
To get an even darker color you could try steeping the black walnut hair dye mixture for a longer time.
AFTER PICTURE: (This picture was taken 2 days after doing the black walnut hair dye, there is a before picture of me on my about me page with my natural hair color and also on my facebook page).
If you are going to try black walnut hair dye, just note that my hair has not been colored or dyed in anyway, so I’m not sure how doing this on colored hair would work, but I am curious if it would have the same results.
Please leave a comment if you have tried coloring your hair with black walnut powder and let us know how it worked for you!
UPDATE: I have received a few comments from readers who have tried this method and suggested sitting in the sun or using a hair dryer when you have the mixture in your hair. The heat may help increase the ability of the color to stay.
Check out more Natural Hair Dye Methods using Fruit and Herbs!
Hi Lori,
I am wondering if the black green walnut hull power works to cover my grey hair. I tried but it was not working on mine – originally black colour. I put more than 5 tablespoons with boiled hot water. I applied for my hair for an hour then rinsed with water. Should I not rinse with the water and steep overnight?
Can you please advise me the best way to dye the hair with black walnut hull. Thanks.
I haven’t tried it on grey hair myself, some need to steep it for a longer period of time. I have read a few comments, that some steep it for 2 days. Maybe leaving it in the hair longer would help too? In the comments on this post, I have had mixed reviews on it being able to color grey hair, I’m not sure why it works for some and not for others.
I saw you said it lasted a while and that it gradually faded for 1-2 months, did you get back to your natural color? And did you have funky color in between the original dying and the completely faded? I am very interested in trying this since I have a very similar hair color to yours naturally.
It was a nice gradual fading back to my natural color 🙂
I was wondering how long did the results last?
The results lasted about a month, after that it slowly started becoming lighter.
I bought some black walnut hull powder from amazon, also organic. On the package it says the hulls produce a chemical (starts with a “j”) that can be toxic with long term use. This made me nervous so I tried looking up the safety of it online and I’m not 100% sure it’s safe. Have you read anything about this, what do you think? Not sure what would be considered long term use.
Thanks for this post Lori! Your hair looks beautiful in the ‘after’ photo! I’ve just bought some powder online. I have bleached hair (from mousy light brown) and I despise it. I’ve been doing henndigo (henna + indigo) experiments but none of them get ashy enough for me. So I’ll give this a go 🙂
Thanks Nicole! Let us know how it works for you!
I think age matters, the gray hairs get more resistant to chemical colorants the older you get. Also, I think your water matters. We had very hard water, my neighbor couldn’t get perms any more – back in the day of the fro’s – the chemicals couldn’t penetrate her hair follicle because of the hard water deposits. I used to need a clarifying treatment in order for dyes to ‘take’. I read recently that our hair oxidizes with age, that it is related to gray hair/resistance to color, wonder if anti-oxidants would help?. On the news this past week, they may have discovered a cure or preventative for gray hair, while researching a new drug for another problem, it’s 5+ years away at best. Finally, I have a black walnut tree on my property! Last year we had a drought and I didn’t see many but in 2011 I found tons of them, starting in July ….. I have a few in my freezer, it’s worth a shot. Be back when I have something to report.
Thanks for sharing! Look forward to hearing the results. I was just reading this interesting article from Natural News on using onion juice as a way of reducing oxidative stress and prevent/treat grey hair. http://www.naturalnews.com/040262_thinning_hair_grey_onion_juice.html
That’s the best thing I’ve seen on here so far. 🙂 I am okay with the gray (I’m light brown so it’s more like highlights :-)) but the thinning bothers me.
@ Marge Sehler regarding your December 6, 2012 post,
How did you apply the solution to your hair? Did you use just pour it over it or let it soak in the solution? I’m also curious if you always leave it in or if you rinse it out.
Also, do you think the solution worked as well once you froze it?
I hope you get this comment. Thanks for your post. I’m happy to have found this site; I had wanted to use the black walnut but had not seen enough information on it to feel it was worth a try, then Lori posted her picture and it changed my mind. Thank you.
Lori, just wanted to say thanks for this post! I am going to try the black walnut powder. It was especially nice that you posted a picture; your hair turned out beautifully. I will post my results once I try it, successful or not :).
Thanks Nancy! Look forward to hearing your results!
I tried the sage first, and then the sage and black tea with good results. I read it needs to be applied 5 or 6 times before it takes completely, and then about once a week for upkeep, and that appears to be working for me. I found this info on-line from several websites (don’t currently have them with me, but I can locate them again if needed).
Here’s what I did:
1 quart water, 1/2 cup rubbed sage or dried sage leaves, 3 black tea bags
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Let stand minimum 2 hours. Strain.
After I washed & conditioned my hair: I put a large bowl in the kitchen sink, leaned my hair into the bowl, and slowly poured the mixture into my hair, multiple times, until I felt the roots had been saturated. Combed it out, let it dry and went to bed. (also went to bed with it damp with a dark towel over the pillow) In the morning, I rinsed it out, then added hair products and blow dried ( my hair has to be dried straight for work -it is very messy looking when natural dried, otherwise, I would not have dried it). Some ppl rinse it out after about 2 hours with good results.
It has slowly covered the grey, white hair is slower to cover, but getting there. It changed my highlights to a light blonde. It took quickly to chemically treated hair, but slower on the root growth, on me anyway.
The sage alone was a light-med blonde; the blk tea made it a light caramel color. It seems to take on different shades with whatever hair it is coloring, but it takes multiple applications. I must say, I was very surprised how well it has worked. I have only done it 6 times, will continue to do it.
My hair grows very fast; I have lots of grey/white hair mixed with my dark blonde. I was salon coloring my roots every 2.5 -3 weeks, then recently did numerous root colors/some bleach highlights at home & damaged my hair. So this was a solution.
Just keep searching for different methods, there’s a lot of info out there. Good luck.
I have naturally dark hair already but I am starting to see grays. Not many but some. I am allergic to salon hair color and haven’t had luck with other dying options. Do you think that this will make my hair a richer color also and still give it a nice shine?
I have heard mixed results about it covering grays. I don’t have anyone to experiment with it on grays, but it may be worth a try. It darkened my hair quite a bit. My hair is shinier but I also have changed shampoos so I’m not sure if it was due to the new shampoo/conditioner or the black walnut hair dye.
What shampoo and conditioner do you use? Is it color protecting?
I was my hair with the no poo method. I wrote a post on it here: https://www.treasuredtips.com/how-to-wash-your-hair-without-shampoo-no-poo-method/
Hi. I tried this for the first time.. Black tea did not work, nor did the sage.. My results were good.. My hair is definately darker and it covered some of the gray but did not cover the silver.. This was with one rinse. I put the remainder in the fridge and I’ll pull it out tmrw and add a little more walnut and add sage then boil it in the microwave..thank for sharing your results.. Aj
Awesome! So glad it helped darken your hair. Thanks for sharing your results 🙂
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was totally right. This publish truly made my day. You can not believe just how a lot time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
So glad you found this page helpful 🙂
Wonderful post! I’ve been needing to find natural options – I’ve felt so guilty about my regular dye. I will have to try this!
Thanks! Hope it works for you if you give it a try! 🙂
If you scratch your head, will your finger nails or fingertips turn black or brown? Also does the color rub off on a shirt collar or on a pillow? How long does the color last on the hair that has been treated? I’m considering trying it on my beard. Thanks for your help!
After it was dried and I washed it the next day, none of the color rubbed off. It lasted for about a month or two, gradually fading. If you can find the actual walnut hulls instead of just the powder, it may work even better. Here’s some other natural hair dye options too:https://www.treasuredtips.com/natural-hair-dye-methods-how-to-dye-your-hair-all-naturally/
I ordered the black walnut powder and am going to give it a try. I tried the coffee, tea, and sage methods. They were all very messy due to being water based. Last night I tried food coloring mixed into conditioner. It was easy to apply and looked great until this morning when I put a little lukewarm water on my face. Not all, but much of the color washed away and I did not use any soap. Will just wait for the walnut powder and give that a try. Appreciate your response.
I also tried the black tea with sage tea. Left it on till it dried and it didn’t cover my gray at all. I really really wanted something to work.
I’m glad it’s working for others
Yoli
Sorry to hear the tea didn’t work, I’ve heard mixed results with the tea hair dye too. It slightly darkened my hair but not by too much, although my hair is more of a medium brown, maybe it would work better for someone with very light hair?.
Hi Yoli
i have treid the sage, tea and coffee, with limited results. I found Radico Colour Me Dark Brown at the health shop. It is cheap (NZ$20) and I can mix a little at a time. It works really well. At the moment I am trying to find a way to mask the strong smell. Good luck if you try this.
Laus
Just updating that this didn’t work for me either. Steeped it for a looonnnnggg time, left it on for hours and also used black tea with it. Did it twice two days in a row as I know sometimes with henna you need to do that. My hair, except for roots, has henna on it. The henna tends to go more red than I’d like which is why I thought this might be good at getting it more brown. It did put a little colour on my grey but not enough for anyone to notice but me and it still looked like I needed to do my hair. It didn’t stain my skin either (I ordered from the place you suggested). My sister who has lighter hair also tried it and it didn’t work for her. I can see it being good for people with lighter hair that may want to add just a slight tint to their grey rather than covering it up.
Thanks for sharing your results! I have heard mixed results, Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you, I’m not sure what’s influencing it working for some and not for others. Having a lighter hair color seems to be one, but maybe there are other factors, such as what products using on hair, etc. Hope you can find a natural color that works for you!
Hi Lori, I steeped for 6 hours and left it on till it dried in the sun. The next day I reapplied and put a cap on like regular dye and let it dry like that and didn’t even use shampoo, I just rinsed it out. I really wanted something natural to cover my gray. I am not completely gray just a few strands on my bangs and side burns.
I would try the black tea but that doesn’t seem as stainable but maybe I am wrong
Thanks for getting back to me.
Yoli
Well, it didn’t cover my gray hair. I left it in almost 2 hours outside
How long did you steep the mixture? Maybe it wasn’t steeped long enough? Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you. I have heard mixed results about it being able to cover gray hair.
I am about to do this. I made a batch in a French press coffee maker. I let it steep for 6 hours then pressed it. Going to spray it all over to get it wet. Let it dry in the sun (got this from another website) I hope it works, I will let you know.
Hello, I have tried the Black Walnut Hull Powder 4 times now and I can’t even get it to stain my skin let alone my hair. I ordered the Powder from the supplier you mentioned. I’ve boiled it. I’ve steeped it. I’ve even used one batch left over from a few day previous, boiled it and then added 5 tbsps of new powder to that, steeped it and it did nothing. I applied it to my hair like a store-bought hair dye, no cream or vaseline around my hairline, got it all over my face, let it sit in my hair under a cap for almost an hour and nothing. Rinsed out in the shower, which other blogs say NOT to do because it is so staining and nothing… I was even applying it 3-4x a day to my roots with a mascara brush for a week and there is no noticible difference. What am I missing? Thanks for your time.
Hi, May I ask what your natural hair color is? Do you have any color or highlights? My hair was never color treated or highlighted. When I applied it to my hair I didn’t put it on like a regular hair dye. I put the mixture into a bin and dunked my head in to the bin. So it would not get on my face or skin. I let my hair sit in it for 15 minutes before taking it out. Then put my hair up in a bun and left it alone the rest of the day. The mixture seemed very powerful, it permanently stained a few of my towels and the bin I put the mixture in.
Hello, thanks for responding. My natural hair color is dark brown. I have been using store-bought dyes for about 10 years but wanted to get away from all of the chemicals. I have been having issues with the chemical dyes not dying the roots and barely covering my few greys and then fading quickly, so there may be something about my hair that won’t hold the dye. However, as I said, I applied it quite thickly and it ran all over my skin and didn’t stain anything. I let it sit for almost an hour before I rinsed it. -any help would be much appreciated.
Hmm..The longer the mixture steeps the darker the color should get, however, it will only reach a dark brown shade. Maybe your hair color is close to this color already?. It darkened my hair quite a bit, but my hair is very light brown. I know a few have had to steep the mixture for 3 to 4 days to reach their desired color, but I think you mentioned you tried it after a few days. Maybe trying another natural hair dye such as coffee or black tea may be able to give a darker color.
My hair is a dark brown almost black, and I’m trying to cover up some “silver-linings” that have started encroching. However, the 2 inches of new growth will not hold store-dye or any type or sage/coffee/walnut shell powder. The previously dyed hair will change, but the new growth won’t even change with a commercial dye. However, I can understand that perhaps my hair will just no longer hold to a dye, but why does it not stain my skin. I just tried the walnut powder again today, and left it on for over an hour, didn’t wipe up the spills on my forehead, cheek or neck and it all just rinsed away. Am I not supposed to use a metal pot or …. Thanks again for your time.
My skin wasn’t stained from it at all either, which is strange because there is a lot of information online about walnuts staining skin. It stained my hair and also my towels. I’m not sure if using a metal pot changes the result, I used a glass container but I don’t think it would make a difference. Wish I knew more about how it works.
Henna might be another option to check out. I haven’t tried it, but from the ingredients it appears to be much better than chemical dyes.
Hope this helps!
Might be the shampoo/conditioner you’re using – I.e leaving a film over your hair and preventing the dye from bonding
Hi, for your stubborn Grey hair, try the following:
After you shampoo hair, rinse your hair with Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, (by Bragg).
Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar & 1/4 cup with water, pour onto your head/ on your hair let it sit for 1-2 minutes, rinse with water. This will clean all the “residue/ build up” and prep hair for the color.
Also, your hair should feel really soft and Shinny!!
Let us know how this works for your?!! 🙂
Use a clarifying gentle shampoo such as Malibu before you color to be sure to remove all traces of styling products. You may have what is called resistant gray. This type of gray IS difficult to color without the chemical big boys with a peroxide level to open the cuticle. However, as you know the tradeoff for that is exposure to nasty chemicals and dry/damaged hair. There are people whose gray hair simply will not take color. Unfortunately you may be one of those and if so, you may have to just shake hands with your graying and find a style that complements your new look. BTW, graying healthy hair can be beautiful!! Hope this helps.
I’ve read that herbal/plant dyes won’t work well, if at all, on chemically treated hair.
I used a sage/black walnut tea almost 2 years after salon coloring and it worked well. I did it again a couple days later, but actually dunked my head in the bowl that time. Pouring the liquid over my head just didn’t get the color to the roots, and my hair has mostly gone a silvery grey/blondish color from the medium/dark brown it used to be. The tea darkened even the grey very nicely, though it does look lighter in natural light. I did use a warm hair dryer as I’ve read heat helps (which makes sense, they use heat in salons, too). Next time I’ll leave my head in the bowl longer – I didn’t do 15 min before!
Thank you for sharing. I was curious about using it on chemically treated hair. I’ve only used it on my natural hair color.
Hello Wondering says, I was skimming through the comments and came across yours. My mother have the same problem you have, issues with her hair not taking any of the dyes. I have two cousins that are professional colorists and they both says that when a person’s hair does not take any dyes especially on grey hair its because they have a health issue such as Diabetes. They said that when they work on customers with diabetes its a headache because they have to process their hair with stronger chemicals in order for the color to adhere to the hair shaft. Sorry, hope I’m not scaring you but it would be smart if you get a physical check-up because when a person have a deficiency the body releases a chemical which we, humans, do not sense it. And, many times does not give us what we want such as dye our hair or use some perfume – which gives out a different smell when we are not healthy. Good luck, hope everything turns out to be fine.
Put it in a bun and let it air dry the ENTIRE day like she did. You only let it sit an hour. may as well give it another try.
I would like to see a picture of how you managed to use a bin in the process method of using the black walnut mixture. I want to do it in a way that works but I guess my imagination as to how to do this is lacking and intimidating. I don’t want to ended getting it all over and trust in the fact that I probably would.
I poured the mixture into a small plastic bin (about 1 ft x 1 ft) and dunked my head into it. It wasn’t too messy, but the bin was stained afterwards. After putting my hair in the mixture, I squeezed it out and put it up in a bun to air dry. (some say to use a hair dryer to help the color stick). Sorry I don’t have a picture, hope this helps!
try adding dried sage to your mix – it is supposed to open the cuticles so the dye can get in.
The opening of the cuticle is what I was going to suggest. I plan to try it soon and have some of my own hull. I’ll try to remember to post,
Some of us have naturally course hair which takes color much easier. Some, like me, have very fine hair and it might be wise to skip the conditioning for a couple of days or use a clarifier, like apple cider vinegar, to take off any junk in your hair and open the cuticle to let the color in. Hope this helps some 🙂
I’d love to try this as I love dark brown hair but have a similar natural colour as yourself. I quit dying my hair a year and a half ago due to the chemicals and upkeep/root growth, so I finally have it all grown out natural.
I’d love to try this (as a longterm temporary dye), but was wondering how well it fades in case I decide to quit colouring. Have you redyed your own hair? How much does it fade out? If it fades out to a hardly noticable difference between natural I’ll do it, but I don’t want to have to bother with hard colour lines if I decide to go natural again. Thank you!
hey did you ever find out this answer? I am also interested in whether it fades out to avoid a dye line! 🙂
Thanks to a lovely elderly friend I was introduced to using crushed black walnut powder on my hair. Her hair had such a natural glow-I had to find out where it came from. I use her recipe. About 2 tsp crushed walnut powder in 1/3 cup water–microwave until water boils–let seep a few minutes–strain through nylon mesh and viola–you’re ready to go. I dilute this by adding water to 3/4 cup and apply it to wet washed hair and style. This adds a soft blond touch to my graying hair, for a darker shade do not diulte. I had to experiment several times to get the proper amount of dilution–and I am thrilled at the outcome and have had several comments on my natural looking hair!!
I leave any left over in the freezer as it does not retain it’s fresh aroma if it ages.
Marge, if you get this, does your skin get stained? If not, what do you use to keep it from getting stained? You say you apply the mixture to “wet washed hair and style,” do you not let it dry or partially dry before styling? How long can you leave it in the freezer and it still be usable? Thanks.
This looks great! How much water did you boil? When you say you left it in 15 minutes did you wash it out after that? I’m confused because it also says you let it air dry. How long did you leave it on your hair before rinsing it out?
Hi Susan, I boiled about 2 cups of water. Sorry that it sounded confusing, what I meant was that I dipped my hair into the mixture and kept it in for 15 minutes. You probably don’t need to do this, I just did it because I wasn’t sure if just pouring it on would work, but the mixture was more powerful than I thought it would be. And then after 15 minutes I took my hair out of the mixture, squeezed out the liquid and put it up in a bun and let it air dry. Hope this helps 🙂
Now THIS sounds promising. I have never-dyed off-Black hair and DID do the sage with rosemary dye (you steep it in tea), but it made my grey hair turn med-light brown & looked more like highlights. I also tried an organic black tea dye another time & to me it was darker than the herb-trial. I am FEIGNING for black walnut hulls/powder, bc I have always liked my natural hair color. You have inspired me tremendously & this will be next!!!!!! Any tips for preventing skin staining?
Thanks for sharing your results with the herbs and tea, that is great that it worked! The black walnut hair dye is quite powerful at staining, to prevent it from staining my skin I put it in a small plastic bin and kind of dunked my hair into without letting it touch my skin. Then squeezed out my hair and just put it up in a bun to let it air dry. (It permanently stained one of my towels, so just be careful as it may stain anything it comes into contact with)
Hi! Love those results! I’ve dyed my hair red with henna now for a year and wanted to go back brown. Henna leaves my hair smelling like wet grass for about 3 weeks when wet. What kind of smell have you noticed with this? How has the colour stayed/what type of fading was there? I’m excited to hear your answers so I can try it out!
Hi, there isn’t any smell once I applied it and my hair dried. But when I first mixed the black walnut hair dye the smell was strong and not too pleasant. I did it about a month ago and my hair is still a couple shades darker then it is naturally. During the first week it lightened a little from what it was right after doing it. (I only let the mixture steep for 1 hour though, so if you wanted to make it darker you could let the mixture steep longer)
Any suggestions for adding some light brown to greying hair?
I think the black walnut hair dye is great. It is quite powerful at coloring (it even stained one of my white towels brown) and you can adjust the color depending on how long you let the mixture steep. I just received an email from a woman who said it worked for her to cover her grey hairs. I hope to hear from others who have tried using it to cover greying hair to get a better idea of how well it would work. The other two options I have looked into are coffee and sage tea.
Black tea worked really well on giving my dark hair med-light brown color on my greys. I steeped for 45 min, put it in a spray bottle, applied after washing, let it dry, rinsed, conditioned, & it worked great. 4 washes later – it’s still dyed (aside from new hair growth of course). I want my hair darker though, so I’m getting fresh unhulled black walnuts today!
This is so interesting (and exciting) that black tea has worked and the fact you could just apply it from a spray bottle is great. I wonder if the mixture of black walnut could be strained and applied from a spray bottle also? Has anybody tried it in spray bottle form? I am hoping that I will get feedback although this article is a bit aged since the replies. I feel so behind in the times! Awesome news for people who would like a natural alternative to chemicals! I am hoping to try this soon!
The spray bottle sounds like a great idea, not as messy as the method I used. Let us know if you give it a try!
I’m so glad I found your blog! I used this after I bleached my hair to remove fashion color. I’m naturally a dark blonde, and putting walnut ink in a spray bottle with some water got my hair back to it’s natural shade. It’s like the opposite of SunIn. lol
I tried a tea bag and leftover coffee grounds reboiled and while it was warm not hot brushed It thru my gray edges and top its not so slivery or water I like I so far took a washcloth and dabed a few spots so far im pleased I don’t look so washed out. Il keep trying fihure if it stains your teeth it may stain my hair
would love it if you would post a picture of your full head. I have dark brown hair with bits of auburn & have thought about using henna to cover up my increasing amounts of white hairs. Maybe this would work? I wonder if it comes out with a flat color or has the natural look/shine of natural hair color?
I would love to see the ‘after’ pic as well. Like Lisa, I have increasing amounts of white hairs I’d like to cover up and have the exact same questions. Thanks!
Thanks for your comments, I just added a picture that I took 2 days after using the black walnut hair dye. It is in the same lighting as the pic on my about me page. The color looks very natural and is not flat at all. I am very happy with the result of it 🙂 I think it is definitely worth a try. The other two natural options I have looked into are sage tea and coffee, but I don’t think they would be as powerful as the walnut.
I died my hair for years.. Recently I decided to darken to my natural shade.. Since I grow herbs, I started with those in my garden.. Sage and Rosemary looked lovely over my dark blonde.. I used them together and separately.. Rosemary was a tad darker strawberry highlights….. They weren’t dark enough so I thought I’d try walnut husk.. I kept thinking how we little girls dyed our doll clothes with walnut husks and other dyes that we made our selves..
I live in a wooded area that has oodles of black walnut trees.. I don’t use the nuts because of arthritis in my hands.. The husks are easy to break open, especially when they just start turning and if you wash your hands quickly they don’t turn brown.. No matter how you treat them the husks all turn blackish-brown in the end.. I layed the husks out in my drying room and let them dry thoroughly.. Once they are dry they are easy to break into small pieces with no black hands..I love rich color of walnut dye.. I may never tire of using it….. FYI, in the old days indians were played by only white actors.. They used walnut dye to darken their skin….. Enjoy!
We have a ton of black walnut trees on our property – and I have never touched them because of the staining issue. I am very ignorant about them – what part are the husks??? When do they start to turn, spring or fall? Thank you!!!
Hi,Cindy.would u plz send ur email I’d
Hello Lori I am afro american wearing Sisterlocks I have a lot of gray hair I I have been using natural black tea it only colors the ends maybe I am not doing it often enough but I am going to try the black walnut powder how much distilled water do I need and how much black walnut powder do I need to make a paste please ;et me know Thank You.
Hi Jacqueline,
Have you been able to try the black walnut powder to dye your hair yet? How did it turn out and would you do anything differently if you try it again?
How much water for the 5 tablespoons did you boil?
It was about 3/4 cups to 1 cup of water.
I totally read 5 cups water haha thought it looked like a massive brew !! Reduce time I guess 🙂
Keep us posted on your results.
Lori- I went by your directions- 5 cups water/5 tbs powder- mine didn’t thicken up. How do you apply this watery mix to your hair? I can’t stand upside down for 15 minutes
You could probably thicken it up by using less water, make it into a paste. I dipped my hair in it a few times. My hair is really long so it was easy to get most of it. Then just let it sit in my hair wet (didn’t wash it out for a day).
I am intrigued with the walnut dye…I wonder if black tea would have the same result. In which its available at walmart.
Wow this is odd.. I always wondered if there was a way to dye hair with coffee beans, but I never thought of nuts. Neat!
I am stopping over via the link up on Frugally Sustainable.
Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
Exercise Encouragement Group blog
I am very interested in knowing where you found the powder? I would like to try this. I have to have my gray colored and it is expensive to do plus it is so unhealthy. I am anxious to find something to save me money. Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Hi! I ordered the powder for the black walnut hair dye online from the company mountain rose herb, I saw a couple other places selling it too when I did a google search. I chose them because they had the best price and they had organic. The other two options I found for all naturally coloring hair are sage tea and coffee, which I haven’t tried yet. Please let us know if you try it and how it comes out 🙂
Hi – in my country there is no black walnut powder but the tincture is available. Do you think this will do as well? Thanks.
JaneY
I didn’t know they made a black walnut tincture! Are there any added ingredients to it? I would probably add several drops to a cup of hot water and do it on a test strand to check first.
Hello,
Would it be effective enough if i use walnut shells instead of hulls to make the dye (hulls are not available here) I want to cover my grey hair.
Thanks
I’m not sure if that would change the effectiveness, let us know if you give it a try.
I made mine just like you said and mine was watery yours looks like its a thick paste do you know what i might have done wrong.?thanks😊
Mine was water too! It should be. It appears thicker than it is in the picture. Did it work for your hair?
Hi Lori,
That what I wanted to ask if it is water based or if it is thick based? Have you done a video? I am about to order my powder and hope to provide you some feedback.
Hi Maira, I haven’t made a video. That’s a good idea though 🙂
No. Very much no. Hulls only.
Tincture is usually made with alcohol to extract the medicinal properties. I can not imagine it being good for your hair. You can order bulk black walnut powder from any bulk herb supplier. Try San Francisco Herb Co.
I tried the coffee. I can’t even see a difference. It took time and effort for no change.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you. Hope you can find another natural solution.
lori,, can you help me with telling me some of your experiences?
With the walnut hair dye?
Hi Lori, what was your process to apply it? Was it difficult? I read another blog where she only applies it out side in a bucket. And do you know if it covers Grey’s? Thank you!
I used the method in the post above 🙂 It’s supposed to cover greys, but I don’t have any greys to try it on yet 😉
I have been steeping strong coffee, thickening it with cornstarch and putting it on my hair for about six hours. I do it once a week and it turns my grey hair blond so that it looks pretty good with my brown hair. I only wash my hair with water and apple cider vinegar- there is no residue on my hair and I think this helps. However, it takes 2 or 3 applications to change it. I always have roots, but they don’t show so badly because it is not an abrupt line. Have started making the coffee with sage and rosemary tea, but have yet to see the results. Now, I will try adding some black walnut powder too!
Same here, and I REAALLY over-brewed it too so that it would extremely strong and dark. It didn’t do a single thing to change the color, tone, darkness of my hair. I’ve seen a lot of success with Walnut Powder though. i’m going to try that next. ^_^
Same here. Very strong coffee. Absolutely no change at all
Hi, you said you used five tablespoons of the wall nut jull powder, but you didn’t say how much water you put in the pot.
About a cup of water
excuse me, but did it work? please let me know. im doing a research about natural dyes, and i was wondering if you could help.
I have a doubt about application.
You kept the paste for about an hour, so u applied it as a paste or u filtered and applied only drained water?
I have tried it as paste and kept it for 2 hours and later washed with water, none of my grays were covered.
Hi there, yes I left it on with my hair tied up in a bun. I’m not sure if it works on gray hair. Some have had good results with it an others haven’t. Keep us posted 🙂
You didn’tsay anything on how long it lasted
It lasts about a month and then begins to fade.
Hi, Lori, I found it at Life Grocery, a local co-op here in Marietta, GA….. you can probably find it online at some of the bigger herb companies, as well. Life Grocery sells it in the “bulk” section of their store, you just scoop out what you need into a zip bag and pay for what you need.
That’s great that you were able to find it locally!
Amazon has it
I bought some on ebay. 4oz $7.84
This is so interesting. I have been wanting to try some natural hair coloring processes. I bleach my hair blond & want to find an alternative. Thanks for sharing this – at least I know I have an option to go darker.
Use lemons! They totally work to lighten and naturally bleach! Make juice, soak your hair in it, wrap it in a hair net and go sit in the sun for 30 minutes. Results show and smell delicious!
Does black walnut drops work also? It is like a supplement Of black walnuts.
Try Hopkins Egyptian Henna ..made with leaves and vegetables it gives haie body and color naturally
Does it work on greys?