DIY Hair Dye & Conditioning

Hair Care Tea

Create your own healthy, organic, beauty products!


Mother Earth provides us with everything we need to nurture our hair. Discover how you can create an all-natural alternative to the shampoos, conditioners, and hair dyes that may contain chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – called SLS for short and Parabens.


Aloha Food Forest’s recipe for DIY hair dyes, DIY shampoo, and DIY hair rinses are made from edible, garden-fresh produce picked right from your garden or food forest. Even if you don’t grow your fruits and vegetables, you can purchase ingredients from your local grocery store or farmers market. 

Discussion, DIY, and Recipes

What are the best natural ingredients for hair?


My custom blend, which I make in batches of a couple of gallons at a time, includes:

  1. Pecan husks for dark brown dye
  2. Aloe vera for moisture
  3. Lemon and grapefruit rinds for oils and fragrance
  4. Nopales paddles for moisture
  5. Bamboo stalks and leaves for hair strength
  6. Lavender, rosemary, rose petals, calendula, and lemongrass for scent
  7. Salt for preservation


It smells amazingly beautiful, and the preparation process is simple. It’s non-toxic and safe to use in both indoor and outdoor showers.

How to make a DIY Hair Rinse


  1. Collect your choice of edible plant parts from the garden or the produce section at the grocery store.
  2. Make sure that some of your plants have fragrant oils, such as lemons, oranges, lavender, and rosemary. The oils not only hydrate the hair, but it makes it more manageable and easy to comb.
  3. Fill a stockpot with the plant parts you have collected from the garden and cover them with water.
  4. Bring the mixture to a boil for 15 minutes and let it steep until it completely cools.
  5. Then boil it a second time to ensure all the nutrients and fragrances release into the solution. Let it steep again until it is room temperature. 
  6. Pour the solution into a jug or old shampoo bottle, using a funnel and a sifter to filter the liquid. Then add a heaping tablespoon of sea salt or Epsom salt (which acts as a preservative).
  7. The byproduct can be composted and the solution can be stored in a refrigerator or on a dark shelf for up to 6 months. If it develops a foul smell, throw it out.


How to make DIY Hair Shampoo with Castile soap


Create a hair rinse solution by boiling edible plant parts, add a tablespoon of Castile soap (I prefer Dr. Bronner’s), and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice.


Ingredients Needed:

  • Soap dispenser
  • 1 tablespoon of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
  • 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice
  • Your all-natural solution


Please note that It’s unlikely your DIY Hair shampoo will give you a luxurious lather as commercial shampoos do because there aren’t any chemical foaming agents.  Foam boosters often strip your hair and skin of its natural moisture.

DIY Hair Dye - How to dye your hair at home without dye


There are various garden plants that can create a temporary hair coloring effect to cover grays, tint your hair, and add highlights. DIY hair dye is quite simple. I advise making small batches of the hair dye or hair coloring tea because the vinegar will cause the solution to ferment over time.


  1. Gather the plants you want to color your hair with and follow the boiling technique we mentioned above. In this case, you can use less, about the amount it takes to fill up a teapot. Following these instructions is a list of plants and the color it dyes your hair.
  2. After boiling the plants, add a spoonful of vinegar and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Store the remaining solution into a container and keep it in the refrigerator.
  3. Spray the dye on the hair roots, comb it through to the ends, and saturate it.
  4. Allow the hair to dry with the coloring solution on it as you brush through your hair. Since the solution is non-toxic, it can be used as often as you’d like without harming your hair.


Here are some common plants that you can use in your DIY hair dye.


DIY Blonde Hair Dye:


Aloe Vera Blades have a sap-like fluid called latex, that’s an orangish/yellowish color that can be used for blonde hair or to lighten your hair to a golden color. Simply chop up two or three blades of Aloe Vera to boil.


Other ingredients that can lighten or brighten hair are chamomile, which will brighten blonde hair and lemon juice, which will also lighten and highlight hair if you spray it on and allow it to dry in the sun. It will also turn silvery hair to a golden blonde color.


DIY Red Hair Dye with Beet Roots:


Beet Roots are known for their potent red dye effects, and it easily stains anything it touches, which makes it perfect as a temporary hair dye. Take a large beet and either slice it or shred it to boil.

DIY Brown Hair Dye:


For a dark brown, you can use Pecan Hulls and Walnut Hulls, in addition to blackberry leaves. If you have dark brown or black hair and want to lighten it, you can use sage leaves.

The key is to experiment with these natural hair dye solutions to find out what works best for your hair care regimen. These amazing blends are a forest-friendly and budget-friendly way to add nutrients to your hair, especially if you are already growing these edible plants in your food forest.


If you would like to learn  more about how you can start your very own food forest to create a more sustainable way of living, I encourage you to check out my book “Our Path to Infinite Abundance” or enroll in my online class, “Food Forest U.”

Disclaimer: You understand, acknowledge, and accept that this website intends to provide useful information, products, and services. Company names, products, logos, trademarks, and any other proprietary intellectual property or otherwise belongs to the rightful owner. The content of this website is merely for educational purposes. Please note that if you try these methods, you are doing so at your own risk. DIY projects mentioned should be construed as theoretical advice only.