Indigo Powder – The Natural Hair Dye
Scientific Name: Indigofera Tinctoria
Nature has not only given us the theory to keep our health and mind in balance but also given us the leverage to make our natural and organic cosmetics for beauty enhancement. Indigofera Tinctoria, also commonly known as true indigo, is one such natural herb that is mainly used for hair dyeing to add more shine and richness to the hair. The generic term has been derived from the Latin word ‘Indicum’ which means ‘originated from India’.
Dyeing hair has become a part of the regular hair care routine for many people to colour grey hair or dull hair. But the dyeing colour is not permanent and needs to be repeated. Due to this, it has become a concern for many people to avoid chemicals for frequent hair colouring. Hence, people are turning to natural hair colour treatment to avoid damage to the hair.
Thankfully, mankind has discovered the natural way to colour your hair the way you want without causing any harm to the hair follicles and scalp and the solution is - Indigofera Tinctoria.
Description
True indigo is mainly grown in tropical regions. It is plant species from the bean family. It is mainly cultivated worldwide for centuries, but a large part of it comes from Asia and Africa. The leaves of the indigo plant are light green pinnate leaves and produce pink or violet flowers. The plant grows up to a height of 1-2 meters.
Marco Polo was the first person to report the preparation of dye colours from the indigo plant. This is the oldest dye in history and used to be considered as ‘blue gold’ as it used to be an economically highly treasured commodity.
Indigo dye preparation
The indigo leaves are soaked in water and organically fermented to retrieve the natural compound glycoside indicantwhich is naturally present in the leaves and covert this active compound into dark blue colour. When the leaves are soaked overnight, the water turns blue. Then, this mixture is dried up in the sun and lastly powdered.
The dye is used as hair colour and for various other hair treatments. Also, it is synthesized to colour all kinds of fabrics, denim, jeans, and other clothing materials for its stone washing properties. Stone washing is a textile manufacturing procedure to give a worn-in appearance to brand new clothes like jeans and denim.
Indigo dye for hair treatment
The majority of the hair colours today are made with harmful chemicals, synthetic additives, and various other toxic substances. Indigo leaves powder helps you to colour your hair naturally without any harmful chemical effects.
You can colour your hair as dark as possible with Indigofera Tinctoria. People who have light-coloured hair need to add a henna base with indigo powder to enhance the shiny coloured look. And people with dark-coloured hair can only use indigo powder to get that beautiful dyed look.
Various shades of indigo application
Many synthetic variations of indigo can be found in the market but the pure and organic form of indigo powder is the best and organic way to colour your hair.
Applying the indigo powder directly to your hair can give you a bright blue shade. To get the beautiful darker shade of black, brown, or auburn colour, you need to use the prime formula – the combination of henna powder and indigo powder in the necessary ratio and consistency. You need to use henna powder as the base colour to get that light to dark shade. It is perfect for dyeing grey, white, or dull and damaged hair.
The pure henna application provides an orange-reddish shade to your hair. All you have to do is to add the henna paste to your hair, keep it for a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour and rinse thoroughly with water. After this process, you need to apply the indigo powder in the same way.
The colour binding formula of indigo works very well with the orange-reddish colour of henna. This process helps to darken your hair.
Prime benefits of indigo powder
Dyeing hair
The prime usage of indigo powder is to use it as a hair dyeing treatment. The natural blue tint can be used to mix with henna powder to get brown to black shade on hair. The indigo powder can also be used after treating your hair with a henna pack and applying it separately. Either way, it provides beautiful natural colour to the hair. Indigo powder also conditions the hair and provides a shiny look.
Premature graying of hair
Indigo powder is excellent in reducing premature greying of hair. One can use hair oil mixed with indigo leaves extract which helps to reduce grey hair and provides healthy natural hair.
Remedy for dandruff
Indigo hair oil is very beneficial in soothing itching scalp, preventing dryness, and reducing dandruff. Regular use of indigo hair oil can remove dandruff completely. Indigo powder is also very helpful to provide a clear and dandruff-free scalp.
Thicker hair
Treating your hair with indigo powder smoothens hair tangles, removes dryness, treats baldness and promotes new hair growth, and provides shiny lustrous, and more manageable hair.
Dyeing clothes
The blue tint on the indigo leaves is used for colouring denim, wool, and silk. It provides perfect blue shades on jeans, denim, cotton materials that last longer.
Medicinal usage
The indigo leaves are astringent, antiseptic, emetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, catalytic, and stimulant in nature. In Chinese medicine, indigo is used to detoxify the blood, reduce fever and inflammation, and liver detoxification. Scientific studies have proven that indigo leaves extract effectively reduces the effects of lung cancer.
Ayurveda provides a one-stop solution for every human illness. Why go for synthetically and chemically produced beauty enhancement looks whereas you go completely natural with your beauty treatment? Indigo powder is nature’s formula to naturally and organically colour your hair without any side effects.
Published By: Ayurveda Store New Zealand | All Rights Reserved.
Links:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28681622/
https://skonhenna.com/indigo-powder-natural-hair-dye-benefits
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/med-aro/factsheets/INDIGO.html
