I stopped coloring my hair when I turned 50 or so. It has grown in a beautiful shade of what I call 'pewter' and I am glad I did it. Several reasons: Post SHTF there may be no hair coloring to be had, and I read up on how dangerous some of the ingredients in commercial hair dyes can be. Carcinogenic!!

 

if the SHTF I would more concerned with cutting the hair than dying it. have to keep lice, fleas, dirt and stuff down to a min.

 

I don't know how thick or coarse your hair is but there is no way I could keep up on my own hair without looking like Carrot Top. It takes time and plenty of money. If you want to keep your hair blonde I don't know how long it could be done in a SHTF situation. I would think that the dyes would be off after a couple years. Maybe the bottles would break down because of the chemicals.

Being blonde now is pretty easy, being blonde SHTF would be hard and might draw unwanted attention.

 

Archeologist have discovered that even neanderthal women colored their hair. Commercial hair dyes as we know them were not available until around the 1920's. The most basic of dyes can be made with henna or indigo and by adding a variety of other ingredients, other shades can be achieved. Middle eastern women are todays modern masters of this technique. I worked my way through college as a hairdresser. I was also lucky enough to have a roomate from Egypt and she taught me many things. Her mom would send us the basic ingredients and we experimented with the formulas. Here is a basic idea of how it's done and if you want more detailed information I am sure you can find it on the web.
http://www.howtodothings.com/fashion-personal-care/how-to-use-henna-and-natural-herbs-on-your-hair
Here is the formula I used to create a color we called Tobacco:
4 oz henna
1 oz crushed walnut shell
2 oz of balck tea
Mix with enough water to make a paste and wear gloves to apply to hair (you are going to need help) Allow the paste to remain on the hair 2-4 hours. Rinse with A LOT of warm water, it is just like trying to get dried mud out of your hair. It's a bit messy but the results are spectacular. My fellow hairdressers were jealous of my color, but were too lazy to try it themsleves LOL

 

I am not a blonde myself, but I have lightened my hair in the past. I just got to thinking about all the playboy zombies we have walking around and what would happen. They are in for a lot of hurt if SHTF I suppose. I just wanted to see if anyone of you gals that likes to have highlights done or some that do go blond are thinking. I guess it could also be something to consider when we go grey/white haired. I keep my hair long with a pony tail for the most part. I also have done the french braid when I was in the military - so I have a good idea how to keep the little buggies away. Ticks would be my main problem here in NC. Just a good pair of tweezers or a leathermans tool should help with that I think. Thanks for your input so far...I will keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone else has something to add.

 

Chamomile or lemon juice to lighten your hair

crushed walnut skins to darken your hair. The iodine in it will colour your hair.

As to red - I don't know how to get hold of henna, or even where it comes from. : Completely ignorant!

Edit: walnut skins are the flesh around the outside of the nut. They contain an enormous amount of iodine. Even though they're green if you crush them they will go brown.

 

Henna is an herb (actually, more of a shrub) that is used as a dye plant (along with woad, indigo, etc). It's one type of the MANY seed varieties that I have. Along with the vegetable/fruit seeds/plants I have, I also have seeds for fibers (cotton and flax) and several dye plants (henna, woad, indigo, etc.) I figure that if TSHTF, the only way I may have access to these things is if I keep the seeds/plants and grow them myself.

 

Oh, I know all about the juice that comes from outer casing of nuts. I made the mistake of peeling a green Pecan a few weeks ago....boy was that a mistake. It took me a good 3 weeks to get that brown mess off my hands...hmmm sounds like an all natural way to go brunette if needed.

I mainly wanted to see if this was in anyone's list of things to do if you had to bug out. I also thought this may be food for thought for others.

 

Oic. No I don't colour my hair. I'm a natural blonde and any other colour seems to make my face look stupid.

 

I don't color my hair. I worked darn hard for these strands of gray and I will wear them like a badge of honor!

 

AMEN!!!! I'm doing the same thing.

 

Shave your head and wear a cap?

Just kidding. I don't dye my hair for the same reasons already mentioned. I'm over 40 and don't want the chemicals. I think if you do wear a cap though you'd be fine even with blond hair. Keep in mind that woods have natural sunlight and moonlight except in the deepest, darkest of woods. I don't think it'll matter what color your hair is.

 

I usually wear a hat in the woods. Cause it's camo. :

 

I use 100% henna, activated with vinegar. It really just amplifies my natural colour, so there wouldn't be a drastic change if I stopped dyeing. I do have a large amount of dried henna, which keeps for a long time, but I'm not going to be wasting space storing a buttload of henna. My natural colour is a dark blonde with a tinge of red, which is reasonably non-contrasting. Henna makes my hair a more brown-red.

 

Just my personal opinion - chemical wise and maintenance wise its probably going to be difficult if not impossible to maintain hair if shtf. Mine was blond when i was a kid and is now a boring stick color - dirty blond with patches where the color is just turning gray. last year i thought it would be cute to perm and then color and it ruined my hair so i'm now back to just leaving it alone. its been almost a year since i last colored and it looks fine.

we as women do too much in the maintenance department anyway. You're all gorgeous - dont sweat that small stuff.

 

I like my harlir short, my dh lioes it long. I keep it sholder lenght but if shtf its getting cut short. As far as color I hate blonde hair for me so I guess I will be out picking green peacans if. Its still possible.

 

Sorry to interrupt ladies but when I saw this post on the recent list I couldn't resist.

I still have 2 boxes each of auburn and red in my stuff from one of my ex's.

Think I'm going to keep them for my preps, you never know when I might run into a single woman in her 40's or 50's, looking for a prepped gentleman during Teotwawki.

I'm a sucker for auburn/reddish hair.

 

If you dyed your hair and changed it from blond to brunet you would automaticlly become smarter , right ?

 

Well all I can add is this. If I normally had my hair dyed and very different color then my natural color I would keep some dye around to dye it back to my natural color. I would do it once the roots started to show so I wouldn't have to run around for ever with 2 colors of hair.

I might also keep some dye around incase I needed to change my appearance for some reason.

 

I let my hair come in naturally for the first time in (faints)almost 20 years. Where did the time go? Holy cow. I had a baby and quit my job. All non-nesseities had to go. I miss those sun- kissed salon highlights, but it's for the best. My priorities and life is so different now anyway.

 

Cut it short, discourage the rapist and other vermin, cover with a hat. Done.

 

I think I will miss this the most if the SHTF when I am under 50. I have been completely gray since I was a teenager and am still nowhere near old enough to wear such a head of hair.