Elderberry – Natural Hair Dye Used by the Romans

Romans used elderberry or the bark and branches of an old elder tree to color their grey or white hair. They used to boil the fruits in wine and after that wash their hair with that mixture to get a darker color. Others used the elderberry juice obtained from the crushed elder grains.

How to dye your hair with elderberries

Elderberries are some of the most efficient natural dyes that can be used to color the hair. Their greatest benefit is that they don’t have any side effects as compared to the commercial hair dyes that are filled with chemicals and toxins.

There are various recipes that include elderberries and that can be used to dye the hair. Below you can see two of these recipes. The color that you’ll get will be dark purple, similar to the eggplant. If you want to dye your hair black, then you must use black and ripe elderberry.

1. Elderberry Powder

For this recipe, you will need to dry the elder grains and after that grind them in the coffee grinder. Once you have obtained the powder, you can mix it with some warm water until you obtain a fine paste. Apply this paste on the clean and dry hair. Leave it on for about 30 minutes and wash off with a mild shampoo afterwards. At the end, apply a hair conditioner.

2. Elderberry Infusion

A second alternative would be to prepare a decoction with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of elderberry. Mix these 2 ingredients well and add some clay to obtain a fine paste. This mixture must be applied on the hair, on small portions. Start with the root and keep applying the solution until you get to the tips of the hair. Cover your head with a plastic wrap or a cap and leave the dye on for about 30 minutes. At the end, cleanse the hair with water and apple cider vinegar.

Keep in mind that before applying the hair dye, you must test it on your hand to make sure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients. If you notice itching, excessive redness or irritations, don’t use this product. Also, avoid the contact with the eyes. If you don’t notice anything unusual on the skin, then you can use the elderberry mixture to color your hair. Use disposable gloves to apply the dye on the hair.