Tints of Nature has 30 years of effective dyeing through the use of more natural ingredients
DUE to sensitivities to certain ingredients and other such factors, hair coloring might be making a person’s life a little more complicated. Thanks to Tints of Nature (carried here in the Philippines by Healthy Options) there is a more natural alternative.
Tints of Nature Managing Director Vicki Borley gave a talk last month at The Podium on how it helps hair to get a more natural alternative. During the talk, hair color swatches were passed around, showing the effects of the brand’s lightening, semi-permanent, and permanent range.
The company was founded more than 30 years ago in the UK and has been in the Philippines for about 20 years, according to Crystal Callano, category manager for Healthy Options. “We do have strict standards in terms of the products we bring in,” she said. “Every item that we bring in, we have to check all the ingredients.”
Ms. Borley said that they have certification from The Vegan Society and don’t test their products on animals. They also have sustainability measures, such as making sure that their packaging now uses 100% post-consumer recycled plastics.
However, she did go more into detail on the ingredients that they don’t use: “I guess the key ingredient we don’t use is ammonia.” Ammonia’s function in conventional hair coloring is to change the hair strand’s pH level so that the hair cuticle can open up and let the pigment penetrate. “That can do a lot of damage,” said Ms. Borley. According to her, this process can irritate skin and hair, both for the hairdresser and the customer.
As an alternative, Tints of Nature uses a combination of oil and a “very small amount” of a pH-adjusting ingredient, both of which result in a hair color process that is much gentler.
They also don’t use resorcinol, which according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (https://www.safecosmetics.org/) is used with a developer (usually peroxide) to bond dyes more permanently to the hair. Used in other industrial applications, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail or ANSES) last year proposed that resorcinol be classified as an endocrine disruptor. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, meanwhile, says that higher doses can “disrupt the function of the central nervous system and lead to respiratory problems.”
Asked if all this “good” still leads to an effective product, Ms. Borley said, “If this color doesn’t work, we wouldn’t be here. We’ve been here for more than 30 years.”
However, “You have to keep your expectations realistic. There’s always the odd client who’s a bit tricky with great coverage.” She also cautions that just because they use mostly natural ingredients doesn’t mean that their products are completely safe for everyone, citing ingredient sensitivities and the need for patch-testing: “People can be allergic to all sorts of natural ingredients as well,” she said.
Tints of Nature is available at Healthy Options. For more information, visit tintsofnature.co.uk. — Joseph L. Garcia