Natural Living Woman

Aveda is my fave...

by Kara Smith
(Davis, CA)

I actually think Aveda is the best natural color. NO PDD! They use green tea extract instead, which is an antioxidant. They are 98% plant based, too! The color is amazing! Covers gray!

Editor's Note:

Thank you Kara. No one had written about Aveda yet so I was glad you did.

For those of you unfamiliar with Aveda it is one of the more natural hair colorings. As Kara said they are largely plant based and some of their colors may indeed be ppd free but not all of them are.

I searched through the Aveda site for the ingredient list and only found a list of key ingredients which always bugs me. I really appreciate it when a company encloses everything on their sites.

I did find a local Aveda salon and they had the ingredient list faxed over to them and gave me a copy. I am including their list below. The ingredients below are used in Aveda Full Spectrum Permanent Hair Color Treatment:

Aloe Vera, Ammonium Hydroxide, Annatto, Black Tea Extract, Castor Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cocamide MEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Erythorbic Acid, Glycerin, Clyceryl Stearate, Green Tea Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Jojoba Oil, Marshmallow Root(certified organic), Oleic Acid, Polysorbate 20, sodium Sulfite, Sorbitan Stearate, Steareth-21, Sunflower Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, Vanillin

Primary Intermediates and Couplers*
Resorcinol, m-Aminophenol, N, N-Bis-2(hydroxyethyl)-P, Phenylandiamine(ppd),Sulfate,p-Aminophenol, p-phenylenediamine (ppd), Resorcinol,1-Naphthol, 5-Amino-2 Merthylphenol

*may contain one or all of these ingredients.

Aveda's Deposit-Only Color Treatment may also contain ppd so make sure to check with your stylist.

Comments for
Aveda is my fave...

Average Rating starstarstarstar

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Colorist of 30 years
by: Daryl Du Charme

I have been a colorist in San Francisco for 30 years and would like to address some of the comments regarding Aveda color.

All permanent color contains peroxide(developer), pigment, and ammonia. The concept of "chemical vs natural" is more of semantics than useful information. I have worked with Aveda color now for the last five years of my career. I have not had one bad reaction from the few hundreds of clients on which I have applied Aveda color.

Aveda does add oils and emollients that seem to protect the hair from the drying effects of ammonia and peroxide. One of the biggest misconceptions that Aveda is an organic product. It is not nor do they make that claim.

That is not to say synthetic or inorganic pigment is bad for you. All clients have different sensitivities to various ingredients, many of which are in all or most all hair color. What does vary, and which another writer stated, is that depending on the desired result, a formula may be adjusted by using only the necessary volume of peroxide to achieve those results, not more.

The largest percentage of unhappy customers is the result of improper usage of the product, such as overlapping of color, sloppy application and thorough rinsing of color, over manipulation of the scalp prior to the application and the application of heat sources to "speed up" the process, (NEVER RECOMMENDED).

Most all color brands are fine for most clients. Each individual will have a different reaction to ingredients. Seek out a professional that is trustworthy and takes all the precautions to ensure your safety. Aveda is a fine color line as are many others. Good Luck and I hope this information is helpful.
Rating
star 		professional opinion
by: aveda escapee

I was an Aveda stylist for ten years, putting up with the same nape of the neck sores others have experienced. If the sores don't bother you, this might; Aveda's deposit only color only works for the first ten minutes from being mixed. So unless your stylist mixes a new batch of color every ten minutes, the color won't be consistent, and might not take at all where it's not fresh.

I've seen it happen more often than not :( Some salons won't even allow a stylist enough time to keep mixing color, because they have financial benchmarks to abide by to maintain certain statuses. Along with the status guidelines, Aveda won't distribute to single chair salons since that might bring the average income of the salons they distribute to down.

Boo to the sores, boo to the impossible color application, and boo to the prestige.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Wow - there must be a better way ...
by: Angela N

Trading a rash and swollen neck for good hair ? There has to be a better way, don't you think ? If you are sold on this product, have you tried keeping it off your skin ? The hair doesn't care, it is not live tissue and even if it can absorb vitamins it doesn't make a speck of difference because it is DEAD tissue. Protein does make it stronger because of the molecular structure.

If you absolutely cannot switch brands then I would keep a dry towel on my neck until the hair was dry and didn't transfer the allergen to the skin (and don't use the conditioner near the scalp).

Angela
The Sycamore Boutique & Scent Shop
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Allergic to Aveda
by: Anonymous

When I use the Aveda products my scalp gets irritated and my neck swells up for about three days. I have a nut allergy so I figured there was almond oil in it but I'm guessing it's the sunflower oil. I love the way my hair comes out though so I guess it's worth it!!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Aveda
by: Karen

I've recently had my hair coloured with Aveda. The condition seems good I wish I had gone lighter but trust is the question . You trust the hairdresser will give you what you want. Too dark for me and ashy. I wanted more of a light warm colour.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Aveda color
by: Ian Gavet

To Kara Smith,Davis CA
It is PPD not PDD, Aveda are positioned as 97% Natural, not 'organic'
They are still an Ammonia based color.
Rating
starstarstarstar 		good but at salon prices
by: lenore

I have had my hair colored ant aveda salon..the haircolor is good but it must be done at the salon and is $50.00 to $65.00 each time...way too expensive and inconvenient for us 'do it yourself' folks.
Rating
starstar 		"natural" hair color
by: Anonymous

Ok...ALL hair dyes have to have chemicals in them to make them work - which Aveda's has as well as all others. I am switching out of it - into another non-Aveda salon, because of horrible reactions to the hair dye - swollen glands, red, itchy scalp, red eyes, horrible! So do they put some natural ingredients in their products - yes. But to say it is all natural is not true. UGH!
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Love the result
by: Antonia

I love Aveda hair color. I began using it a couple years ago when I became pregnant and wanted to use a hair color that would be safe for my baby. I still use it and I really like the color and shine it leaves on my hair.
I do agree the smell is strong when they apply it on but the result is great!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		You can make Permanent color - Semi-Permanent
by: Angela

For those of you doing your own color, here is a colorist trick.
To turn regular permanent color into a less permanent version just substitute water for some of the peroxide. Ie: Mixing 1oz of 20 volume (the usual strength in most hair color kits, high lift blondes are often 30 volume) with 1oz of water, to be mixed with 2oz of hair color you will get a semi-permanent effect.

The same thing is done in salons by using "10 volume" peroxide. You could cut the strength even more and get more of a "deposit" color which would be even more semi in nature as it will not penetrate the hair shaft as much.

This is not useful for those that are lightening their color though, as you need the full "volume" to get the needed lift.

Angela
The Sycamore Boutique
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Aveda covered well but was strong
by: Wendy

I had Aveda done in the salon. I have to have gluten free products and my scalp also gets irritated with most hair color, so I took a friend's advice and gave Aveda a try.
It did cover my gray and it was a lovely color, but the smell was strong, and I still found it bothered my scalp. It didn't bother me after she rinsed but while it was on me I was uncomfortable.

I'm ready to try something else. I actually like some of my gray, I just want to tone down some of it. I'd like to try another semi-permanent color, I'm afraid of being locked into a permanent color again right now.

thanks for these reviews, they help

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