For years I’d been going to my beloved hairdresser, based mainly on her choice of organic hair color that claims to contain the “cleanest’ ingredients in the business. And maybe it does, but the last time I had my hair professionally colored my husband couldn’t sleep in the same bed because of the strong chemical odor coming from my hair. On top of that, three days after having my hair colored I had a conversation with one of my clients about her mother’s bladder problem. She had the all-to-common problem of a leaky bladder and it was getting worse. Her doctor asked, “Do you color your hair?”
“Yes, is that a problem?” Her doctor told her that many bladder control problems have been linked to chemicals in hair color. From that day forward she stopped coloring her hair and her bladder issues stopped. While this is only one woman’s story and it isn’t proven that the hair color was the cause of her bladder problems, it struck me because I had noticed an urgency with urination in the last few days, since I had my hair colored. I’d noticed this problem occasionally in the past but can’t say if it always happened right after getting my hair colored.
I don’t need much excuse to look harder for a cleaner product of any kind but add in the above anecdote and I’m off and running. I quickly came across Hairprint. 
I’ve now used it 3 times and haven’t professionally colored my hair for over a year. It works beautifully every time. Here are some brief tidbits about product usage followed by some before and after pictures. The product works best on those with less than 50% grey hair. Luckily, that’s me. It’s also meant for those with brown or black hair (they’re working on a product for red and blonde hair).
Ingredients
Hairprint is easy to use, though not hassle-free. Is any hair color? The point is: there are only 8 ingredients and they’re as clean and effective as a hair color can get, with absolutely no odor! The Hairprint website discusses the use of hydrogen peroxide in their product, specifically, how it isn’t the worst chemical culprit in hair dye and the little amount used in Hairprint isn’t harmful. Any statement made by the company of the product in question should be taken with a grain of salt, however, after using this product 3 times, and being a scientist myself, I feel pretty good about it. Environmental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” program, which I highly recommend using regularly, gives hydrogen peroxide a 3-5 (fair) rating.
Here’s a statement from the company: “Hairprint is a small science-based company in Sausalito, California. We began working with Dr. John Warner four years ago to create a non-toxic method to restore gray hair to its natural color. Dr. Warner co-founded a scientific discipline called green chemistry, which takes its cues from nature and biology.”
As with anything, I urge you to research yourself and see what resonates. I’m amazed at the “clean” ingredient list of this product (FYI- mucuna, “velvet bean”, is a legume ) and how effectively it works. See results below.
It is no easy task coloring your hair at home. It makes a mess (see splash marks on ingredient list) and takes 2+ hours. But so does going to the hairdresser. And Hairprint is less expensive at $39/ kit. Here’s a picture (above) of the greyest patch I have, about 4 months after my last Hairprint usage. Below is a picture of the same patch in the same lighting after using Hairprint. I like the look, I love the true “naturalness”, and my bladder is just fine. Can’t beat that winning combo. It’s certainly worth checking out if you want be part of something innovative, clean, and affordable.
Part II of my clean beauty products coming soon, stay tuned. There are so many companies now making better, healthier products that there’s really no reason to stay with the old chemical laden ones. Here’s to our Optimal Health and Beauty inside and out.
