Become a Natural-Looking Redhead without Chemicals

Natural red hair fades with age, sometimes becoming more blonde or brown, but Fire Genasi Herbal Hair Color convincingly restores natural redheads and gives natural-looking ginger hair to others without chemicals!

I have wanted red hair ever since the instant I knew people could have red hair—that desire led me to utterly destroy my hair with chemical dyes. I learned about henna, but pure henna alone didn’t give me me the natural-ginger color I desired. In a few applications it’d gone far, far too dark, hedging onto burgundy. All this spurred me to develop Fire Genasi, to give me a natural ginger color without chemicals and without damage.

It works better than I could have imagined. Being that I henna my eyebrows too, and have really pale skin and freckles, after Fire Genasi I spent a solid 20 minutes arguing with my dermatologist that I am not, in fact, a natural redhead.

What’s a Fire Genasi, anyway?

In the Forgotten Realms, a Fire Genasi is the result of a union between a Fire Elemental and a mortal human. These beings often sport locks that seem, or sometimes are, afire. Given how my hair lights up in sunlight, it seemed appropriate.

Fire Genasi is pure plant matter

Fire Genasi, and all of my herbal hair colors, are made only from powdered plants. They contain no metallic salts, chemicals, or other additives.

Ingredients: Senna (Senna alexandrea)This plant contains high amounts of Chrysophanic acid, which both gives a golden dye and has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. Often, this golden color fades in 4-8 weeks. More, Cassia (Senna italica)Sometimes called Cassia Obovata, this plant contains moderate levels of Chrysophanic acid, which both gives a golden dye and has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. Often, this golden color fades in 4-8 weeks. More, Henna (Lawsonia Inermis)The powdered leaves of this desert plant creates a permanent red-orange dye that both colors and strengthens hair. Henna also deposits a natural, moisture-permeable plant wax that helps reduce moisture loss and smooths the cortex. More, Chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita)A plant with a long-standing reverence as a beneficial herb for both hair and skin. Chamomile flowers sooth itching on the scalp and smooths the hair cuticle, giving shine, conditioning, and, to very pale hair, weak golden tones. More, Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale)The most widely used and available herbal remedy on the planet, ginger helps to promote circulation and detoxification and thus may aid in hair growth. This herb also adds a pleasant scent to the herbal blend. More, Horsetail (Shavegrass, Equisetum arvense)One of the most abundant sources of silica in the plant kingdom, it is an essential building block of hair, adding strength and encouraging growth. More, Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)Soothing to the scalp, this herb has been used for centuries to heal inflamed, weeping, irritated skin conditions. More, Burdock Root (Arctium lappa)Contains mucilage and starches that soothes irritated skin and membranes and is one of the most effective herbs for promoting hair growth and reducing the amount of hair shed. More, Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis)Soothes both the skin and scalp, it provides excellent relief from skin and scalp irritation while leaving hair soft and shining. More, Aloe Leaf (Aloe Vera)Soothing and nurturing, aloe leaf provides many of the elements effective in fighting hair loss: Biotin, b-vitamins, zinc and inositil. It also contains anti-bacterial properties that keep the scalp healthy by controlling scalp infections that can prohibit hair growth. More, Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis)An emollient (meaning it helps the cuticle of the hair lay down) and a demulcent (meaning it leaves a light soothing film behind) this herb has a cooling effect. It is also an excellent natural conditioner that may impart a warm reddish color to hair. More, and Stinging Nettle Leaf (Urtica dioica)Often called nature’s conditioner, Stinging Nettle is natural deep cleanser useful for oily skin and hair that promotes hair growth. More

Why Fire Genasi instead of henna, henna + cassia, or a henna gloss?

While all of these are viable options for getting copper hair through plant dyes, Genasi saves you the work of blending your own, and gives benefits each of these other methods cannot. Henna and cassia have different methods of conditioning, and there are two steps in the conditioning properties of henna. The first is the lawsone molecule, which binds to the keratin in hair and permanently makes hair red-orange, stronger and thicker. The second is that henna, as a desert plant, has a permeable waxy coating on its leaves that helps retain moisture. This coating fills in rough spots on the cuticle and helps reduce damage from outside sources such as combing and styling. If you were to just use henna, or a henna gloss, these are the only conditioning properties you get.

Many other copper herbal hair colors are a blend of henna and cassia (cassia obovata / Senna italica). This helps both dilute the henna (making it lighter and brighter) and also adds in some yellow tones. But I wanted a richer, brighter new-penny copper color, and so started strand testing.

Cassia (Senna italica)Sometimes called Cassia Obovata, this plant contains moderate levels of Chrysophanic acid, which both gives a golden dye and has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. Often, this golden color fades in 4-8 weeks. More and Senna (Senna alexandrea)This plant contains high amounts of Chrysophanic acid, which both gives a golden dye and has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. Often, this golden color fades in 4-8 weeks. More both contain Chrysophanic acid, which gives these plants their golden color, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. I discovered that Senna alexandrea had much, much higher concentrations of Chrysophanic acid, which means that its inclusion in Fire Genasi means more conditioning and a brighter, golden-copper color. I was so impressed that Senna alexandrea became a permanent addition to Sarenrae, Rusalki, and Fire Genasi back in 2015.

The nine other herbs add their own benefits, including conditioning, strengthening, and also help cut the henna smell that some people don’t like. You can also purchase these herbs on their own! One packet of Faerie Dust is perfect to use as a one-off herbal conditioning treatment, or to add to your sedr, henna, or cassia blend.

Essentially, Fire Genasi gives you a better, richer, more natural ginger color with way more benefits that you’d get with just henna or henna and cassia alone.

What color will I get with Fire Genasi?

There are two rules to keep in mind with any herbal hair color

1. It cannot lighten your hair
2. It works as a translucent layer of color over what you have.

The color chart will give you a rough idea, but you can also see all of my red herbal hair colors strand tested on ash blonde human hair in various lighting conditions. I also highly encourage you to pick up a sample packet and strand test on some shed hair from your brush or a small easy-to-hide lock of the hair on your head. This way, you can be sure of your final color before you take the plunge.

My natural color is a light to medium brunette with some whites. The whites turn golden-copper and the rest turns a beautiful, natural ginger. After years of testing and experimentation I finally got the perfect natural redhead color I wanted, that doesn’t fade, that doesn’t have chemicals in it, and I’m thrilled to share it with you!

NightBlooming customers are beyond tickled with it, too, especially the ones that want to reclaim their faded natural ginger hair, or who want to look like a convincingly natural redhead. But they can speak for themselves:

Read more in Coloring Hair Naturally with Henna & Other Herbs

Coloring Hair Naturally with Henna & Other Herbs has tons of information if you’re hungry for more! In it you’ll find detailed instructions with clear, color photos in just about everything related to herbal hair coloring. It will also give you easy steps on how to transition from chemical colors to natural plant-based ones, and how to lighten your hair naturally if you want to brighten too-dark henna.

More than 300 pages of text, pictures, charts, diagrams, and recipes make Coloring Hair Naturally with Henna & Other Herbs the definitive resource for natural hair coloring. With it, you’ll be able to give yourself the hair you’ve always wanted, naturally.

As always, if you have any questions or want some guidance just drop me a line!  Love your Fire Genasi hair? Tell me all about it in the comments.