DIY: The natural way to colour your hair!

I have been reading Daniele Ryman's - Secrets of youth and beauty, aromatherapy for natural rejuvenation and have come across interesting subjects.

The whole book is split into 3 sections;

Part 1: Plants & oils for beauty & anti aging.
Part 2: Face & body beauty & anti aging treatments.
Part 3: Pampering

Click the image below, to see a detailed explanation of the contents.

The most interesting subject for me was in part 2, she explains how we can lighten and darken our hair using natural ingredients as mentioned below.

Chamomile hair tonic for blonde hair: Chamomile helps lighten blonde hair as it is a natural bleach.

You will need: 12 flower heads of chamomile or 5 chamomile tea bags, 600ml (1 pint) boiling water, 2 drops essential oil of chamomile, 10ml (1 dessert spoon) of vodka and a large bottle to put it all in.

1. Add flower heads or tea bags to a teapot and cover with 600ml (1 pint) boiling water.
2. Leave to steep and infuse for several hours.
3. Strain,
4. Add vodka (This acts as a preservative) and essential oil of chamomile.
5. Transfer to bottle.

You can use this tonic to massage the scalp between shampoos or added to the last rinse after shampooing. This quantity should make enough for approx 10 applications and should keep for 2 -3 months.

Rosemary hair tonic for dark hair: Rosemary helps condition dark hair and maintains the colour.

You will need: 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 600ml (1 pint) boiling water, 10ml (1 dessert spoon) of dark rum, 2 drops essential oil of rosemary and 1 large bottle to put it all in.

1. Add the rosemary sprigs to a teapot and cover with 600ml (1 pint) boiling water.
2. Leave to steep and infuse for several hours.
3. Strain.
4. Add rum (This acts as a preservative) and essential oil of rosemary.
5. Transfer to bottle and leave to rest in the dark for 1 week.

Use as a tonic lotion to massage the hair and scalp between shampoos, or added to the last rinse after shampooing.

Click image below for a larger view direct from the book.

I am eager to try this out, when I was younger I remember putting chamomile water in my hair and sitting in the sun so that it lightened, which it did.

Has anybody tried anything like this? I think this is the way to go, as chemical based hair dyes really damage the hair even though we refuse to accept it.