Women have been incurring risk in order to achieve beauty ideals since the beginning of time — from ancient Grecian women using white lead to lighten their complexions to present day neurotoxin injections used to smooth wrinkles.
It’s natural for people to want to enhance their beauty, but many of the products and methods we’ve employed over time are anything but.
Rewind to 1856 — a chemistry accident led to the discovery of the first synthetic dye, a bright shade of mauve. This discovery made a drastic impact on the world of textiles, introducing bright hues never before possible. The beauty industry followed quickly behind.
By 1908, Eugène Schueller, chemist and founder of L’Oreal, had filed his first patent for a product that uses a blend of chemicals to alter hair color. Since then, little has changed about the way we dye our hair.
And why should the technology change? The desire to have beautiful hair is practically genetic and certainly (as a trend) unwavering, and the FDA has little authority to intervene when something goes awry. The demand for hair dye has thus consistently continued to grow.
So when an award-winning chemist — founder of the Green Chemistry movement, John Warner — designs a product that mimics biology and creates a non-harmful and non-chemical natural hair color, it’s a really big deal.
A couple months ago, we sent an email to our We Heart followers — a group of people who have signed up to find out each month what company or product the ASC team has fallen in love with.
In that email, we asked them to tell us what they love for a change. Over the last two years since we created the We Heart column, we’ve posted about everything from coffee-infused chocolate to baobab coconut water drink packets… So we wanted to give the We Heart community a turn to tell us what company has truly wowed them with their dedication to natural ingredients, ethical sourcing, company policies and outstanding results.
(Want to get in on We Heart? Click here.)
We decided to make it a contest, making the winning nomination our next We Heart feature and gifting 10,000 points to the person who recommended it.
After receiving dozens of amazing nominations, we decided on a product that stood out as being not only natural, but totally innovative and unlike anything we had seen before.
Congratulations to Alba, who nominated Hairprint!
While a Typical Hair Dye ‘Paints Your Hair…’
Hairprint restores your hair to the color it was before you went gray.
It sounds too good to be true, simply because it is so unlike the way that typical hair dyes work.
Jasmine Scalesciani, a certified nutritionist and Hairprint co-founder believes in the sanctity of the body and the earth and wanted to offer a way for women and men to enhance their beauty without compromising their health. Turning to John Warner, winner of the 2014 Perkin Medal, a very prestigious award in the world of chemistry. (Coincidentally, that award was named after Sir William Henry Perkin, who was the scientist who accidentally discovered mauveine, the mauve-colored synthetic dye we mentioned above.)
Warner went to work studying hair and looking for a way to cover grays without using harmful chemicals. He took a cue from the beetle…
When a beetle sheds its exoskeleton, it replaces it with one that that starts out soft and white. After a couple of hours, the new exoskeleton turns hard and black, just like the one that was just shed. Like hair that has gone gray, the young white exoskeleton is brittle and loses water quickly.
So if a beetle can restore color to its exoskeleton, can we do the same for our hair?
Dr. Warner looked at what is missing from gray hair: the natural pigment eumelanin, a type of melanin. He noted that L-dopa, the precursor for melanin, is made from phenylalanine, an amino acid present in both human diets and the diet of beetles. The beetle is able to make melanin quickly enough to generate its exoskeleton color in a couple hours, so Warner wondered if he could mimic this chemistry and apply it to human hair.
He ordered samples of gray hair and got to work.
And he saw success — the gray hair samples regained colored after a couple hours, but they weren’t all the same color. He imagined people applying this treatment to their hair and getting varying results. That wouldn’t do.
So he called the lab and they informed him that these hair samples came from different people…
The reason he was seeing different results was the treatment was restoring the hair to the color it was before it went gray.
Your Hairprint
Hairprint is made of 8 food grade ingredients and restores brown and black hair to its original, pre-gray color. (Blonde and red hair have an additional pigment, pheomelanin.)
For people whose hair has been gray for many years, it can take two treatments to cover, but for most people will get coverage after just one treatment. It’s easy to do yourself at home, or you can bring it to the salon and have them apply it for you.
For the first time in decades, there is a healthy way to cover gray hair or restore shine and softness to hair that has become brittle and dry (they have an anti-aging kit for those whose hair has not yet gone gray).
We are so excited to introduce you to this amazing product, and we look forward to hearing about your success using it!
We Heart
Every month, we tell you about something we love in We Heart.
We also make an effort to get to know the company we feature. Since Hairprint is local (based in Sausalito, Ca), we invited Jasmine (one of the founders we mentioned above) into the office so we could all chat and get to know each other.
One of the coolest things about this column is that we get to connect with people who are doing amazing things in the world. A hair coloring process that mimics biology and restores hair to its original color? How amazing is that!
We so appreciate Alba for recommending this product and everyone who submitted nominations for this contest.
To find out who’s on our We Heart list next month and beyond, get on the list:
Click Here to Join the We Heart List
I’ve just found your page and I’ve been having problems with hair dyes, especially my scalp and losing hair because of this. I’m looking for a dye that does not cause scalp problems and the loss of hair. I’m going grey and would very much like to find out more about your products. I am a bit skeptical about the product and would like a feed back from someone.
I live in London, England and also wanted to know if I needed to try this products how would I get it?
I would like to dye my hair, but with something safe. Please email me your response.
Awaiting your kind response,
Thanks and regards
Jackylyn Greenwood
Hello my hair is now naturally white/silver. I dont think this will work for me but Im wanting to give my hair a bit of a colour life as Im looking so washed out these days can anyone offer recommendations please? I thought maybe warm tones streaked through or an all over? My skin is quite fair but my hair grows quit fast hence regrowth will be a problem so I thought streaks may be a better option? THanks.
I have a lot of grey hairs in the front and sides of my head. I am tired of using hair dyes with chemicals.
can you give me more details of Hairprint and how to use it and where can I buy it
Have been using HairPrint for 1.5 years. Absolutely love the product!! It does take a few applications before you get use to it. Then you will love how soft and shiny your hair is. I have long black curly hair with lots of grey growing in but HairPrint covers everything and looks so natural.
Can I use this over henna-ed hair? (My natural color is very dark brown but it’s pretty fire red in the sunlight due to henna applications. I’d like my natural back.)
Hi. How long does the colour last?
Hello,
I have a lot of gray hairs perhaps 20% (more in sides). I have been using black henna and recently normal henna Coffee mix which I keep for 8-9 hours then wash off. My natural hair is black colour.
1) My Question is – Do I need to follow Steps mentioned in Transition Tips tab in the hariprint site?
2) What are the different items you suggest to buy, is only Hair restorer enough?
3) How many quantities will I need? As I live, UK I want to save shipping charge and so order all quanities once.
Thanks.
The henna I have been using says natural henna (of course black henna are not purely natural) but I stopped using black henna 1 month before and now using purely natural Henna cofee mix.
While I was using black henna, I had to use fo revery 3 weeks or 4 weeks and it didn’t last long.
Thank you so much for publishing this article about Hairprint! I stumbled across it while reading through your articles, and it has literally changed my life! I’m 51 and started getting gray hairs when I was 17, and am now about 60% gray, with long straight hair (about 23 inches), and my natural color is dark brown. I’ve been coloring my hair since I was about 31 years old, starting with semi-permanent drug store dyes that eventually began destroying my hair. About 4 years ago, I discovered henna, and began coloring with organic henna and indigo. This saved my hair, but was less than ideal: very messy, time-consuming, smelly, and a lot of hard work, and also drying (had to use tons of conditioner) and the process also pulled out a lot of my hair. But, I thought it was my only healthy option. No longer! 🙂 I used Hairprint for the first time last week, and I am sold! No more henna. With my very first use of Hairprint, I got 100% gray coverage, it restored my own natural brown color(!), and my hair is so shiny, silky, and vibrant! The ladies at work have been asking me about my hair, and wanting the link to Hairprint! It is truly a transformation. Note that it is messy and time-consuming, but much better than henna in many ways. Also note that you should read ALL the FAQ on the Hairprint site before you use it. I also searched for reviews on it, and found helpful tips from other users. I did a lot of careful prep work on my hair (clarifying, chelating, extra time plus baking soda during the pretreatment), plus followed all the instructions to the letter (including what not to use a week beforehand), and used two kits, to help ensure it would work the first time, and it sure did! I’m so happy, and will definitely be using it again soon — my hair grows fast, so I should be using it every 3 to 4 weeks. Thanks so much again, I LOVE it! 🙂
What sbout the blonde people in the world!!? It’s all well and good if you have dark hair. Would appreciate more frequent updates on when this product will be available for blondes and red heads!
My brothers and sisters, until they make Hairprint for blondes and redheads, I recommend Henna, Senna, and Indigo for you. Be sure it’s just the pure, powdered leaves and nothing else, and preferably organic, to avoid unwanted ingredients and heavy metal contamination (and also to ensure you can successfully use Hairprint later, once they invent it for you!). I recommend Light Mountain Natural Hair Color, which I used myself for about 4 years before discovering Hairprint recently (I’m a brunette). And FYI, “Senna” or “Neutral Henna” are other names for the Cassia plant, and there are two varieties I know of that will give blonde and gray hairs a golden hue, if left on long enough (at least 1 to 3 hours or more): Cassia obovata, and Cassia auriculata.
Hi Nicole,
Oh no! I’m sorry you had a bad experience using Hairprint. From what I’ve learned, this product is a little different to use than typical hair dye, and can take multiple applications in some cases. I’m emailing the owner to see if we can connect you with customer support so they can help you.
Will hairprint cover grey roots? I’m just starting to get grey at top of head! But rest of hair is natural brunette
Hi Cherri,
Yes! This is a great way to use Hairprint.
Wow, this is fascinating! My hair is actually highlighted, so it wouldn’t work for me. And thankfully I have no greys yet (I’m 49 so kind of surprised!) I’m definitely going to pass this info on to friends that could use it. Love this idea…thanks for spreading the word!
Thanks for sharing Hairprint. I have been looking for something like this for some time now. I have read all the info. on it today & it looks like it will be a great fit for me. Love that you share products like this so others can benefit from them too. Thanks again! 🙂 T
Wow! So cool you posted this. Kris Carr mentioned you in a comment today and I clicked on your site and discovered you also love the Hairprint product I have been using. I am excited to try your skin care line. My skin and hair and body is very sensitive and so I appreciate what you all are doing. Hairprint has no smell and has actually restored my hair back to health. I used to not be able to color my hair before this (even with so called ‘natural’ dyes). Thank you for posting this.
Hello! I am so excited to read this article. It is so good. I have been using Hairprint myself for almost a year now. It has changed everything about my hair. It used to get very dry and damaged after using dye. I would have to spend a ton of money on oils and conditioners to hydrate it again. Since using Hairprint my hair has restored not only it’s color but it feels much stronger and shinier and I hardly have to use any product. Also I can’t tell you how good it feels to have MY color back. It is a rich brown chocolate with natural highlights which a regular dye could never replicate but Hairprint does. Thank you for posting this. I love your products and I love that you feature other quality products like these. – Gisela