06/09/2026
PDX-Earth Tip: If you take a look around, you’ll notice that hair color isn’t what it used to be. Blue, pink, green, purple – all those colors and more are in play now for boys as well as girls.
Studies indicate that some 1.43 billion units of hair dye are sold in the United States annually, and 75 percent of women use dye—a significant increase since 1950, when just 7 percent of women dyed their hair, or at least admitted as much – while 12 percent of men do the same. All told, 92,000 tons of hair dye is sold each year in the U.S. and the global hair dye business if a $38 billion industry.
But if you’ve ever died your then you know that a significant portion of that dye is washed down the drain. Not just in the first application but also in the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th washings. So what is the environmental impact of all that chemical color flushing out into the sewers?
The chemicals found in many hair dyes, such as ammonia, resorcinol, and parabens, can leach into water systems during production and disposal, harming aquatic life and contaminating ecosystems. Additionally, the single-use plastic packaging and frequent application contribute to waste and resource depletion. While some brands are shifting toward more sustainable practices, the widespread use of traditional hair dyes continues to pose significant environmental challenges.
Modern hair dyes use a combination of complex synthetic ingredients to achieve predictable, long-lasting color results. The main categories are oxidative dye precursors, small molecules that essentially get the hair ready to absorb colors, direct dyes, bleaches and acids and alkalis.
The U.S. does not actively regulate hair dye ingredients except for lead acetate, although FDA monitoring studies have pushed it from mainstream products. The burden remains on manufacturers and consumers to determine safety, and current regulations around hair dye ingredients focus more on immediate human health rather than broader environmental toxicity.
The European Union has stricter laws, prohibiting over 1,000 potential hair dye substances and Europe’s safety data requirements also consider environmental toxicity endpoints for allowed ingredients.
But if hair dye is such a threat to human and ecosystem health, what is the alternative? Thankfully, botanical hair dyes are increasingly found on the market and they use plant parts, fruits, and spices to naturally stain hair pigments.
Common examples are:
• Henna derived from henna plant leaves
• Indigo from Indigofera plant leaves
• Catechu from Acacia tree bark extract
Benefits include avoidance of nearly all synthetic ingredients, chemicals, and toxins. Since ingredients are all natural, risks drop substantially.
For more, visit kpsu.org.
