natural hair colorHere are three different recipes of color-boosting masks – one for redheads, one for blondes, one for brunettes – for natural hair color rinses you can prepare at home.

Dark Hair: Cocoa, Chocolate, or Strong Coffee

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler and cool it down a bit, so that you don't burn your scalp. Alternatively, blend half-cup of cocoa powder with half-cup of organic plain yogurt, two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or two tablespoons of lemon juice. You need some gentle acid to help pigments penetrate your hair shaft. Another bonus: an absolutely gorgeous shine.

Coffee is easier to work with: make a very strong cup of espresso, cool it down, and use as a conditioner. Leave on your hair for a minute or two and rinse off.

Red Hair: Carrots

Carrots are rich in beta-carotene which provides them with that orange colour. In concentrated form, beta-carotene is intense red, like blood. To make carrots really work, you'd have to apply a pureed carrot mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice. If you have access to fresh cranberries, they also work wonders, and they have an in-built acidic penetration enhancer, but they tend to give your hair a brassier shade, while carrots give a true golden tint.

Blonde Hair: Lemons, potatoes, guava

Lemons is a classic recipe, even Holly Golightly used it to streak her hair. I also found that grated potatoes were used for ages to bleach skin and hair. They have a natural whitening enzyme ascomycete that destroys melanin in skin and hair. Guava and mangosteen juice also have natural whitening properties.

For an ultimate bleaching experience blend lemons, raw grated potatoes, some apple cider vinegar, and chamomile tea, apply all over your head, cover up with PVC-free shower cap or plastic wrap and heat gently with a hair dryer. If you have allergies to chamomile, don't use it in this mask.