FAQs about our hair products

How does henna work?

Henna has been used for centuries to dye hair different shades. The specific shade within our products is a red/ginger shade.

While researching our products we spent a long time getting the amount of henna just right. It is a specific amount that gently and gradually amplifies any existing warm, reddish shades found in your hair over time (natural or dyed), bringing out the vibrancy of colour, making it shinier and more gingerful.

It works on young or aging hair; as long as there are red tones within the strands, the henna can get to work on boosting the colour. If you have any fully white strands, the products are unlikely to affect the shade of those, as the henna only reacts with reddish tones found within the strands.

Learn more about henna

Will your products dye my hair?

Because the level of henna in our products isn't full strength, your hair won't be permanently dyed by using them. Any colour benefits achieved from using them will only be seen through continued use, so if you stop using the products you'll see a gradual fade of the results.

Are your products suitable for dyed/bleached red hair?

Yes! Whether you’re a natural or dyed redhead, our products are suitable for either hair type. If your hair has been bleached, you’re also safe to use our products.

Your hairdresser may warn you off henna if you have bleached your hair, but that is because some hennas have additional metallic salts added to their formulation, which can react with the bleach. However, at Gingerful we do not add these to our henna, so you're safe to use our products on dyed/bleached hair.

What if I'm not ginger?

Anyone with any hair colour can use our hair products. You won’t see any colour boosting effects from the henna to make your hair more red, but you can still reap the benefits of all the other yummy ingredients.

Why don't you use sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or silicones in your products?

As red hair strands are so delicate, we always knew that we didn't want any unnecessary chemicals included in our products, like nasty sodium lauryl sulfate or silicones.

Sulfates are the foaming agents found in many beauty products, giving that lathering effect you come to expect from shampoos and facial cleansers. The problem with these sulfates is that they are extremely drying for hair, so we decided to leave it out, joining the cool club that is SLS-free haircare.

A lot of hair products that use SLS match it up with silicones, which coat the strands and are intended to replace the lost moisture that the SLS removes.

To us, this strange balancing act didn’t make sense, so we decided to take out both SLS and silicones so that there’s no unnecessary build up, and your strands can be washed properly without stripping your natural oils.

If you aren’t used to using SLS-free and silicone-free products, you may notice that your hair feels different after washing, but stick with it, as your red hair is just finding its natural balance.

The lack of SLS also means that you may have to work a little harder at lathering your shampoo during your wash, but just use more water to help with this. We think it's worth it for beautiful hair.

MORE INFO ON OUR BLOG

Is there a transition phase when using sulfate-free and silicone-free hair products for the first time?

Potentially, yes. Depending on the products you’re currently using, you may experience a ‘transition’ phase when moving to sulfate-free and silicone-free hair products.

There’s nothing scary about this, it just means your hair is working out its natural oil and sebum levels, and it’ll work itself out.

Learn more

Are your products vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free?

All of our products are vegan and cruelty-free. They have only ever been tested on willing redheads, and none of the ingredients were tested on animals before production.

There is no gluten in our shampoo or conditioner. With the hair mask, there is the ingredient of wheat germ oil, which is put through a refinement process to remove the gluten.

What is your packaging made of?

Our bottles and jars are made of 100% recycled plastic, meaning they are made by reusing single-use materials that would otherwise be disposed of in landfill sites plastic. This is much better for the environment and is easily recyclable, too.

Meanwhile, the lids of our bottles and jars are currently made of traditional oil-based plastic as these are not yet available to us in 100% recycled plastic (but we hope this will change soon).

Your hair products will arrive in the post wrapped in recyclable bubble wrap and recyclable mailing boxes, so please do your bit for the planet and either reuse or recycle.

Learn more about our packaging

What ingredients do you use?

We are very proud of our formulation. Each of our ingredients has been carefully selected according to how they can enhance and care for red hair. From henna for colour boosting to avocado for added smoothness and shine (yes, really), it's all in the name of ginger beauty.

Learn more about our ingredients

Do you ship worldwide?

Yes, we ship to most countries – redheads are everywhere, you know? Our worldwide shipping costs are calculated by weight and destination, which is shown to you before checkout.