Production, Application, and Fastness properties of Allium cepa (Onion Skin) Dye for Sustainable Hair Coloring
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The use of synthetic dyes results in scalp irritation, allergic reactions, and even long-term health issues such as cancer. Synthetic hair dyes are often due to the presence of ammonia, paraphenylenediamine, and peroxide. This becomes vital to use onion skin extract as a natural hair dye, which has significant environmental and economic implications. This practice uses the crop waste, which helps in minimizing the environmental impacts of onion production and disposal. Onion skin being an agricultural byproduct is explored as a natural dye source for hair coloring in order to alleviate environmental and health concerns of the use of synthetic dyes. The dye was applied on pretreated hair fibers; the color intensity and dye uptake were significantly improved by the addition of mordants such as sodium chloride (0.20 g without mordant) and iron (II) sulfate (0.03 g without mordant), which produced golden to reddish-brown dyes. Wash fastness tests showed excellent retention with iron (II) sulfate (rating 5/5) and poor with sodium chloride (rating 1/5), and rubbing fastness was good (dry: 4/5) to fair (wet: 3/5). The results show that onion skin dye is a suitable alternative to synthetic hair dyes and can be used as an eco-friendly and non-toxic hair dye based on agricultural waste to meet consumer demand for sustainable cosmetics.
Source: NextGen Chemical Discoveries
Authors: J, Gani, C. U, Bethel, Bilyaminu Adam, Ansar
Institution: Federal University Wukari
Language: English
Subfield: Polymers and Plastics
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220136441