Honestly, there is either very damaging box dye or less damaging box dye. Still, you can check how safe a particular box dye is by seeing where they stand on The Environment Working Group, which has given a health rating to each product on its site. Basically, every box dye will damage your hair one way or another, but if you are determined to add a little color to your hair at home, some are not as damaging to your hair (or overall health).
Southern Living recommends Schwarzkopf Simply Color Permanent Hair Color. It's free of ammonia, alcohol, and silicon, and has moisturizing ingredients like botanical oat milk, soy proteins, and argan oil to reduce damage. If you specifically want to go dark, they have some gorgeous options. Botox Capilar Hair Professionals' favorite least-damaging box dye is Clairol Natural Instincts because it's a semi-permanent conditioning hair color with aloe and coconut oil. It has zero ammonia, and 80% of the ingredients are natural. However, Mamavation claims this hair dye has six "bad" ingredients.
Bustle's pick is Revlon's Colorsilk Permanent Hair Dye, which is super affordable, and has silk extracts and keratin to strengthen and soften your hair. This no-drip formula doesn't have ammonia, either, and is available in over 44 shades. Meanwhile, Cosmopolitan's pick for a non-toxic option is Herbatint Permanent Haircolor Gel because it is cruelty-free, vegan, and free of paraben and ammonia. It has eight organic herbal extracts for scalp and hair health, too!
