oVertone is a cosmetics brand that sells hair coloring treatments they claim are healthier than regular hair dye. The brand describes their products as "Healthy Color for Healthy Hair," and sells everything from coloring conditioners to coloring maintenance products to shampoo.
But are the ingredients in oVertone actually healthier than regular dye? Does the brand use any unhealthy additives? Is regular hair dye even unsafe? And is oVertone better or worse than popular hair dye brands like Madison Reed?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we review medical studies on whether regular hair dye is actually bad for your health (which is what oVertone's value proposition focuses on).
We'll then analyze the ingredients in oVertone's hair dye to give our take on whether or not it's a healthier alternative, and compare the brand to popular brands like Madison Reed in terms of formulation quality.
Key takeaways:
- It's true that standard hair dye is harmful to human health
- We do not consider oVertone to be healthier than regular dye
- We do not currently recommend oVertone
Is Regular Hair Dye Dangerous?
oVertone’s value proposition rests on the assumption that standard hair dye is unsafe. There have been medical studies investigating this.
A medical review published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology examined results from 63 clinical trials to determine if hair dye use increased the risk of cancer.
The study authors found that hair coloring agents are proven to be “potent” carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) in animal testing, but the results in humans aren’t fully clear.
A 2020 medical review analyzed the association between hair dye and cancer risk in over 100,000 U.S. nurses over the course of 36 years.
While the risk of most cancers was not increased by hair dye use, the risk of some cancers including breast cancer and ovarian cancer was. The researchers stated the results “warrant further investigation” due to the potentially increased overall cancer risk.
A 2006 meta-study noted an association between hair dye use and bladder cancer, as well as leukemia.
Based on the available research, we consider commercial hair dye to be unsafe and potentially harmful to human health. Although it’s not yet conclusively proven to be carcinogenic, it seems logical for health-conscious consumers to avoid hair dye due to its links with cancer.
Is oVertone Actually Healthier?
The ingredients in oVertone Pastel Pink Coloring Conditioner are shown above.
oVertone proudly claims throughout their site and in a blog article that their product is “not a dye.” They claim that unlike traditional hair dye, their “coloring conditioners” don’t contain the harsh chemicals that dyes do.
We find these claims made by oVertone to be highly questionable and unfair to consumers, because many of the ingredients in oVertone’s products are synthetic hair dye chemicals.
A medical study published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal examined the toxic effects of two hair dyes: Basic Brown 17 and Basic Red 51. The researchers explicitly refer to these compounds as “hair dyes,” and found that both compounds were cytotoxic (toxic to living cells) and genotoxic (toxic to DNA).
While it’s true that oVertone products don’t contain ammonia, which can be included in traditional hair dye, they do contain many chemical compounds we would describe as harsh and potentially harmful to humans.
oVertone’s Extreme Green Complete System contains a dye called Basic Green 4, which is banned in cosmetics in the E.U. due to reproductive toxicity and the fact that this ingredient is “suspected of damaging the unborn child.”
There isn't even a warning for pregnant women on the product page on oVertone's website at the time of updating this article.
Another medical review on artificial dyes used in cosmetics assessed the safety and toxicity of various violet dyes. The study authors concluded that due to the carcinogenic potential of these dyes, “insufficient data exist to support the safety of Basic Violet 1, 3 and 4 in cosmetic formulation.” Many oVertone products contain Basic Violet 1.
Overall, we do not consider oVertone to be a healthier alternative to traditional hair dye products. The brand provides no proof of such, and uses many synthetic dyes that have potentially harmful health effects based on medical research.
We urge oVertone to remove claims that their products are "not a dye" when their products use many synthetic dye ingredients, because we consider this to be misleading to consumers.
oVertone vs. Popular Hair Dyes
Here's how oVertone compares to other popular hair dye brands marketed as healthier alternatives, in terms of ingredient quality, in our opinion:
Madison Reed
Contains fragrance, which is clinically shown to have negative health effects in humans when used topically.
However, given the number of synthetic dyes in oVertone, we still consider Madison Reed (slightly) healthier.
Winner: Madison Reed
Simpler Hair Color
This cream-based hair dye contains two ingredients we consider unhealthy, but the version we analyzed was free from synthetic dyes, as we documented in our Simpler Hair Color review article.
Winner: Simpler Hair Color
Naturtint
Healthier, more "natural" formulation in our view than most commercial alternatives.
Free from synthetic dyes.
Winner: Naturtint
Is Henna a Safer Hair Dye?
A dermatologist and YouTube beauty influencer called "Dr Dray" has a video suggesting that henna is a natural alternative that's healthier than traditional hair dye products:
oVertone Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Ammonia-free
Cons:
- Contains artificial dyes
- No proof it's healthier than regular hair dye products
- Brand makes questionable health and marketing claims
- Relatively expensive
- Brand charges for shipping
- Some customers claim it causes hair loss
- Unclear brand value proposition
- Bad BBB customer review rating
