Although originally used to color gray hair, hair color has now become a fashion trend among people, especially young people. Nevertheless, when time or money does not give you the opportunity to wellness salon color, you will find that home hair color products are both affordable and easy to use. Melanin is usually two types - eumelanin, which is responsible for shades of brown and black hair and Phaeomelanin that brings yellow undertones of blonde hair dyed ginger and red hair.
Hair Coloring Tips
- Shampoo your hair properly and then condition them. Thereafter, wait for two days, to give the natural oils in your scalp time to resurface. This is an essential step to protect the scalp from chemical reactions and also would help your hair color to set better, giving you uniformed results overall.
- For those of you, who are coloring for the first time, start at the crown or at the nape of the neck. This because it is here that the natural hair color is darkest.
- On the day of hair color, you need to first arrange the toolkit for the hair coloring purpose. Put on an old t-shirt and collect some older towels and washcloths. Get some hair clips for sectioning your hair, a handy timer and a hand mirror, which will enable you to view the back of your head.
- After the specified time is over, rinse your hair thoroughly. Rinse, until the water runs clear.
- Before starting, make sure you read the instructions at least two times. Each of the coloring brands follows a definite style or process, so if you don't want to do a blunder, ensure that you read the instruction. Also, do not forget the strand test.
- Put on the gloves and start the coloring process. If you are touching up the roots, be sure that this is the area that you target. You shouldn't be applying the color to the entire head as in the first application.
- Section your hair so that you can handle you hair better, during the coloring process.
- For the ends, apply hair color that is one level darker, without adding the developer. The color at the ends of the hair tends to fade faster than the rest, because the ends are porous and does not hold color.
- Once you have applied the color, use a timer to keep track of the time. Often while reading a magazine, we completely forget to keep a track of the time. So, a time would be beneficial in this case.
- Make sure to condition your hair properly. After the coloring process, hair becomes very vulnerable to damage.
Temporary Hair Color
Temporary hair color has large pigment molecules and thus, do not enter the cuticle layer, allowing only a coating action that can be removed by shampooing. To coat the surface of hair, acid dyes are used that have a low affinity to hair and that’s why they can be easily removed after a shampoo. Temporary hair color is available in a range of product forms, such as rinses, shampoos, gels, sprays, foams, etc. The color strength of temporary hair color can be improved by applying bleach before the application of the hair color.This type of hair color is generally used to provide brighter and more vibrant shades, such as orange or red.
Semi-Permanent Hair Color
This type of color is devised to deposit color on the hair shaft without lightening it. Its formula has smaller molecules than those found in temporary colors, and thus capable of partly penetrate the hair shaft. Moreover, this type of hair color has no ammonia. Such color has no developer, but can be used with heat for deeper penetration. As compared to temporary hair color, it also lasts longer, generally intact up to 4-5 shampoos. Semi-Permanent Hair Color are best for damaged and fragile hair.
Permanent Color
Permanent Color has very small color pigment molecules, allowing penetration to the hair shaft. The products and lighteners that come under this category have a developer, or oxidizing agent, and an alkalizing ingredient. Permanent Color is just apt for grey hair coverage as it contains an oxidizing colorant , to lift and deposit the new color into the hair shaft. This color serves the purpose of raising the cuticle of the hair fiber so the shade can penetrate; helping the formation of shades within the hair fiber, and bringing about the lightening action of peroxide.
Demi Permanent Hair Color
Demi Permanent Hair Color has smaller color pigment molecules that those of semi permanent hair color, however still larger than molecules of permanent hair color.Since Demi are gentler than permanent hair color, they are best for tint-backs and colorpriming. Demi Permanent color also works great for toning pre-lightened hair. This type of coloring is done by mixing permanent hair color with low volume developer that avoids the ammonia from the permanent tube, and deposits color molecules only into the hair shaft.
