Coloring your hair is perhaps the quickest and most
dramatic way to change your look.
It is also an excuse to
go out and buy a new wardrobe of clothes, because you'll
find that what
suited you as a brunette looks rather drab
on a new blonde.
There are two types of hair dyes: permanent and
semi-permanent, with variations of each.
A) Permanent Tints:
Must be mixed with hydrogen peroxide to lift hair color.
The peroxide opens the hair cuticle so that the tint can
penetrate the cortex and form the color. The higher the
level of peroxide, the quicker and lighter the result.
B) Semi-Permanent Colors:
They don't actually lift the color - you can either vary
the tone within your natural highlights or go darker.
Quasi-color contains ethanolamine and 3% peroxide which
slightly opens the cuticle. This means that the color can
last up to 20 washes and will softly fade as you shampoo,
causing no regrowth problem.
C) Semi-Permanent Vegetable
Colors:
Contain only vegetable extracts and natural ingredients,
so no color is stripped from your hair. It is similar to
henna but it doesn't coat the hair (adds shine though).
This color sits on the hair's surface and will wash out
after about 8 shampoos.
Different coloring methods suit different hair styles,
so get some expert advice when deciding which one to go
for...
Skin Tone: Your new hair color should complement your skin
tone. Light-skinned people don't look good with very dark
hair because it draws color out of their skin. Dark,
tanned skin doesn't look great when mixed with a one-tone
blonde, but four or five blonde, chestnut or honey tones
look fabulous.
BLONDE:
If you would love to be blonde, talk the process through
with your colorist (or stylist) before you go for it. It
should be relatively painless on virgin dark brown hair,
but if your hair has been permanently tinted then the
process will become a long saga.
Never attempt this kind of dye job on your own for the
first time.
RED:
Red is the ultimate sexy shade, for color that cries out
for attention. Hair holds on to red-toned pigments well,
so going copper-top can be easy for most people.
But be warned - if you are blonde you will usually have to
go two or three shades darker than your natural color to
achieve a rich red (brunette), and it's not easy to
reverse it.
BROWN:
Brunette is always a safe choice as it suits nearly every
girl in town. Varying the shade with highlights can
achieve a huge range of looks. From chocolate brown and
bronze shades to honey or dark blonde, combinations of
natural tones gives incredible shine as darker-pigmented
tints add condition to your hair.
BLACK:
This is by far the easiest color to accomplish because the
molecules in black tints are larger and will cover all
hair types very effectively. Caution is needed when using
black as it only tends to look good on people with darker
and olive skin tones. it's great for getting the goth
look, but definitely not for your granny.
Some popular coloring
questions:
* Will coloring my hair damage
it?
Only if the wrong level of peroxide is used or you are
over-processing (too many permanent colors are applied)
your hair. If you constantly change your hair color ,
especially if you go from blonde to brown and back to
blonde, you must regularly use deep conditioning
treatments.
* Why can colored hair look dull?
Over-processing is the biggest reason. If your hair is
starting to look dull, use semi-permanent colors where the
pigments sit on top of the hair adding plenty of tone and
shine.
* What's better for my hair,
semi-permanent or permanent color?
Semi-permanent color give your hair a higher shine and
enhance condition, but they won't lift natural hair color.
Also, a semi-permanent tint will not cover large amount of
grey hair (more than 50%).
If a permanent tint is used correctly, you will always
achieve a beautiful effect and semi-permanent tints can be
used to maintain these permanent treatments, adding
condition.
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