One of the many ways to add a little life and creativity to your hair colour. It adds a lot of character and personality to your hair making it stand out and stay true to your character.
As alluring as a pop of colour looks on natural hair, an important question to ask is if the process of dyeing your hair is doing more bad than good. Adding chemicals to your hair can be quite aggressive and sometimes take a toll on your hair, so what are some of the basics to know ?
BN Beauty is here to dish on 13 things you should know when it comes to dyeing your natural hair.
Check it out!
1. Being a D-I-Y lover is great! However, if you know you are not ready to bear the consequences of a bad hair dye job, go to an expert to get your hair dyed. Hair can experience a host of different reactions to dye and if you are not knowledgeable, so it best to have an expert handle your hair.
Be sure to use a qualified hair salon, preferably one you were referred to. This way you eliminate chances of a bad job and have the best results.
2. Just in case you decide you really (really) want to dye this hair yourself – a key aspect of dying is to identify your hair’s actual colour. It goes beyond black or brown because your hair’s natural tone will determine what colour you eventually end up with.
You can ask your (professional) hairstylist for their help in determining what colour you are and if your tone is warm or cool enough to try your preferred hue.
3. Dyeing your hair could result in curl pattern changes for those with natural hair. Whenever you tamper with the hair’s natural protein structure or bonding, it could result in a relaxing effect which will result in curl change. If you have coarse/dense hair, this is less likely to occur, but if your hair is finer than most, you need to be quite careful.
A solution to curl change is to use a curl protector post-dye to help guide the curl back and secure it. Also use loads of protein treatments & moisture to help soften and strengthen the strands.
4. It is important that you are realistic with your colour choice. Nicki Minaj wears a wig, so it is best you get a wig too. Going for a drastic change most times results in unpleasant or extremely drastic & uncomfortable results that you might not be ready to live with.
You could try the wig with the hair colour of your choice to test the waters, and then dye your natural hair when satisfied with your look.
5. Hair might experience porosity i.e the inability to hold moisture. Hair dye gets in direct contact with the hair’s cortical layer; and when this occurs, the cuticle is breached and the hair’s natural porosity is increased. This eventually leads to dryness which could ultimately lead to damage of the hair follicles and strands. It’s like a bottle with holes poked in it – no matter how much water/moisture you put in, it will get dry.
This is mainly why experts suggest that after a dye, deep conditioning should follow regularly. Regular deep conditioning adds that extra moisture the hair needs to reduce the level of premature thinning and loss of hair. Your hair will need an intense protein and moisture-focused regimen to remain healthy.
It is also important to stay away from Chlorine after a dye. This chemical strips away hair cuticles allowing it get into the hair shaft and alter your dye color.
6. Hair may loose elasticity. Naturally, our hair strands can stretch & bend and still return to its normal curl because of its moisture-locking abilities. However, when the hair has lost the ability to do this, it becomes stiff, dry, brittle and breaks off easily. This loss of elasticity means you can no longer park your hair in a bun or handle it day to day without experiencing a level of damage to the strands or loss.
The remedy to this is the same as above – a protein and moisture-focused treatment to give the hair strands strength and moisture enabling better resistance.
7. Use your regular hairstylist when considering a drastic hair change. Your hair is very much like a child, it need someone it is used to – one who knows it, understands its characteristics, what is good for it and what isn’t. This way you know your hair is in good hands and you can be a little more secure in the end-result.
8. Always do a strand or section test. Hair colour doesn’t always come out the way it says on the box because not all hair types are the same and many factors affect the end result. These factors can range from hair texture, porosity and your current hair colour. The hair colour result on the box is the manufacturers best guess of the outcome, however you have to take extra measures to ensure you don’t end up with a totally different hair colour.
9. Colouring your hair means more responsibility. Your hair is now more reactive to certain elements like moisture, sunlight, heat etc; so it is important that you pay closer attention to your strands and what they are telling you. If not this could lead to hair damage and possibly hair loss.
10. Buy more hair dye than needed – I learned this the hard way. Chances are you might need to apply more than budgeted due to hair porosity, coarseness of the hair and even length. So just to be safe, buy a few more boxes than you think you need. Besides, you can always keep the extra box for later.
Also buy a shade or 2 lighter than you want. Hair colour always comes out darker than the dye in the box. So it is best you get a lighter shade then leave it on for longer to get your colour of choice – It is always easier to make hair darker than lighter.
11. If you have sensitive skin, it is better to buy a foam colour dye. This is because this type of dye won’t run or drip onto your skin and cause irritation etc. For women with thicker hair, gel or liquid dyes work better in working through the hair and giving full coverage.
12. You know how hairstylists always tell you not to dye your hair right after relaxing or washing? Well, that’s because dirty hair is more ideal for a dye. The scalp’s natural oils help prevent irritation on the scalp; and it is easier to section and work through dense-like hair.
