Hair Dying Tips and Precautions

Looking for expert hair dying tips? Then this article is just for you! Hair dying has been done for centuries by both men and women to change color or to cover up grey hair, or even to follow a certain fashion. As hair dye contains chemicals depending on the hair color, dying is not always a safe or damage-free procedure.

Dye can dry hair out and cause it to break. Unless you know exactly what you are doing and how to combine chemicals and treatments, it is better to leave the dying process to a trained professional just to be safe.

Permanent and Semi-Permanent Dyes

Permanent hair dyes will not diminish in color due to washing the hair or sunlight. The only way the color can be removed is by dying it in another color or growing the old color out altogether. Semi-permanent hair dyes will was out eventually.

Permanent Hair Dye

Permanent products for hair dying usually consist of a package containing two bottles and possible a small bottle or sachet of conditioning cream for use after the dying treatment. One of the aforementioned bottles contains a hydrogen peroxide solution (usually 6%) and the other bottle contains the actual hair dyes dissolved in ammonia. Only when the contents of these two bottles are mixed will the hair dye perform its task.

The bottle containing the ammonia and dye solution and the contents of the hydrogen peroxide bottle are mixed well.
The mixture is applied to the hair and the ammonia solution causes the hair to swell up, after which the hair particles open and separate, enabling the hair dye solution to enter the hair shaft, to change the color of the hair.
The dye and hydrogen peroxide need time to develop the new color in the hair, explaining why you usually have to wait for half an hour or longer before hair dye can be rinsed out.
The hair dye is rinsed out and the hair is conditioned, after which it can be styled.

Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

Semi-permanent hair dyes do not contain a developing chemical like permanent hair dyes do. This type of hair dye is sold as a liquid, gel or foam and can generally be applied directly to the hair without any mixing. As the color does not enter the hair as is the case with permanent dye, the new color will fade with time depending on exposure to the sun and the number of times the hair is washed. The effects of dying hair with this dye are equal when it comes to color, but cause less damage to the hair. Continue to the next part for more hair dying tips

Continue to: Are There Natural Hair Dyes?

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