Skip the Hairdresser: Color Hair at Home Part 1

A trip to the hairdresser for a cut and color can easily cost over $100, especially if you get roped into buying their special products for resisting color fading. In contrast, at-home coloring kits are available at drugstores from $5-$20 and manufacturers often provide coupons for these products. 

Style icon Rhianna frequently dyes her hair vibrant shades of red

You are probably coloring your hair to hide greys, or to adjust the shade due to sun damage or a change in seasons. Coloring your hair at home is a good decision for minor color changes. It not only saves you money, it gives you more control over the results; you are selecting a dye with a chemical strength appropriate for your hair, you are taking care to make sure the application is thorough, and you are controlling the exact amount of time the dye remains on your hair.

[Disclaimer: If you are considering drastically changing your hair color (going from black to blonde) or have been previously color-treating your hair, you might want to seek a professional’s assistance because then you can blame someone else if it turns out horrible J]  

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Let’s define some of the key terms in hair coloring:

Cuticle- Outer layer of the hair shaft which is opened so that permanent color can be deposited into the hair. 

Cortex- Melanin is removed from here (depending on the dye), and new color is deposited.

Melanin- A natural mixture of pigments exist in all hair colors. Black to brown hair contains predominantly eumelanin, and blonde hair contains predominantly pheomelanin. 

Ammonia- alkaline chemical that opens the cuticle and allows the hair color to penetrate the cortex of the hair. It also acts as a catalyst when the dye comes together with the peroxide. 

Hydrogen Peroxide- an oxidizing agent used to remove pre-existing color and to develop new color. Peroxide breaks chemical bonds in hair, releasing sulfur, which accounts for the characteristic odor of hair color. As the melanin is decolorized, a new permanent color is bonded to the hair cortex. 

Conditioners may also be present in hair color to seal the cuticle and protect the hair shaft.

There are 4 basic categories of chemical hair dyes:

Type	Permanent	Demi-Permanent (AKA Deposit-only Dye)	Semi-Permanent	Temporary
Chemicals	oxidation dyes, aromatic amines, phenols, hydrogen peroxide	Contains an alkaline agent other than ammonia, hydrogen peroxide less concentrated than a permanent dye.	No, or very low levels of peroxide or ammonia. Look for kits without p-phenylenediamine.	No ammonia. Low amounts of chemicals.
How it Works	Ammonia opens cuticles so that existing pigment can be removed from strand and new pigment can be deposited. It also works as a catalyst with the dye to lighten.	Does not lift existing pigment from strand, just deposits additional color into cortex.	Semi-permanent hair dye has smaller molecules than temporary dyes, and is therefore able to partially penetrate the hair shaft without lifting existing pigment.	The pigment molecules in temporary hair color are large and cannot penetrate the cuticle layer. The color particles closely adhere to the hair shaft and are easily removed with a single shampooing.
Duration	Changes last until new hair growth.	20-28 shampoos	4-5 shampoos	1 shampoo
Pros	Long lasting color, can dye to a lighter shade	Less damaging than permanent hair color; more effective at gray coverage than semi-permanent.	Gentle and ideal for fragile hair.	Bright and vibrant
Cons	Damaging	Cannot lighten shade; final color is less natural-looking than permanent color.	Cannot lighten shade; final color of each strand of hair will depend on its original color and porosity, so there will be subtle variations in shade across the whole head.	Unnatural; If hair is excessively dry or damaged, pigment can migrate into the interior of the hair shaft.

I am re-posting Fitness magazine's article "DIY Hair Color Guide" with 5 tips for coloring your hair at home. The most important tip is to pick a shade in your hair color family because the color kits at drugstores are not strong enough for dramatic color changes. When trying a new coloring product, always cut a lock of your hair, and dye the lock according to box directions to see exactly what shade you will end up with.

 If you are still unsure about making a big change, try a semi-permanent kit that will fade out after 4-5 shampoos. If the color is really atrocious, you can always shampoo it out with additional strong washes instead of waiting the full 12 weeks.

Look out for Part 2: