EbonyofEssence.com - Tips for Coloring Your Hair

Tips for coloring your hair

Given all these choices, the biggest question women now face is what is best for me? But before taking the leap consider this: Select a color to match with your eye color and skin tone. In general, cool skin and eye tones are best complemented with cool or ash shades. Warm, golden skin and eye tones look most natural with warm hair colors. Any color can be warm or cool, depending on its primary base.

Natural colors
If you prefer a natural look, stick with a few shades of your natural hair color. Go a bit lighter or darker. Also, the father you move away from your natural hair color, the more obvious your roots will be as they grow out. As for color categories, temporaries wash-out, semi-permanent shades slowly fade in four to six weeks and permanent colors are just that. So, if you’re certain you like the color, only then choose a permanent one. The condition of your hair also matters. If your hair is premed or relaxed, semi-permanent color is an advantageous choice because its gentler on hair that’s been previously exposed to chemicals.

The semi-permanent or long-lasting semi-permanent colors - the newest color category, combine gentleness with long- lasting shades providing one of the best choices. And if you’re just experimenting, sheer or slightly tinted color glossers add a healthy sheen and shine without noticeably altering your natural color.
Read hair color instructions carefully, if you’ve made a mistake, don’t hide under a hat for months. Salons have color removers that take you right back to where you started, where hopefully, history wont repeat itself.

Understanding basic hair coloring
Most unwanted hair color disasters are due to the lack of understanding of the basic hair "laws" of color and application.

Rules of hair color
Hair color is not hair paint. Color as we perceive it, is actually the reflection of light off the colored pigments in the hair shaft. This reflection is what we see as color. The shade of color is made of different combinations of reflections of light off the colored pigments. This is why hair color appears different under fluorescent lights than is natural sunlight whether it is natural color or from a bottle.

Types of hair color
There are several types of hair color: Permanent hair color. This makes a permanent change in the pigment of the hair shaft. It does not wash out. It will fade in time, but it cannot be simply removed to bring back your natural color. All hair that has been colored in this manner has the natural color pigments irreversibly chemically altered. The altered hair shaft pigments can be correctively colored back close to the original color.

Single process color
Single process means that the color is lifted and deposited in one step.

Semi-permanent
This type can cover grey and goes darker but cannot lighten. It lasts for varying lengths of time depending on the product.

Deposit only color
This deposits color into the hair. There are many varieties in the market for the home user. These are user-friendly and usually condition and color in one step. Glazes or translucent colors are among the easiest to start with. Most use very low peroxide to activate them.

Do your homework before you color
You must be perfectly honest to yourself before venturing into this exercise and study the facts about hair coloring. If you are very dark-haired and want to be a blonde, forget home coloring.

Always do a strand test
A strand test is the only reliable way to preview the new shade. At this time adjustments can be made to the hair color formula by either adding or subtracting colors to enhance or cancel different undertones in the test strands.
Do not be afraid of doing more than one test strand and always do it on unclouded hair. The length of time that the color mixture is left on can also be varied to change results. Always thoroughly dry the test strand to check for proper color and breakage/damage. Do not attempt to color hair that has had henna or metallic dyes used on it.