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I have been coloring my hair about once every two months for about a year now. I don't think my hair takes much damage (I never have any breakage, though lots of hair fell of last time (I posted pic)). But still I am close a nerve-wreck (perhaps not, but not far from it ;) when it is time to re-color my hair, but not much to choose from if you're not born with the color you really want.
Anyhow, I was thinking that instead of re-color after about two months I use a semi-permanent coloring lasting X washes, hiding the new growth, and then after yet another 1,5 month or so I do a normal coloring. And in this way minimize the damage.
Now the question, do you think this is a good idea, or would it be better to stick with the permanent coloring only?
Please don't post messages telling me it's better not to color the hair etc. There is a reason there are so many hair coloring brands, and that they sell so good.
My wife is trying to persuade me to dye my hair. This is the kind of thing that makes me have doubts about doing it. I would also appreciate any advice.
Elektros, coloring your hair puts you on a one-way street--there is no turning back. You must continue...and continue...and continue...
You can't make a clean exit because no matter how hard you try, you cannot return hair to its original color once another color has been applied.
Of course, you can stop altogether--but the damage (hair of two or more colors) has been done.,,the longer the hair the worse it looks (in my professional opinion).
Don't know the length of your hair or its present color, but I would hope your wife is able to express her opinion/preference about your hair color and let it go at that--without pressure for you to act upon it.
Not entirely true, I know a lot of people who have blonde hair naturally, have permanently colored it to brown or black, and then died it back. Of course, it is hard, the hair might take much damage, since it usually requires several dyings, and depends on the original color, but there usually IS a way. Even though it might be hard and costly.
My hair is mostly very dark brown with quite a lot of grey, and 21 inches long. My hair texture is very fine, and I tend to get split ends. My wife thinks I should dye it to hide the grey hairs. I'm not planning to dye it blonde, for example.
if you are that concerened with damage then id try the temp color to hold you over. id suggest a good hot oil or some kinda deep conditioning treatment, glad to see some one who colors their hair,, i thought it was band on here. i do have to disagree on the coloring statement made earlir. ANY GOOD hairstylist with trainging can take your hair back to the original color, they just have to know what they are doing, my stylist goes back to training every year and is always very accurate with her coloring. thats why she makes the money she does. i get mine died different colors about every 2 to 3 months. and she always gets the old color matching right on. i am in a wedding on the first of november so i had to take my hair back to its original color last month and you cant tell by looking at the roots that i even color it at all. i am against the box products ,but thats cause my hair is to dark for them to work with out going orange. it might be a good idea for you to try the temp colors, or get some one to help you just do the roots that are showing. good luck and enjoy your hair
It's a good idea in theory, but I'll be darned if any semi-permanent color I've used lasts that long without fading considerably. What color do you normally dye your hair? Mine has been dyed auburn, and the red tones are the ones that wash out the fastest. The way I figure it, semi-permanent hair color washes out faster, so you'll be inclined to re-dye more often to counteract the fading. More frequent dyeing=more damage. Another problem is trying to find a match for the dye you've already got in your hair (well, this was always a problem for me, anyway).
What my stepmom does sometimes is after she dyes peoples' hair, she puts a clear coat of glaze over it to keep it from fading. When you get the roots touched up, it's new growth so it's not as though you're redyeing something that's already been damaged. Then you get the glaze put over that, and you should be set to go. You need to ask a stylist about the glaze, because I'm pretty sure they don't sell it in stores. But I could be wrong.
That's my suggestion. I personally need to wait a while before I dye my hair again because it's very damaged (not from coloring though, so don't worry!) Hope that helps!
~Jenn
Yes of course it will fade, but say I use a semi permanent color that lasts 20 washes or so. Then it will start fading more and more for each wash, but since it's only the new growth at the top of the head it won't be as noticeable as leaving it alone.
From what I've read and heard semi permanent colors places themselves as a layer on the hair, using different strength. Which is why it's not as damaging. While permanent colors, even though has improved a lot during last few years, and doesn't harm the hair that much nowdays, it still does a lot more damage than semi-permanent colors since it penetrates the hair strands, changing the pigmentation.
So my theory would be that the semi-permanent color wouldn't do much (if any) damage, so no harm would be done, but would prolong the time before a new permanent coloring is necessary.
I color my hair black, so it shouldn't be that hard finding a matching semi-permanent color.
Patrik, because the properties (chemical makeup and consequently how it works on the hair etc.) of permanent hair color differ from those of semi-permanent color you could be in for some very unpredictable results by alternating the use of both. At times semi-permanent color will be working on virgin hair (new growth) as well as permanently-colored hair. And at times the permanent color will be working on virgin hair, hair treated with semi-permanent color and hair treated with permanent color.
If the color results you are getting now are to your liking, I encourage you to stick to what you are already doing: using just permanent color.
If I am reading your post correctly your real concern is excessive damage caused by your present regimen. Alternating the use of semi-permanent and permanent color products will not minimize that. I suggeat you look to your conditioner and switch to a better one.
I lost a LOT of hair last time I did a re-color (I posted a pic), it is mostly a repeating of that scenario I am fearing. It might not have been a lot, but I almost got a heart attack after the last coloring, lol ;)
I don't think my hair suffers much damage to the strands themselves, since I never have any breakage. But I did loose a LOT of stands last time, and that is what I am afraid of.
Semi-permanent colors are a LOT less harmful than permanet colors, since they use two different methods of changing the colors. One penetrate the hair, and the other is more "layered" on top of the strands, not really causing any damage to the strands themselves. That is why I thought this might be a good idea, increasing the time between colorings, while at the same time hiding the new growth.