image: istock
Article by BR Fiona
Do you colour your hair at home or tempted to give it a try? Then this article is for you! Knowing the difference between semi-permanent, long-lasting semi-permanent, blonding and permanent could be the difference between gorgeous success and complete disaster! Read on to learn the differences between home hair colours.
Semi-Permanent
Semi-permanent hair dyes are also called direct dyes, they contain an active pigment which means there's no messing mixing, it's simply open the bottle and apply. Semi-permanent dyes work by attaching to the cuticle, the outside layer of the hair, which is why most will only last 6-8 washes. This type of hair dye is great for those who want try a change without the risk or who are hair dye virgins. Semi-permanents are also great for adding a bit of shine and some women even use them every week to add richness and shine to their colour.
Long-lasting Semi-Permanent
Long-lasting Semi-Permanent dyes are the next step up the hair dye scale with an application expected to last around 24-28 washes. A chemical reaction occurs within the dye which causes the cortex layer of the hair to expand and the outer cuticle layer to swell. During this process the dye adheres to the cortex over top of your original colour. This means that you're going to get a more natural colour and look; however it also means that you're not going to be able to go lighter with your colour. You can simply stay the same colour and get that shine, change the reflection shade of your hair or simply go a few shades darker. The reason why you can't go lighter is because long-lasting semi-permanents contain no ammonia, and this plays an important part in the hair dying process, which we'll learn about next.
Permanent
Permanent is exactly that, permanent. When the colour crème and developer are mixed there is a chemical reaction which causes the cuticle layer of the hair to open upwards and the cortex to swell, exposing the cortex to the hair dye. Now unlike semi-permanent which applies a colour to the existing cortex colour, permanent hair dyes strip the colour from your hair, with ammonia, and applies the new shade on top, this is what makes it permanent - you hair will never return to its original colour, you will have to wait till it grows out. Now it's important to note that, thankfully, there are now ammonia free permanent hair dyes out there, so we can get the same effect without all the nastiness. A key to using permanent hair dye is to remember that the colour is there for good and the more colour you put on top, the darker your hair shade will get. Now I don't know if you girls are experiencing a revelation with this but we can certainly relate! If you want to colour your roots, ALWAYS, always, follow the re-growth instructions, they are not simply there to make the paper look pretty they are there to help us get the best home dye experience we can!
Blonding
Blonding is kind of like permanent hair dye, just minus the colour part. Essential it is the part of the process where the cortex swells, the cuticle opens up and the ammonia, or chemical substitute is applied to strip away the colour. It does not colour your hair, it just removes the pigment from the cortex.
So know that we all know our semi-permanent from our long-lasting semi-permanent and our blonding from our permanent, we should be able to hit the home dye shelves with renewed vigour and hopefully with increased success!
Are you a colour-at-home girl? What type of colour do you most often use and why?
Get chatting below!
Interesting read! I've never tried permanent hair color but I'd love to try, maybe over the holidays I'll give light brown a go (I'm black haired)