HAIR COLOR

HAIR COLORANTS –
Colorants work by straining the hair shaft with color. The time period that the color lasts depends to the extent that the colorant has penetrated the hair shaft. The information of the colorant is always typed on the pack. Keenly follow the manufacturers instructions. Apply the colorant only till the specified time. This will give you best results.

TYPES OF COLORANTS –
There are basically 3 main types of colorant. They are

Temporary Colorants – Here the hair shaft is coated with a thin layer of color. After shampooing once or twice the color diminishes. Temporary colorants are the safest to use, if you want to experiment with coloring your hair. They are available in the form of conditioning setting lotions, water rinses and shampoos. It can enhance white hair with silver pearl or blue color.
Burnished gold highlights can be added to light or medium hair with a rinse. It can brighten dark hair with a shine and bring out the red in the hair. To produce dramatic effect you can color your hair with two or more temporary colorants.

Semi-permanent Colorants – These are available in Shampoo form, come in single bottle and require no mixing. They penetrate the outer cuticle of your hair and coat the cortex, and don’t require the aide of a peroxide developer. The color lasts 6-8 washes and fades gradually. These colors blend white hair into natural shade, but usually don’t cover them completely. Coloring is easy, color never rubs off and the results are very natural. After every four weeks, color application is repeated. So touches aren’t necessary.
There is also a long lasting type of semi-permanent color that can survive 24 washes. They are used to add richness, brighter tones or darken your hair.  

Temporary and Semi-permanent colors come indifferent forms namely, Hair lipsticks, hair brush, mascara, hair glitter, spray-on-colors, mousses, creams and liquids, shampoo and conditioners in vivid shades and natural tones.

Permanent Colorants – If you have white hair only a permanent colorant will cover them. They contain chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, which can penetrate deep into the hair and give the biggest color change. They come in cream or liquid forms with separate container for Hydrogen peroxide. The contents should be mixed together before usage.
The color doesn’t get washed out. But after every four weeks, the roots need retouching. Modern applicators simplify the process of application. The disadvantage of oxidation is that the hair are damaged and become dry and porous. So use plenty of conditioners.

There are 2 types of permanent hair coloring products, coating tints and penetrating tints.

How to Choose a Color –
Always choose a color that is similar or close to your hairs natural shade. Don’t choose an extremely dark shade if you have a pale complexion. The older you are, the lighter your hair coloring should be.

TESTING COLORANTS –
From person to person, the color a colorant produces and the time it lasts differs. For example, bleached hair absorbs color quickly. If a temporary color is used then it is harder to wash it out.
Please carry the following Tests before using colorants, to see that your skin and hair react well to them.

Skin Test – Apply little colorant to the skin on the inside of your elbow. Leave it for a few hours. Don’t use the product if your skin turns red or begins to itch.

Strand Test – is carried out to see how your hair reacts to the colorant and what is the end color. Apply the colorant to a lock of hair from the lower layers (which are generally not seen). Before rinsing the color as recommended by the manufacturer.

BLEACH – Bleaches contain Hydrogen Peroxide that remove color from the hair and lighten it. If you leave it for a long time after application, it turns almost white. People often add golden or silver color to bleached hair for a natural look.

COLORING HAIR AT HOME
Henna-
Take 2 cups of Henna powder and add 1 cup of warm water and stir to a thick paste. Add 1 tsp of limejuice, to help release the dye. Wait for 1 hour.

By mixing 1 part of henna to 3 parts indigo, you can obtain a dark brown shade.

A darker shade can be obtained by mixing henna with 1 tbsp or more of ground cloves.

2 Tbsp Amla powder and 1 tbsp of coffee mixed with henna will also darken the resulting shade.

Add curd and 1 tbsp mustard oil to fight dryness.

Walnut Shells –
Dyes made from Walnut shell are harmless and progressively add color to the hair. Put walnut shells in a mortar, add a touch of table salt, cover with water and leave for 3 days. Add 3 cups of boiling water and simmer for 5 hours (always replace evaporated water). Sieve the liquid by twisting the shells in a cloth. Pour this liquid in the pot again and reduce to a quarter of its volume. Add a small piece of alum as fixative. Apply it on clean shampooed hair. At first it produces a yellowish effect and finally gives deep black color.

Boil a quart of water with 4 tbsp of Tea till a very dark brown liquid is obtained.

How Often Do You Need To Color Your Hair - 
  
Retouch Surfaces once every four weeks. If you dye or bleach sooner, your hair becomes very dry and brittle. If you color after 5 to 6 weeks, you create an uneven structure of hair. After coloring to oxide properly allow your hair to remain dry for 3 days and nights.

Rules to Remember for Home Coloring–

Don’t fight the Red in your Hair – In actual structure of hair Red pigment plays an important role. To dark hair red highlights are good and flattering. So don’t try to remove the color by bleaching or overtinting.