Home hair-colouring advice

click image to enlarge

Save Print E-mail

Seven out of 10 Australian women colour their hair, and whether they favour a professional job or the DIY option largely depends on cost and convenience. For those who choose the latter, a little knowledge goes a long way. By Jenna Moore.

As the years go by, it’s almost inevitable that our hair will lose its natural pigment and turn various shades of silver. However, long before this occurs, most of us have reached for the bottle of hair colour to give ourselves a lift or a change. With the wide range of products available today, anyone can try being blonde, brunette or a redhead at least once.

If you happen to mention to your hairdresser that you’ve coloured your own hair, she will cringe visibly and, to a point, this is understandable. Stylists are professionals who have trained with passion and verve to perfect their craft. In addition to the knowledge and experience they possess, they can also work from a better angle than you (behind and above), so if you want highlights and/or lowlights, they will probably get a better result. However, if your purse strings are tight, the couple of hundred dollars a professional colour job might set you back can be daunting. Additionally, if it’s midnight, you haven’t had a minute to yourself for weeks, your regrowth is undisguisable and you’ve got a wedding to attend the next day, they probably won’t be able to fix you up in your bathroom.

Enter home hair-colour products. For a small price, it’s possible to colour your own hair, add your own highlights and take care of regrowth in the comfort of your own home. Just be aware that you need to follow the instructions to the letter and you have to be realistic – you can’t expect to morph from an easy-care brunette into a high-maintenance blonde without some risk and a bit of hard work. 

What hue for you?

The first thing to consider when you decide to do it yourself is the shade you’d like to be. According to Bronwyn Fraser, national education manager for L’Oréal Australia, it’s best to select a colour that is either two shades lighter or two shades darker than your natural hair colour. This way, you can be sure that your new-look locks will suit your complexion and eye colour.

Blonde: “Blonde hair is a long-term commitment,” says Geoffrey Herberg, Australian Creative Colourist of the Year 2006. “Whether you’re a handful-of-highlights kind of girl or Marilyn is your favourite shade of blonde, flaxen locks need to be treated and toned to perfection.” Budget to colour every six weeks – blonde hair insists on being taken care of!

Brunette: “Cool brunettes are wonderful. Think rich, dark-chocolate hues, shades of cocoa, coffee bean and walnut,” says Geoffrey. “There are some great benefits to choosing a brunette shade: it instantly transforms dull, lifeless hair; adds shine and smoothness; and makes fine hair appear thicker.” Another plus is that upkeep is minimal, unless you happen to be a very light natural blonde to begin with.

Red: “Red shades range from strawberry blonde to fiery titian and deep russet,” says Geoffrey. “As with all colours, the shade you choose will vary depending on how light or dark your hair is naturally. In the case of redheads, the lighter the shade the softer and less intense the result will be.” Reds are notorious for fading quickly, so it’s important to maintain your shade with a good colour-saving shampoo and conditioner.

How long will the colour last?

There is a variety of home hair colour options on the market: permanent, tone-on-tone, semi-permanent and temporary. Permanents colour each strand of hair for its lifetime (although the depth and vibrancy may fade). As the colour grows out, you’ll need to touch up the roots where the natural colour (regrowth) shows through – this usually has to be done every four to six weeks. A tone-on-tone formula adds colour to your existing shade and lasts up to six weeks, a semi-permanent also adds colour to your existing shade but only lasts for eight to 10 washes, and a temporary colour is more of a ‘fun’ option as it will only last until the next time you shampoo your hair.

How does hair colour work?

The outermost layer of the hair shaft is called the cuticle, which is made up of flattened cells that overlap rather like fish scales. Within the cuticle lies the cortex. The cortex contains cells called melanocytes, which produce and store the pigment responsible for the natural colour of your hair. As time passes, the melanocytes stop producing pigment, which is why our hair loses colour and becomes grey or white as we age.

Permanent hair colour formulations swell the cuticles, allowing the dye to penetrate the hair and colour it from within. Most temporary options simply coat the outside of the hair. It’s worth noting that bleaching removes both natural and artificial pigments in the hair. However, a lightening product won’t work on hair that‘s artificially coloured, for this a bleaching product must be used.

For best results

The most important piece of advice Bronwyn Fraser has to offer is: “Always, always, always read the instruction leaflet in the packet before you begin.” Using this counsel as a guide is almost foolproof as the instructions are pretty clear. They will stipulate the time you should leave the colour formulation on for and also provide application tips. If you happen to leave the dye on longer than the stipulated time you may get a different result – this will depend on how active the formula is. “A permanent colour has reached its full potential after around 35 minutes, whereas a bleach or lightening cream can stay active for around an hour,” says Bronwyn. So if you leave a lightener on for longer than 30 minutes it may take your hair to more luminous heights than you intended, but if you’re a wee bit tardy with a darker shade you should be quite safe.

When it comes time to colour, it’s best to part your hair into four sections like a hot cross bun. Work from the centre front to the centre back and, also from the centre point, from ear to ear. Banana clips are handy for holding sections out of the way while you work on the rest of the hair.

It’s a good idea to wear your least-favourite clothes and keep a couple of old towels on hand as the colour can stain. “If you get colour on your skin, the best way to remove it is to wipe it immediately with a cloth soaked in shampoo” says Bronwyn. “If the colour has already marked the skin, a little perfume or after-shave lotion will be effective.” 

When you’ve finished the job, don’t forget to use the after-colour conditioner provided. This product is specifically formulated to neutralise the colourants, close the hair cuticles to lock in the colour, and leave locks silky and shiny.

Toxic shock?

To protect consumers, the European Commission has banned 22 hair dye substances. After calling on producers to provide safety files for the substances they use to make hair dyes, the European Commission banned 22 substances for which manufacturers submitted no safety files at all. The aim is to establish a list of safe hair-dye ingredients after a study linked the long-term use of some products with bladder cancer.

The banned substances are:

• 6-Methoxy-2,3-Pyridinediamine and its HCl salt
• 2,3-Naphthalenediol
• 2,4-Diaminodiphenylamine
• 2,6-Bis(2-Hydroxyethoxy)-3,5-Pyridinediamine
• 2-Methoxymethyl-p-Aminophenol
• 4,5-Diamino-1-Methylpyrazole and its HCl salt
• 4,5-Diamino-1-((4-Chlorophenyl)Methyl)-1H-Pyrazole Sulfate
• 4-Chloro-2-Aminophenol
• 4-Hydroxyindole
• 4-Methoxytoluene-2,5-Diamine and its HCl salt
• 5-Amino-4-Fluoro-2-Methylphenol Sulfate
• N,N-Diethyl-m-Aminophenol
• N,N-Dimethyl-2,6-Pyridinediamine and its HCl salt
• N-Cyclopentyl-m-Aminophenol
• N-(2-Methoxyethyl)-p-phenylenediamine and its HCl salt
• 2,4-Diamino-5-methylphenetol and its HCl salt
• 1,7-Naphthalenediol
• 3,4-Diaminobenzoic acid
• 2-Aminomethyl-p-aminophenol and its HCl salt
• Solvent Red 1 (CI 12150)
• Acid Orange 24 (CI 20170)
• Acid Red 73 (CI 27290)

Words: Jenna Moore. Photography: Steven Chee. Hair & Make-up: Chris Coonrod.   Styling: Nadene Duncan.