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Colour Away 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 colour to match with your eye colour 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 colours. Any colour can be warm or cool,
depending on its primary base.
Natural colours
If you prefer a natural look, stick with a few shades of
your natural hair colour. Go a bit lighter or darker. Also, the
father you move away from your natural hair colour, the more
obvious your roots will be as they grow out.
As for colour categories, temporaries wash-out, semi-permanent
shades slowly fade in four to six weeks and permanent colours
are just that. So, if you're certain you like the colour, only
then choose a permanent one.
The condition of your hair also matters. If your hair is premed
or relaxed, semi-permanent colour is an advantageous choice
because it's gentler on hair that's been previously exposed to
chemicals.
The semi-permanent or long-lasting semi-permanent colours - the
newest colour category, combine gentleness with long- lasting
shades providing one of the best choices. And if you're just
experimenting, sheer or slightly tinted colour glossers add a
healthy sheen and shine without noticeably altering your natural
colour.
Read hair colour instructions carefully, if you've made a
mistake, don't hide under a hat for months. Salons have colour
removers that take you right back to where you started, where
hopefully, history won't repeat itself.
Understanding basic hair colouring
Most unwanted hair colour disaters are due to the lack of
understanding of the basic hair "laws" of colour and
application.
Rules of hair colour
Hair colour is not hair paint. Colour as we perceive it, is
actually the reflection of light off the coloured pigments in
the hairshaft. This reflection is what we see as colour.
The shade of colour is made of different combinations of
reflections of light off the coloured pigments. This is why hair
colour appears different under fluorescent lights than is
natural sunlight whether it is natural colour or from a bottle.
Types of hair colour
There are several types of hair colour: Permanent hair
colour.
This makes a permanent change in the pigment of the hairshaft.
It does not wash out. It will fade in time, but it cannot be
simply removed to bring back your natural colour. All hair that
has been coloured in this manner has the natural colour pigments
irreversibly chemically altered.
The 'altered' hairshaft pigments can be 'correctively coloured'
back close to the original colour.
Single process colour
Single process means that the colour 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 colour
This 'deposits' colour into the hair. There are many
varieties in the market for the home user.
These are user-friendly and usually condition and colour in one
step. Glazes or translucent colours are among the easiest to
start with. Most use very low peroxide to activate them.
Do your homework before you colour
You must be perfectly honest to yourself before venturing
into this exercise and study the facts about hair colouring. If
you are very dark-haired and want to be a blonde, forget home
colouring.
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 colour
formula by either adding or subtracting colours 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 uncloured hair. The length of time that the colour
mixture is left on can also be varied to change results. Always
thoroughly dry the test strand to check for proper colour and
breakage/damage. Do not attempt to colour hair that has had
henna or metallic dyes used on it.
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