Flaunting different colored locks every few months is quite an appealing idea, but one that comes with a permanent cost. As much as we want to tell you that the cosmetology and aesthetics world has evolved and the dyes produced nowadays are much safer than before, the truth remains the same, i.e.; hair dyes damage the hair! And no, not even the ammonia-free formulas any different or safer than the regular hair color concoctions. Suffice to say, no matter which brand or formula you use, you will harm your hair to some extent.
Different Types of Hair Dyes
There are multiple types of hair dyes available on the market, out of which two are most commonly known; the permanent and semi-permanent tints. As the name implies, the two varieties differ in how long they last, which is determined by the chemicals used. Needless to say, both formulas contain a significant volume of chemicals. So, whether you choose to color your hair for good using a permanent shade or go for a temporary change with a semi-permanent tint, dying will take a toll on your mane.
To better understand the extent of damage hair coloring leads to, we need to look at how the dying process works. So, here is a detailed overview of how hair dye shades the hair and also ruins it.
1. Tearing the Cuticle
The first phase of hair dying involves breaking the cuticle protecting your hair strands. In simple words, the cuticle is a protective layer covering the hair fiber that absorbs and exhibits the hue we see. Understandably, to get to the main shaft in your hair, the top layer must be torn off, which is achieved by the ammonia in hair dyes.
The molecules of ammonia in synthetic hair color lift the cuticle exposing the color-carrying fiber, making arrangements for the next step; removal of the existing shade.
2. Removing the Natural Hue
The peroxide-another harsh chemical compound found in hair dyes strips the color in your hair in order to make room for the artificial pigment you want to stain your locks with. The volume of color to be removed for your hair strands will depend on the formula you use.
If you wash your hair with a permanent tint, a significant amount of pigment will be washed away. But if you choose a semi-permanent dye, only some volume of your natural hair color will strip out. Either way, your melanin- cells responsible for skin/hair color will be destroyed. However, that’s not the only part of your hair makeup that is damaged in hair coloring. Peroxide, aka bleach, can sometimes react with keratin molecules -the protein responsible for making hair fibers. This means your hair loses the ability to grow.
3. Artificial Color is Deposited
Once the natural hair pigment is washed away, the synthetic dye settles in the hair shafts. As noted above, with a semi-permanent concoction, the deposited color doesn’t go deep into the hair fiber and mostly stays in and around the surface. But if you use a permanent solution, your hair will lose all of its natural colors, and the artificial pigment will settle deep into your roots.
4. Ammonia-Free Colors
Ammonia is needed to break the cuticle when dying hair, so what happens if someone uses ammonia-free formula? Dyes that don’t contain ammonia have a different cuticle-breaking compound called monoethanolamine (MEA). MEA is a liquid that remains in a person’s hair for longer than ammonia-hence causes more damage.
As you can probably imagine by now that artificial hair dyes are not suitable for the hair as they damage the natural composition of your mane.
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