Hair colorants 101

In the early days of hair coloring, women used dyes found in nature to enhance their natural color or cover up the gray, but today most of us color our hair in a far from natural way. The home hair-coloring kits widely available in drugstores and supermarkets have a high chemical content, so those with fragile locks beware!
But what exactly is in those products that can potentially wreak havoc on your hair? The majority of permanent colorants or dyes contain hydrogen peroxide, which “oxidizes” your hair—it lays the groundwork for a color that will last. If you are a brunette and want to go blonde, for example, the first step of changing your hair color involves stripping your hair of its original shade and this is where hydrogen peroxide comes in. The other main ingredient is ammonia, which then allows the newly applied color to penetrate the hair shaft.
Given the mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia, it’s not hard to imagine why permanent coloring can be harmful to your hair, especially if you color it regularly. Having your hair professionally colored can help make the process a bit less stressful for your locks. (Home hair-coloring may save you a bundle, but it can take its toll.) A good hairstylist will be able to judge what shade will work best for you—permanent dyes are not always the answer, there are semi-permanent and vegetal dyes and even permanent dyes that are ammonia-free (L’Oréal Professional’s newly launched Inoa, for example. More on that in an upcoming post).
Your stylist can also give you tips on how to care for your colored hair, and suggest products that can soften the impact of the chemical process.