Do these 6 things before colouring your hair
Step up your pre-colouring game. Do these things before you colour to get your best colour yet.
1. Show your hair all the love
Semi permanent hair colours coat the outside of your hair cuticle. If cuticle are damaged they can be rough and open, causing the dye to slide off. Give your colour the best chance of holding by keeping your cuticles heathy and hydrate between colours. The better condition your hair is in before you colour, the better the colour!
Using hair loving treatments like our hair masques between colouring will give your hair the moisture it needs for great colour.
Just make sure to wait a couple of days after a treatment before you colour, because you need to make sure there’s no left over treatment in your hair before colouring (see point 2).
2. Give your hair a good clean, and leave no remnants behind
Any product that’s left on your hair before you wash could block the semi permanent colour from attaching to your hair in different places, and nobody wants patchy colour. So give your hair a really good shampoo before you dye your hair, but leave out the conditioner. Our semi’s all have hydrating formulas that condition your hair, so your hair will still come out silky smooth, and you’ll have a gorgeous and even colour coverage!
3. Ditch the silicone based shampoo and conditioner
Silicone works to make your hair feel smooth by putting a coating around the outside of the hair cuticles. Unfortunately, this can build up on your hair and when it comes time to colouring, well - 'this hair ain't big enough for the two of us' - said the silicone to the semi permanent dye.
So avoid silicone based shampoo and conditioner to get the most out of your colour. If you’ve been using a silicone shampoo or conditioner you can still colour your hair, just use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the silicone build up on your hair, and really get in there with a nice strong head massage when you shampoo to make sure all the remnants are gone, and because any excuse for a head massage, right?
4. Heat styling is not your friend
You’ve heard it before, avoid heat styling to protect the health of your hair. Try using a good quality sea salt spray or finishing creme to style your hair with the old school air drying method. Heat styling can damage your hair which can mean it won’t hold semi permanent colour as well.
Try using heat styling just for special occasions, and when you do spray with a heat protectant first.
5. Wait after bleaching
For the brightest colour or for pastel it can be necessary to bleach your hair first to get to where you want to go with the colour. Bleaching is no walk in the park for your hair, it can make it a little stressed so give it some TLC and make sure it’s back to it’s old self before colouring, we recommend waiting at least 2-3 days, but it’s really up to you to judge if your hair is back to normal. If it’s feeling brittle and breaks easily, it’s best not to dye it just yet. Give it some love with a masque or repairing treatment like Briteplex that rebuilds bonds broken by chemical treatments and heat stying before colouring it.
6. Strand testing is your BFF, side kick and big sister
Even if you’ve been DIY colouring your hair for years, always, ALWAYS strand test before you apply the dye fully. Your hair will be slightly different to the last time you dyed it due to lots of different factors. Stress, diet, previous colouring, you name it, could make the colour turn out slightly differently to the last time you used it. Strand testing means that if there’s anything amiss you can address it without having your hair covered in a colour you’re not happy with.
Pick a few strands in a hidden part of your hair like at the nape of your neck, apply the colour according to the instructions and then see how it turns out. If the colour is too intense you can mix in a little conditioner to lighten it, if it’s not bright enough for you try leaving the dye on a bit longer before rinsing.
And if you’re unsure get in touch with us and we can help!
