hair colouring with chemical dyes
Introduction
In the modern world of hair fashion, it may be exhausting to search for a product that does what’s promised.
Your hair is not alive!
It doesn’t have a nervous system or blood flow.
If it gets damaged, you can’t just let it heal on its own without some help from products like oils and conditioners that contain hydrolysed proteins.
So if you want your hair to look shiny and healthy all day, you need to do regular maintenance by using these products every day.
If you have hair chemically damaged, I will give you 8 tips to help.
Identifying damaged hair.
Hair damage is a common problem that can occur on its own or as an unfortunate result of other sources.
Your hair will get dry when the cuticle is damaged.
This damage can also happen from brushing your hair.
If your hair is damaged, the cuticle can cause split ends.
The break happens at both ends on the strand of your hair.
Breakage occurs when there is too much damage, and weak spots form along the strands themselves, which causes them to break.
If you style your hair without enough protection, it can lead to permanent follicular loss.
8 tips on how to repair chemically damaged hair
1. Avoid using products containing harmful chemicals.
Chemical hair dyes are a popular way to colour your hair. However, they can also damage the health of your hair.
These chemical treatments will cause hair dryness and breakage within the strands, which could lead to fuzziness and split ends.
Your chemically damaged hair may be troublesome to style, and less shiny than healthy hair.
Likewise, your damaged hair can increase the risk scalp dermatitis (dandruff).
Poisonous parabens, polyethylene glycol and formaldehyde are just some ingredients used in most shampoos and dyes which will do significant harm when left on your hair for too long or if you don’t rinse out properly.
Based on the GCC website, there are 8 toxic products in an inventory of chemicals to avoid.
• Sulfurates – Ammonia Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
• Parabens – butylparaben, ethylparaben, and methylparaben.
• Polyethylene Glycols
• Triclosan
• Formaldehyde
• Fragrances Colors
• Dimethicone
• Retinyl Palmitate
If you are unsure of any chemical listed on any labels of beauty and hair care products, check it on EWG’s Skin Deep.
2) Apply conditioner after every shampoo.
It’s important to take care of your hair, especially when it involves conditioning.
Too much can do more harm than good so you would like to keep conditioning your hair to a minimum of once per week.
Be warned that too many washes can also dry out your strands.
Many women find that conditioning their hair more than once or twice per week is too much, as this may cause over-moisturized locks.
You will need a detangling session every week to take care of your hair.
To take care of your hair, use serum or conditioner that can help hair be soft and shiny.
To learn more about what chemicals are used in a conditioner, check out the report by Maria Fernanda on Hair Cosmetic – an overview .
3. Use a deep conditioning treatment once a week.
The goal of a deep conditioning treatment is to keep your hair healthy and moisturized.
Deep conditioners help hydrate and soften your damaged hair. It also improves your hair in stretching and tension, as well as fighting off hair breakages.
Deep conditioning treatment can help your hair untangle any knots, decrease frizz from the roots, and restore natural oils for silky-smooth locks!
Look for ingredients such as avocado oil, coconut oil, argan oil or shea butter – these will deeply penetrate your strands while working their way through those pesky tangles.
Best place to buy similar products are on Amazon.com
4. Start washing with cool water rather than hot water.
No one knows if cold water is better than hot water for your hair. Some sources say it’s more effective, others believe the opposite.
While hot water opens the pores and unclogs hair follicles.
It also may damage your scalp, preventing hair growth.
Coldwater, on the other hand, doesn’t dry out the sebum layer, which is a natural lubricant barrier of your hair.
The best way to wash your hair is to use lukewarm water, and then follow up with a cool rinse.
This will help keep your hair strong while keeping it clean without drying out the scalp.
Using this method of washing will help keep your hair healthy and robust, so you don’t have to worry about breakage.
According to Dr. Zeel of verdex.com, – “You can use water at 100 °F or 38 °C (slightly above the normal body temperature) to wash your hair. During summer, you can use water at a lower temperature. After shampooing and cleaning with lukewarm water, it is better to give a final rinse using cold water at a suitable temperature. This will help locking the open pores and elevated cuticles.”
5. Brush your hair less
Brushing your hair after a shower appears harmless, but you could damage locks without knowing it.
This is because your hair tends to swell when wet, and this makes your hair more fragile and prone to breakage.
Hair that is swollen and tugged on by brushes will snap off, leaving baby or fine hair behind.
This can lead to dryness and fuzziness in the future. Over time, it may also lead to a greater risk of developing split ends.
I recommend using a combing brush with wide pins spaced apart.
The pins should not be too close together or too far apart.
With this type of brush, your hair will get the oils from your scalp all over it, and you will feel comfortable when brushing it.
Choose your brushes with bristles that should feel soft against your skin for a gentle brushing experience.
6. Avoid blow-drying or flat ironing your hair.
Blow drying will make your hair straight, voluminous and natural looking.
You need to use a heat protectant first.
If you want, you can also blow dry it for a few days to ensure the effect is satisfactory.
Alternatively, you may want to watch video tutorials to learn how to blow-dry your hair.
Flat ironing does more than flatten out kinks in your tresses – it offers them that sleek Hollywood fashion that stays put all day long.
However, exposes strands of fine hair to direct heat could be bad news on multiple levels because it can damage your hair.
If you need flat ironing, first brush your hair and opt for the occasional low heat.
Don’t forget to use a decent protectant.
When attainable, avoid the heat altogether and let the air do all your hair’s work for you by gently wrapping it in a towel after showering.
This will help pull out excess water before letting your hair hang dry without rubbing with the towels!
7. Only dye your roots.
Chemical treatments may be damaging, especially if they’re applied too often.
To prevent damage and maintain a healthy head of hair while getting your desired colour result, simply touch up the root with a lighter shade dye.
It is a good idea not to dye the remaining of your hair for a few days, as this will help it heal.
8. Shield hair from the sun.
Shield your hair from the sun with products containing UV filters.
Sun exposure can cause split ends, so trimming regularly is a must during the summer months to avoid more damage on top of existing problems.
Keep your tresses hydrated by using the moisturizing product, and take care not to overdo it in chlorine or salt-filled environments.
One of the best ways to shield your hair from the sun is to go for a more subtle, natural style.
You can achieve this with Bobby pins or clips to pack less heat on top of your head and put on a hat for protection.
Protect your coloured hair.
If you have coloured hair, it’s important to use colour protecting products like shampoo and conditioner.
This will help protect your hair against the sun during summer months.
In the summer, you want to use your blower less.
Instead, take advantage of the warm weather breezes to dry your hair.
You can do that by getting creative with your hairstyle and using extra protection against UV rays.
How long does it take to repair chemically damaged hair?
Chemically damaged hair is a problematic issue for many people.
If your conditioner or other products that usually help with the problem aren’t working, go to the doctor.
They can do tests and see if there is something else wrong.
Bottom line
The good news is there are steps you can take to repair the damage and give yourself some relief.
By following these common-sense habits to protect your hair, you may find your damaged hair feeling better, but also starts looking healthier too!
I hope this blog post has given you some new ideas about how to help your hair stay healthy and beautiful for years to come.
Do leave questions in the comment box below.
If anything is unclear, I’m willing to answer them.
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Resources
Hot water vs Cold water for your hair. A video presentation
Disclosure: Just a Heads Up: My posts may contain affiliate links! If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay a cent more, but I’ll get a small commission, which helps to keep the lights on. Many thanks!
Disclaimer: These statements are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease. They are for information purposes only. They have not been evaluated by the FDA. If you suspect that you have a medical condition, seek help from your doctor.
What a great article. I am glad I came across this post because dry hair is one of my main problems and I’ve already realized why I have dry hair by just reading through this article. Most of the time, I dye my hair changing from one colour to another. I definitely must stop because my hair is always dry and filthy. I will be using the tips provided in this article to take good care of my hair, I will especially add coconut oil and argan oil to my hair products. I will also avoid the habit of washing my hair with hot water, I didn’t realize it was not good for my hair.
Thanks for sharing such an informative piece of writing with us, I will be sharing it further too.
Hello Kokontala,
Thank you for your compliments.
I happy you found my tips useful.
Best wishes
Robin
Prevention is better than cure.
You mentioned that trimming regularly is a must during the summer months to deal with split ends due to sun exposure. Why is that? Don’t the sun rays come in contact with all of the hair and not just the ends? Wouldn’t the damage be more than could be solved by just trimming the ends of the hairs?
Hello,
I agree with you that the sun rays do come into contact with all the hair and not only the ends. But there are other factors that must be taken into consideration.
During the summer months, when you’re more likely to expose your hair to wind, sun as well as dry weather. Also, you wash your hair more often. Your hair grows up to 10-15 times faster during this time as well.
Normally your hair splits every 3 months but due to all these other factors your hair is under more stress and strain during the summer period. Hence more trimming is done ( recommended every 6 weeks).
Cheers
Robin
Hi there,
Wow, excellent article; now I know why my hair is so damaged.
I didn’t know that the temperature of the water matters and neither that it’s not good to brush the hair when they are wet. From now on, I will never brush my hair when wet, and I will wash them with lukewarm water. Great advice!
I color my hair once a month, so my question is. Are there colors on the market that are less harmful to the hair?
Thank you!
Hi Daniella,
I am glad you found my blog post helpful.
Yes, there are non-toxic hair dyes that are less harmful. Check out my other blog posts which focus on non-toxic chemical hair dyes.
If you have any other questions, please let me know. I will try to answer them all.
Cheers
Robin
Great article! I’ve had my fair share of damaged hair in the past that’s why I went naturally by eliminating relaxer treatments to straighten my curls and eliminating hair dyes and heat all together. I have occasional moments of natural damage but chemical damage is now a thing of the past for me and I love it.
Hi
Thanks for dropping by.
Good to know that you are not using any chemical hair care products.
Cheers
Robin
This is very helpful for me as my hair is very damaged and according to my doctor that it could be because of stress.
Will follow the tips to help my hair be healthy again.
Very nice content,good job!
Hi Jessica,
Stress is definitely one of the causes.
However, I would suggest you investigate further other areas like your diet, the chemical shampoo you are using etc.
It will take some time before you see any result so be patient.
Let me know if you need any help.
Regards
Robin
This information is so helpful! I died my hair from dark brown to bleach blond and definitely chemically damaged it. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Kathryn,
Thank you for the feedback.
If you have any questions, please leave it in the comment box.
Cheers
Robin