Understanding hair colouring methods

Hair colouring is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to revamp your look and style, simply by adding a new colour or highlighting around your face you can enhance your hair and style.

In today’s hair industry there are a variety of ways to change the colour within your hair from overall base colours to small pieces or sections of hair. The most common and traditional ways to colour or alter the colour of your hair include:

Permanent colour – is exactly as it sounds in that it is a permanent change of the hair colour by changing the colour within the core of the strands. Unlike other forms of hair colouring which will wash out, permanent hair dye can only grow out although it will fade over time. This form of hair dyeing will break down the hair cuticle and deposit pigment within the hair shaft, meaning that unlike other dyes it can be used to lighten hair colour. As a result of this process however, it can be quite damaging to the hair over long term use.

Semi-permanent colour/colour wash/staining – a great option if you are unsure about a hair colour, this process is fairly straightforward and lasts about 4-6 weeks as it fades out with washing. Far gentler on the hair follicles then permanent hair colours, semi’s can add shine to the hair with its non-peroxide hair colour while even making hair strands stronger and more resistant.

The drawbacks of the semi-permanent hair colours are that it does only last 4-6 weeks and it cannot lighten hair. Also the colour can sometimes get ‘trapped’ in hair that has been permed or already coloured as the hair is weaken or maybe broken

Demi-permanent colour – lasting longer than semi-permanent colour as it takes greater hold of the cortex of the hair shaft meaning it will take longer to wash out; demi-permanent colours have all the same benefits as semi’s and also cannot significantly lighten hair. However they do contain a small amount of peroxide which brings about colour enhancement. Although like semi colours, demi hair dyeing can take permanent affect on hair that has been permed or already-coloured. 

Hair highlights, lowlights, weaving, foiling and streaking – these are all different ways to lighten or colour individual pieces and strands of hair to add texture and depth. These can be applied all over the head, just around the face or whenever you like with highlights and lowlights able to be applied in several different colours to create multi-layered colouring.

Bleaching – a harsh method used to strip the hair entirely of its base colour with all natural pigment removed, and then the hair will have a toner applied to the desired colour result. Not recommended as this process significantly damages the hair and is hard to maintain with regrowth a real issue, meaning touch ups need to be performed every few weeks.

Where to get your hair colouring done?

When it comes to hair colouring you have a choice of either going to a hair salon and having a professional colourist change your hair or you can use one of the products available to do it yourself at home.

Obviously having a professional do your hair typically has the ideal results as they will have the experience to choose the best hair colours for your skin tone and existing hair colour. Basically they know and understand the limitations of the hair colours and your hair, and can accurately predict the results. This includes knowing how long to leave then hair colour in, the application process and how you hair’s own condition will affect the final result.

Although if you cannot afford the luxury of having a colourist perform the hair colouring for you there are many colouring products available that can permanently colour, rinse or streak your hair. Just be careful when choosing which shades with a good rule of thumb being to stick within two shades of your natural hair colour and perform a colour strand test before you commit to dyeing your whole head.

Also keep in mind the effect damaged hair will have on a hair colour, so if you are performing your own hair colouring then take that into account. For best results wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo before colouring.