hair dyeWe love color, and many of us love hair dye, but the truth is that almost all hair dyes damage your hair. That damage occurs in several ways; some dyes cause permanent damage not only to the hair shaft, but to the scalp also.

If keeping your hair and scalp as healthy as possible is a priority for you, you will want to skip the hair dye treatments and consider other ways to add luster, shine and color to your hair.

How Does Hair Dye Cause Hair and Scalp Damage?

There are several ways that hair dyes cause hair and scalp damage. For the most part, damage occurs from the ingredients used in dyes. Other damage to the hair occurs from the rough handling of hair, depending on the type of hair dye treatment.

Hair dye ingredients that cause damage to hair and scalp:

Ammonia:

Ammonia is an ingredient found in all hair dyes and is used to lift the cuticle so that color can penetrate the hair shaft. Ammonia raises the pH of the hair, and this is how the cuticle is softened and lifted. That lifting of the cuticle does damage to hair and scalp until the ammonia is rinsed off.

Peroxide: Peroxide is the ingredient that causes hair to become dry, brittle and prone to breakage. Peroxide breaks down the melanin in the hair shaft, removing the color and causing weakness to the entire hair shaft.

Are DIY Hair Dyes Any Safer for my Hair and Scalp?

DIY hair dyes and at-home hair coloring kits are not any safer than salon hair dyes. In fact, without the professional assessment of hair and scalp condition and the professional attention to applying the coloring, DIY hair dyes that come in a kit can cause even more damage.

Untrained application of DIY home hair dyes can cause extreme scalp irritation and damage to the hair shaft in similar ways as hair dyes discussed above. In addition, some home coloring kits come with caps that require you to pull and tug on hair, and that certainly does cause distress to the scalp and hair.

Safer Alternatives for Adding Shine and Color to Hair

There are a few safer alternatives for adding shine and even enhancing hair color. Henna has been a popular natural alternative for generations, but knowing how to apply henna without causing damage is important.

Rinsing the hair with other natural ingredients including lemon juice, coffee, olive oil and coconut oil are also safer alternatives. Even with these safer alternatives, it is best to speak to a hair and scalp specialist about the condition of your scalp before applying anything to your scalp or hair that you haven’t tried before.

Do you dye your hair? At Genesis II, we have a hair loss prevention program that incorporates a Vitamin Plus Conditioner which restores moisture to the hair and scalp by acting as a moisturizer and conditioner and provides all the essential vitamins and minerals to the hair shaft. For a free hair and scalp analysis call us at (315) 458-1074 or to contact us via email click here.

 

Photo Credit: Pexels Via Pixabay

Sources:

https://www.bustle.com/articles/150440-5-natural-ways-to-dye-your-hair-if-you-want-to-ditch-the-chemicals-videos

Hair Dye: How Badly Does It Damage Your Hair?

http://www.instyle.com/hair/11-things-know-dyeing-your-own-hair