Things you should know before dyeing your hair

Hair dye is an artistic yet incredibly fun way of expressing yourself.

It lets you transition to a whole different person depending on your choice of colour and style.

Whether you're going with over the top colours or just tips for your locs or lusting for a blonde look, it's safe to admit that the thrill of the transformation is close to rebirth.

But in as much as choosing to dye one's hair is fun there are a few things one should note before taking the big step of altering their natural hair colour.

As the chemicals used in the process might have negative effects on one's hair if they don't take good care of it.

First things first, you need to identify and choose the right colourist for the job.

Ensure you've seen their work or read reviews about them unless you're planning on doing it on your own at home. In that case, you need to do extensive research on tools to use and the best brands in the market.

Identify the colour that you want to transition to and be sure you're down for it as this will be your new look for a long time.

On that note, keep in mind growing out your hair, either with the dye or while shaved is really the only way you can completely go back to your natural hair colour

Some dye jobs do require a lot of upkeep which means you'll have to make monthly visits to the salon especially if you add a cut or curls to your dyed hair.

Okay, you have your desired colour now comes in the work.

For one with dyed hair, you need to invest in colour preserving tools to help beat colour fade and damage.

As chemicals used in colouring might ruin your hairs texture and natural shine.

If you're used to washing your hair frequently especially when taking showers you'll have to change your ways as the more you wash, the quicker the colour fades.

On top of that, you'll need to turn down water temperatures when shampooing.

Hot showers feel refreshing to most of us but they're not so amazing for your coloured hair.

When washing hair with hot water, your hair cuticles are opened thus allowing your colour to wash out while shampooing and conditioning. To prevent this from happening, learn to shampoo with warm water then rinse off with cold water after conditioning.

Before dyeing your hair use a clarifying shampoo to remove any products buildup and to help even your hair's porosity so that it may be able to absorb the new colour evenly.

Note: don't do damage control on the actual day that you're dyeing your hair as shampoo doesn't help the colour absorb better.

And lastly, ensure you do a patch test.

It's important to test the colour you wish to have on a small area of your hair before diving right ahead into permanently dyeing your entire head.

If the colour you use is too ashy, your skin will end up looking old and on top of that, you risk a scalp reaction in case your skin does not tolerate the dye chemicals.

Hope this has been enlightening and when you're ready to put that pink or blonde on your head you'll be better prepared.

Edited by D Tarus