Hair health is obviously important to us, but curly girls don’t like to feel trapped by their hair care regimen. It is possible to have healthy curls even if you’re coloring them if you prepare your hair beforehand, choose the right dye, and maintain your moisture afterwards. Here’s how you can do that at home.
Deep condition before
Before you alter the natural state of your hair, it’s always a good idea to do a deep conditioning treatment. This gives you the best chance of maintaining your hair health and length. Do your deep conditioning treatment 3 or more days prior to coloring so that the hair is a tad dry and better absorbs the color.
Use your own oil
Try not washing your hair for a couple of days before you dye your hair. The natural oils on your hair and scalp will help to protect it through the coloring process. Note, do not use a lot of hair product during this time. Product buildup will alter the way the dye effects your hair so avoid applying your typical curl creams and leave-ins on those days.
Clarify less
Before and after you dye your hair you will want to decrease the frequency with which you clarify your hair. This will help keep your natural oils in tact before you dye, and maintain your new color after you dye.
Are you going lighter?
If you are going for a lighter or vibrant hair color, this will require lightening your hair. This is a trickier process than going darker so if you are preparing for an at-home coloring session do your research on the lightening process.
Double up
Curly hair can be thicker and oftentimes deceivingly long. If this sounds like you then go ahead and purchase two boxes of hair color. One at-home dye kit may not be enough to fully saturate your hair and it’s safest to have more than enough on hand when coloring at home.
What is on your hair?
If you have previous colored or chemically treated your hair this may affect your at-home hair color results. Please be aware that if you have previously used henna it is best to advise a cosmetologist to ask about duration between color treatments and how your current color might respond.
Check your label
Curlies are experts at reading their labels, and at-home hair color should be no different. Instead of sulfates and silicones, this time you should be watching out for ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in your hair dye. Check out Bigen’s ammonia and hydrogen peroxide-free semi-permanent hair color. It contains natural moisturizers like honey, beeswax and sunflower.
Avoid damage
Try not to heat style, go swimming or expose your hair to the elements during the days before and after your hair color. You want your hair to be its healthiest. You probably have a good idea of what your hair can handle, so just be sensitive to it during this time.
Consider semipermanent color
Semi permanent color can be a less damaging to your hair because it “utilizes no developer, thus preserving the condition of the hair”
says curly stylist and NaturallyCurly contributor Janelle Sands. Nikki achieved her ruby red tips in the photo above using
Bigen’s Semi-Permanent hair color, if you’d like to see how she did that watch
here.
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This post is sponsored by Bigen.
