Hair Therapy & Transplantation
Open Access

An Overview of Hair Coloring and its Types

Shanker Kumar^{* *}Correspondence: Dr. Shanker Kumar, Department of Cosmetology, Sandip University, Maharashtra, India, Email:

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Description

Hair coloration, often known as hair dyeing, is the process of changing one's hair colour. The most common reasons are cosmetic: to hide grey or white hair, to change to a more fashionable or beautiful hue, or to restore the original hair colour after hairdressing or sun bleaching has harmed it. The four most common classifications are permanent, demipermanent, semi-permanent, and temporary.

Permanent

Permanent hair colour usually contains ammonia and must be blended with a developer or oxidizing agent to change hair colour permanently. In permanent hair colour, ammonia is used to open the cuticle layer so that the developer and colourants can penetrate into the cortex simultaneously. The developer, also known as the oxidizing agent, is available in a variety of sizes. The larger the developer volume, the more "lift" a person's natural hair pigment will have. Someone with dark hair who wants to go two or three shades lighter might need a higher developer, but someone with lighter hair who wants to go darker would not. Permanent hair coloring can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how much colour change you want.

Demi-permanent

Demi-permanent hair colour is hair colour that incorporates an alkaline agent other than ammonia and, while always applied with a developer, has a lesser concentration of hydrogen peroxide than permanent hair colour. Because the alkaline agents used in demi-permanent colours are less successful than ammonia at destroying the natural pigment of hair, these products do not lighten the colour of the hair during dyeing. As a result, they can't make hair lighter than it was before dying it, although they're less destructive to hair than their permanent cousin. Demi-permanents hide grey hair significantly better than semi-permanents, but not as well as permanents.

When compared to permanent colour, demi-permanents have various advantages. Because natural hair colour is not lifted, the resulting colour is less uniform/homogeneous than a permanent, making it appear more natural; they are softer on hair and hence safer, especially for damaged hair, and they wash out over time, making root regrowth less obvious and colour change easier. Darker colours may stay longer than specified on the container, despite the fact that demi-permanent hair dyes are not permanent.

Semi-permanent

Semi-permanent hair colouring is less harmful to hair strands because it does not use a developer or ammonia. Temporary hair colour dyes use chemicals with a lower molecular weight than semi-permanent hair colour dyes. Only the cuticle layer of the hair shaft may be penetrated by these colours. As a result, the colour will only need to be washed a few times, usually 4-8 shampoos. Semi-permanents may still include pphenylenediamine, a known carcinogen, or other similar dyes. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, PPD appears to only diminish body weight in rats and mice exposed to it in their feed over time, with no other clinical symptoms of toxicity observed in several studies. Hair can't be lightened with semi-permanent colour.

Temporary color

Rinses, shampoos, gels, sprays, and foams are among the many types of temporary hair colour available. Temporary hair colour is usually more colourful and bright than semi-permanent or permanent hair colour. Its most commonly used to dye hair for special occasions like Halloween and costume parties. Temporary hair colour pigments have a high molecular weight and can't penetrate the cuticle layer. The colour particles cling to the hair shaft's surface and can be readily removed with a single shampooing. Temporary hair colour can last for a long time if the hair is very dry or damaged, allowing the pigment to migrate to the inside of the hair shaft.