Things Everyone Wish They Know Before Dyeing Hair!

“Invest in your hair, it’s the crown you never take off”

Some of you might know that I had just dyed my hair red (though it doesn't come out as “red” as I wanted). I realized that there are several things that I should have known -that nobody told me, unfortunately- before going for an extreme fashion makeover.

1. Be prepared for a huge hair loss. None of us would want to experience baldness before our 60s. The chemical substance in our hair dye would eventually cause rapid hair-loss, hence it is important to know that hair-dyeing does not inhibit hair growth, but may cause hair loss.

According to Dermatology Time, there are 3 occasions where hair dye could damage hair and cause hair loss. First, the dyeing procedure can increase the shedding of hair as part of the rubbing and combing. Second, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide contained in hair dye also loosens telogen hairs (refer to the pict attached). And lastly, hair dye can physically weaken hair shafts increasing breakage-caused hair loss.

However, this would depend on each individual’s hair. Some may have low chemical tolerance while others could put even the harshest chemical on their head and not lose a single strand.

2. Expect a total makeover.

As I am writing this, I suddenly got my own revelation on why a makeover started with a dramatic change in your hair. My theory on this is because you’ll need to adjust your makeup to your new hair color. All this time, I've been experimenting with comfortable-natural colors like brown with blonde balayage or dark brown. So I never knew this until I experienced it myself!

These color changes may not affect your foundation color, but it does affect lipstick, eyebrow, and blush. I am not a bronzer person so I don't know whether bronzer (or contour color) would be affected as well. I found several makeup hacks that’d help you adjust your hair color to your skin and makeup shades- please refer to the picts below (thank me later k).

I learned my lesson this week and so I'll make sure to finish my current makeup stocks before I decided to go with bold colors.

3. If love can fade, then so can your hair color

I have done several research on this before I dyed my hair red. This time, I don't blame my friends for not giving me this information. My friend dyed her hair pink and once it’s washed off, it turns into a weird ash green color-which she dislikes so badly that she had to cut half-length of her hair.

Lesson learned: make sure you had done your research before making a big decision. Also, you need to take note of how long would the color fades. In my case, I asked my hairstylist before he did my hair just to be extra sure with myself (and probably suing him if it doesn’t go as planned lol).

There are some tips that I gathered from simplyorganicbeauty.com on how to refrain hair colors from fading:

First, make sure to give your hair sufficient processing time for the hair dye to absorb. Common reason behind fast-fading hair color is insufficient processing time, meaning the hair color did not stay long enough. This is especially true for grey hair as grey hair cuticles are tightly packed down, and take longer to open and absorb artificial hair color molecules.

Second, don’t rinse your hair with hot water. Be sure to rinse it with lukewarm water as hot water can cause the cuticle to open further, allowing some color to rinse out and fade during your shampooing process.

Third, don’t use hot styling tools too often without heat protection. That includes our magic wand a.k.a curling tools, blow dryers or flat irons. Take care of your hair by using thermal protection hair products to protect the delicate hair against the extreme heat, and allow the color to stay in the hair longer.

So, be mindful of the color fades before dying your hair and make sure you’re prepared for it. Quick update: now my hair has faded from red to a natural light brown color in 3 weeks' time. Yes, I am prepared for this and now I am proud to tell the world that with this strategy, I could get 2 different hair colors at once!

4. Seriously, Clothes too?

Just to give a little context, I love clothes a little bit too much over any other fashion items like accessories or makeup. Clothes to me are like head accessories to Kate Middleton, we complete each other. Having played with natural hair colors, I didn’t bother much about what kind of clothes I want to wear on a daily basis. But now that my hair turns red, I would be mistaken as Ronald Mcdonald’s wife if I wore a bright yellow shirt or an elf once I wear a bright green top.

In the earlier days when I first got my hair red, I was not even confident to wear a white color top as it would look super nationalist (p.s. My national flag color is red and white). And just to make it more awkward, it so happens that my beloved country just celebrated their independence day. So my suggestion to you is to stock up on black-color clothes until you are able to find your new style.

All in all, this red-hair experience was such a fun one though it only lasts for 3 weeks (sigh). I get to explore many makeup shades, doing my own mini makeover, and mixing up different styles. Let me know what your thoughts on this and share your hair-dyeing experience in the comment box below!