It is hard to appreciate the humor of a good blonde joke if your hair has felt the wrath of a bad color job.
There are many pitfalls when attempting to lighten up locks. The results of the procedure dependent upon numerous factors: Not all dyeing options are going to be the best for specific hair colors or types.
“There is a lot of chemistry that people don’t realize with dyeing hair lighter,” said Kerry Billiter, lead cosmetology team leader at the Aveda Institute on Neil Avenue.
Billiter said that hair dye includes a developer that breaks down the melanin – the chemical that gives skin and hair its color. If the developer is not strong enough, individuals with darker hair are unlikely to achieve a lighter color.
Hair dyes that are available for purchase in drug stores have a very low level of developer because of Federal Drug Administration regulations.
Billiter said a common problem he sees with people who have darker hair is that they used box hair dyes where the developer was not strong enough and their hair came out looking orange.
“I would say that about 95 percent of products you buy at CVS or the drugstore you shouldn’t use,” Billiter said.
When lightening hair, the darker the natural hair color, the redder or more orange it will be, Billiter said.
He added that if your natural hair color is dirty blonde, it is possible to achieve desired results from a hair dye bought at the drugstore. Products such as Sun-In and lightening shampoos are all right for blondes who want a lighter shade. But they are not recommended for people with hair darker than dirty blonde.
Billiter said anyone with hair that is dark blonde or darker go to professionals to prevent undesirable results.
“(Dyeing my hair using box color) didn’t turn out too well,” said Mary Large, a junior in communication. Large whose natural hair color is brown, said”It turned my hair orange.”
“A true redhead is the hardest hair to lighten” Billiter said. He said that it is unlikely that redheads will get hair lightened to the color they want from a box.
He said that people with black hair should not go too light because the strength of the developer needed can severely damage the hair ends.
“I’ve seen people (with black hair) go really light, but then they got a really good hair cut,” Billiter said.
Once hair is lightened with box color, it is unlikely that a second application will make the hair any lighter. Artificial hair color will not lift other artificial hair color. The only way to lift it is with a bleach product, Billiter said. Bleach products that can be purchased at the drug store often are not strong enough.
Billiter also said that the result achieved from hair dye can also be affected by hormones.
In the first trimester of pregnancy, women should not dye their hair. Also, a woman’s menstrual cycle can have an effect on the process.
“If that time of the month comes around and you’re not yourself, you shouldn’t get anything done,” Billiter said.
He also said if hair is chemically treated, the color may react differently than it would have on someone with virgin hair. For example, if hair has been chemically straightened or previously dyed, box color is not recommended.
Ethnicity will also have an effect on hair dye, Billiter said. Requiring that Asians who have thicker cuticles, use stronger developers to change the color of their hair.
Because of this, Billiter said that no store-bought hair colors will achieve desired results for everyone.
Brittany Glaser, a first-year pre-law student with dark brown hair, got her hair bleached professionally.
“It would have been scary as hell trying to bleach it myself the first time,” Glaser said. “It took me five times to get the light color I wanted.”
“There really are no guarantees with box color,” Billiter said. “I think my advice would be if you want to be blonde, have it done professionally.”
