How Does Hair Coloring Work?
Hair coloring is the art of dying or tinting one’s hair so that they don’t appear what they really are or that they seem like the way we want them to be. According to a survey more than 55 % women have colored their hair at least once. Men are not too far behind. And for those who don’t like the way some people are trying to play with nature, may be surprised to find out that ‘hair-coloring’ is not a recent phenomenon. It has been here for a long time. As early as the 15th century there existed books which explained the topic in detail? One of them was Eighteen Books of the Secrets of Art and Nature. But how does hair coloring work? And how is it possible for the colored hair to withstand daily baths without losing their artificiality? These are some of the common questions. Let’s first try to understand what hair is, because it would facilitate our comprehension of what is happening to it.
A strand of hair is divided into two parts: the visible part (shaft) and the part which is sunk in the skin or follicle. Hair is composed of keratin and related proteins. The hair follicle is a tube-like structure of epidermis (the outer skin) that encloses a small section of dermis (a layer of skin between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissues) at its base. As hair is pushed upward from the base, it hardens and undergoes pigmentation. The hairs on the scalp and on our eyelids are different from our body hair.
Basic Principle: There are two kinds melanin found in the hair: ‘eumelanin’ and ‘phaeomelanin’. Their absence causes hair to grow white or gray.
Commonly used chemicals in hair coloring are ‘paraphenylenediamine’, ‘hydrogen peroxide’ and ammonia but the exact formulation is kept a secret. Depending upon if one wants to change the color of his/her hair for a certain period of time or permanently wants to switch to his/her new hair color, hair-coloring is divided into two parts:
(1) Temporary hair-coloring
(2) Permanent hair-coloring
Temporary hair-coloring:
The hair-color contains small molecules of the coloring substance that enter the outer layer of your hair and then go into hair’s cortex. In simple words: The particles remain in the hair, and because they are very small, it is not possible to distinguish them from the hair, thus the hair seems to possess different colors.
They stay there till the hair is shampooed several times. This kind of coloring doesn’t contain ammonia or peroxide; hence, it is a safer option.
But if one wants the made-up color to last longer but not for a lifetime, one can use alternate products, which work the same way but are composed of medium-sized molecules and use a little amount of peroxide.
Hair-coloring on a permanent basis:
Both ammonia and peroxide are used in this process. In this case, after entering the cortex the tiny molecules of the hair-color expand (swell) and thus can’t be washed out. But regular touch-ups are necessary at periods of 4-6 weeks each. Reason: As the hairs grow, natural hairs continue popping up and this must be kept in check if one doesn’t want to become a laughing stock!
