Radiance To Dye For

Apologies, and a project for everyone!!

February 14, 2011 by redhairradiance

I am soooo sorry that I’ve been MIA for a few days. It’s been a crazy past few days and weekend!

Who watched the Grammys? Hayley Williams and Florence Welch were representing the redheads ;) (and Rihanna, I suppose haha)

Speaking of redheaded celebrities! One thing I would like to do on this blog is do posts that spotlight famous redheads, such as Florence and Hayley, like I mentioned above. I know with Hayley, she has given tips about how she cares for her hair, and I also know the Twitter and website of the person who dyes her hair. So that might be interesting :)

ANOTHER project I would like to start on this blog involves all of you :) I want to make this blog a collaborative effort; a community of people sharing information and advice with each other, combined by a common interest. 

So what I would like to do is to have you submit pictures of you with your red hair and what dye you used. This way, everyone can see your beautiful hair AND learn about new dyes that they could use! I will post all the submissions that I get, so don’t be shy! :) And if possible, tell us what shampoo you use too!

Thanks to my followers for showing interest in this blog!

-Anna P

• 3 notes
• red hair
• redhead
• hair dye
• dyeing
• hayley williams
• florence welch
• florence + the machine
• grammys
• rihanna

The science of red

February 8, 2011 by redhairradiance

This next post is an important one, because it concerns with keeping the radiance in your red hair for as long as possible. As I’ve said before, red is the hardest color to keep in your hair. This has to do with the molecules in the red color pigment, because they are larger than that of other colors.

(Red pigment. Taken from here)

Because of the large molecules, there are more space in between them (think of it as comparing the space between rocks in a pile of large rocks and the space between particles of sand). Because of the large spaces in between the molecules, things such as light (going out in direct sunlight) and water (washing your hair) can pass more easily through them, getting to your hair more easily, causing the red molecules to become “transparent”, which eventually means fading hair color.

I’ve probably lost you by now, so let me put it this way: red hair just fades more quickly than other hair colors, and it’s because of *SCIENCE!* (oooh, ahhh).

To maintain your color, there are many things you can do:

1. The most basic thing to do is to wash you hair in cold water. Hot/warm water strips the color from your hair, but cold hair keeps it from doing that. I don’t want to bore you with more science talk here, but hot water causes your hair to essentially “open up” and release color, whereas cold water keeps it “shut”.
   
   But don’t think this means you have to suffer through a cold shower! Take your normal warm shower, but wear a shower cap, and THEN wash your hair afterwards in cold water. You can do this by standing outside your shower and just sticking your head under the stream of water, or you could do it under a bath faucet or even in a sink.
   
   
   (Taken from here)
2. Another thing you can do to keep your hair from losing color is not to wash your hair as much. You can still shower, of course; just use a shower cap. I know it sounds gross, but it’s really not as bad as you think if you know how to keep your hair looking clean. An inexpensive way to make your hair look clean without washing it is to use baby powder. The powder actually absorbs the grease in your hair. Put the powder in and either use your fingers or a brush to distribute it throughout your hair. 
   
   If you’re willing to spend some money, you can also use dry shampoo. It works the same way as the baby powder, except usually it comes in a spray can. Just spray it throughout your hair and brush or comb it through! And if you don’t want to use either of these products, just wear a hat ;)
3. Probably the most obvious thing to do to keep color is to use a shampoo/conditioner for color-treated hair. I’m planning on doing a blog post just about shampoos, so I don’t want to give too much away, but, in general, you should look for a shampoo that is sulfate-free.
   
   
   (A sulfate-free shampoo/conditioner)
   
   A sulfate is basically just a salt (a salt of sulfuric acid to be exact). Sulfates are harsh on hair color, and strip it away very very quickly. You don’t have to understand what a sulfate is when you’re buying a shampoo: just look at the ingredients, and if you see a bunch of gibberish in front of the word “sulfate”, don’t buy it. Many shampoos claim to be “color shampoos”, but if you look at the ingredients, the first few ingredients are some form of sulfate. So don’t be fooled. Read the label!
4. I mentioned this briefly before in my little science lecture, but stay out of direct sunlight. Now I’m not saying to be a hermit or a vampire, but it is important not to expose your dyed red hair (especially directly after dyeing your hair and the few days or week that follow) to direct, hot, steamy sunlight. Not only will the sunlight make it “transparant” and fade, but it could also kind of warp your hair color, especially if you go right out on a hot summer day right after dyeing your it. Wear a hat or something to cover your hair when you go outside in direct sunlight, at least right after dyeing your hair. After a few weeks or month, your hair is probably faded enough already where it would be alright to go outside without covering it.
5. The last tip I have kind of goes along with the previous one, but stay out of pools. It’s probably a no-brainer, but don’t go swimming in a pool after dyeing your hair. The chlorine and other chemicals just totally screws up the color. You’ve probably heard horror stories of girls who have bleached their hair blonde and it turns tinted green when they are exposed to the chlorine in the pool. Well the same thing applies for red heads; the chemicals mess with the color and also causes it to fade. 

Now, I know it sounds like no fun, right? Showering in the cold? Not showering? Not being able to go outside or swim? Well, as I said above, these things mostly apply if you have just recently dyed your hair. After about 4 weeks or so, it should be alright to do normal things again :)

I’m sorry this post was so long! But I hope this helped some of you :)

Be on the lookout for the shampoo article, which I’ll be posting tomorrow.

-Anna P

(I used these sources for a few bits for this post:
http://ask.metafilter.com/170650/Why-does-red-fade-so-easily-outdoors
http://www.webnetsecure.com/Should_dyed_hair_be_washed_with_cold_water-qna40461.html ) 

• 15 notes
• red hair
• red pigment
• molecule
• science
• powdered shampoo
• shampoo
• colored hair
• dyeing
• hair dye