Free Hair Styling Pictures Search! Enter Your Topic Below:

14. Hair Coloring Tips

To give you a quick mental lift, to add sparkle to what you may fear is a drab personality, to play down promi­nent features, or to conceal damage to the hair, one simple remedy is at hand: changing the color of your hair (hair coloring).

Hair coloring is a cosmetic. Ten years ago, when 1 pointed this out in my first book, it was considered a new idea. Now beauty editors, hairdressers and the general public accept it. Instead of being simply a means of concealing gray hair, as it was once regarded, hair coloring is now used for many purposes by women of all ages.

Some women feel that their natural hair color does not express their true personalities. For them a new, livelier color may not only improve their physical ap­pearance, but their mental outlook. They will feel gayer, more attractive.

For hair that has been damaged, that is faded, dull or limp, adding color is a quick way to make it look healthy and normal. Your hair may have been robbed of its natural color by the pirates that steal the life, luster and natural hue right out of it. Permanent waving can be such a pirate. Other pirates are poor health, in­adequate diet, split ends, overexposure to the sun.

Proportions of face and figure can be improved by the use of hair coloring. Dark hair makes a big face appear smaller. Light hair makes a small face appear larger. Pale streaks—tipping or frosting—applied above the fore­head serve to add length to the face. When applied at the temples, they will make it appear broader, make ;he eves appear farther apart.

Sharp features and hard planes can be toned down by a soft hair color. Pale tones help to conceal wrinkles. A prominent nose or jaw line can be counteracted by draw­ing the viewer's eye upward to a well-designed hairdo in   a brilliant color.

While dyeing, as I indicate, has many uses, it is not appropriate for the very young. / do not think that ex­perimenting with color should begin before sixteen at the earliest.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT HAIR COLORING

Certain facts should be considered before you decide to dye. One is that it takes both time and money. If you go to a reliable salon, this means a steady expense. You will have to go every two weeks or so. Touching it up cannot be postponed, because telltale signs at the roots are unattractive. Besides money, this takes time. You will have to be available to have the coloring done as often as needed, all year 'round.

Many women are able to do the hair coloring at home. If you have the necessary skill and patience to do yours, this is a saving of both money and time.

The color you choose is important. Nature has its own way of blending hair, skin and eye tones. You must take this into account in selecting your new color, es­pecially if you are past your first youth.

A woman with gray or white hair must be careful not to choose too dark a shade. Even though her hair was originally dark, her eyes may have faded and her skin have become sallower than it was earlier. A strong, dark color will be unflattering, showing up lines and making her eyes appear even more faded by contrast. A somewhat lighter, softened version of the original color is usually best for the older woman. Besides, if her hair is coming in more sparsely than it did, her scalp is more likely to show through when a dark shade is   applied.

While you are trying to decide on the color for your­self, seek advice at your local beauty bar. Experienced salespeople and counselors are available at department stores in cities and large towns. In smaller towns the stores often stage special one-week demonstrations, par­ticularly in the spring, when manufacturers' representa­tives are available to help all comers with their hair problems. Watch your local papers, or ask at the leading store when the traveling demonstrators are coming to town.

Your local beautician may be experienced in hair coloring. Before you take the plunge, you might ask her advice on color. It is to her interest as well as yours that you choose the one that will do most for you.

DYES AND TINTS

Dyes and tints are both ways to color the hair. They penetrate the hair shaft and will not wash off.

Each manufacturer has his own formula and method of application. If you plan to dye or tint your own hair, study the manufacturer's instructions while you are still in the store, where the salesclerk can probably answer questions if you have them. When you are satisfied that you understand the directions, always follow them im­plicitly.

BLEACHES

Bleaching is another method of hair coloring. Instead of adding color to the shaft, bleaching removes it.

Properly done, bleaching need not damage the hair. The problems involved, whether you do it yourself or have it done, are being able to control the color and avoid a harsh, brassy, unnatural look, and to prevent overbleaching, which makes hair brittle and porous.

Bleaching can be done at home by those with the required skill. A mixture of ammonia and fresh 20-volume peroxide may be used, or a manufactured bleach, preferably one with an oil base.

RINSES

A rinse is a temporary method of hair coloring that lasts only until the next shampoo. Rinses, which are made in a great range of hues, are generally used to brighten or lighten the natural color. Usually they are poured over the hair thoroughly at the final rinsing.

Among the most popular rinses are henna, which imparts a reddish cast, and those applied on gray or white hair. Some of these are used to avoid the yel­lowish tinge, while others are meant to add a faint bluish or lavender tone.

CARE   AFTER   HAIR   COLORING

Colored hair requires special care. It should be washed with a bland colorless soap or liquid shampoo. A sham­poo that has color in it, such as a greenish tinge, might get into, and affect, the color of your hair.

No heavy lacquers should be applied to it. Some of these have a drying tendency. A hat or scarf should be worn when out in the sun, which has a way of taking color out of the hair.

A cream rinse after each shampoo will be beneficial. It will help make the hair easier to comb through.

Hair that has been strongly bleached should be handled with particular care, even when brushing or combing. This fact must be borne in mind constantly, as such hair mats easily and the temptation to yank on it will be strong.

PRECAUTIONS

When you have decided to do hair coloring, you should realize that certain precautions are necessary.

You should avoid having it permanented and colored on the same day, if possible. If both must be done, have the permanent first. A permanent is apt to affect the color of any hair, natural or dyed. If the hair were dyed first, having the permanent afterwards would alter the shade.

Hair docs not react to coloring in the same way at all times. (In fact, some hair resists coloring entirely.) After you have been having yours dyed successfully for some time, you may be disturbed to find that on the next occasion it turns out differently. Several causes may account for this. Sometimes hair reacts adversely to dyes after exposure to sun, wind, salt water or chlorinated water, lotions, or other chemicals. Some factor of health or physical condition may affect it. Furthermore, when touching up the roots at home, you may on oc­casion find that the solution does not mix satisfactorily with that applied at the beauty shop.

Never have your hair colored when your scalp shows cuts, abrasions, or other irritations. No dependable beauty shop would allow this to be done, in any event.

Whether the hair coloring is performed at home or in a shop, an accurate record of the formula for your color should be kept on file. This assures your having the same shade time after time, with the exceptions out­lined.

TIPPING

The summer sun can do a good deal to enliven your appearance. It causes your skin to take on a healthy glow and brightens your hair with lighter streaks. A similar result can be attained by tipping: picking out tiny strands of hair and bleaching them to a fairer tint in imitation of the sun's streaking. This contrast gives your hair added depth and texture.

To illustrate: When a room is painted entirely in one color—walls, doors and window frames—in the resultant monotone no feature stands out. But painting the doors and windows a different color makes them noticeable immediately.

Tipping has another advantage. After you have done it, you may decide you don't like it. You can then stop doing it at once. Its growing out is not noticeable, as it is with hair that has all been dyed one color. The tipped hair just keeps on growing at the usual rate and can be cut off as it reaches the full length of your hairdo.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….

Who Else Wants My Best Hair Styling Secrets *FREE*? Just enter your first name and valid email - then click the "Click For Hair Styling Tips" button to sign up to my hair styling secrets mini series (All information kept 100% confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time). Name: Email: