December 3, 2025 • 23 mins
Want gorgeous color without the damage spiral? We break down hair dye like real people, not lab manuals—what ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and MEA actually do, why micro-pigments changed the game, and how to keep your cuticle calm while your color looks rich and glossy.
We start with simple color science—how light and pigment create what you see—then move into how permanent color really works inside the hair. You’ll learn the difference between ammonia and ethanolamine, why modern low-alkalizer formulas can feel gentler, and how developer volume controls both lift and risk.
From shade selection to aftercare, this episode is a playbook for safer choices. We cover low-lift approaches like demi-permanent glossing, deeper and warmer tones that look dimensional without bleach, and the protein-moisture-lipid balance that keeps elasticity and shine. Practical tips include keeping developers at 5–10 volume for fragile hair, spacing out highlights, using weekly masks, and leveraging bond builders when it truly counts. By matching the chemistry to your hair’s current condition, you can color smarter, keep your cuticle smoother, and enjoy results that feel like self-care rather than compromise.
If this helped you breathe easier about color, tap follow, share it with a friend who’s nervous about dye, and leave a quick review to help more hair lovers find the show.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
Hey guys, welcome back to the show.
Today we're chatting colorchemistry, but the real human
kind, the super simple kind, sowe can all understand what's
actually inside hair dye, why itworks, and whether we need to
panic or if we just need to pouranother cup of coffee and relax
about it.
So let's pretend we're sittingtogether in the salon break
(03:19):
room.
No science degree, just goodsense, and maybe a little hair
color on our shirts, okay?
You might hear words likeammonia, hydrogen peroxide, even
ethanolamine.
And the big question is, is thisstuff harmful?
Could it make your hair fallout?
And should you be worried?
(03:41):
Let's talk like real people fora minute.
Welcome to All About Hair, wherewe talk to shop, share stories,
and spill the secrets behindgreat hair and a great career.
I'm your host, Denise Keilitz, aformer salon owner, educator,
and a lifelong hair crusader.
Whether you're a new stylistbuilding your book, or just
(04:03):
someone who loves learning aboutall things hair, you're in the
right place.
Okay, so first things first.
Hair color is basically lightplus pigment plus a helper
(04:24):
ingredient that gets it to stickto your hair.
When we talk about light, whatwe actually mean is the fact
that every color we see in theworld comes from light bouncing
off of something.
So hair dye, paint, clothes, allthe color around us, it's
literally just light reflectingback to us in a way our eyes
(04:47):
understand.
That's a really hard concept tograsp.
When light hits a pigment, likein hair dye, that pigment
absorbs some light colors andreflects others.
That reflected color is what weend up seeing.
So if a hair color looks redviolet to us, that means it's
(05:11):
bouncing back the red and violetparts of light and soaking up
the rest.
Now, the hair strand itself.
Your natural hair before anydye.
It gets its color from melanin,which is your body's built-in
(05:32):
pigment system, basically thesame pigment family that colors
your skin and your eyes, too.
You have three types of melaninliving in your hair, all mixed
together in different amounts.
Some people have more dense,darker melanin, that gives brown
to black hair.
(05:53):
Some have more of the warmerpigments, that gives off the
gold and the orange tones, and ateeny tiny amount of the super
strong red melanin shows up inredheads.
Tells you that redheads arereally rare.
Your melanin cells keep addingcolor into your hair until,
(06:13):
well, life happens.
Then melanin production slowsdown and hair gradually turns
gray and eventually white.
So now let's shift into theactual hair dye.
Most traditional permanent salonhair color works the same exact
(06:34):
way it did 50 years ago.
It's usually PPD-based, useshydrogen peroxide, and uses
ammonia to open the door to thehair strand so color can get
inside and permanently changeit.
Permanent color can both lightenand tone the hair in one step.
(06:58):
If you're using 10 volumedeveloper or higher, you guys
have heard me say this over andover again.
And if not, I'm going to let youknow about it right now.
Think about fish scales or apine cone.
Okay?
Your hair strand has basicallyfish scales around it.
(07:20):
That is the cuticle of the hair.
Permanent hair color uses theingredients in that to open
those cuticles up, kind of likean open pine cone.
It makes the permanent hair dyego into the cortex of your hair,
(07:41):
which is the inside of yourhair, and then it shuts down the
cuticle just a little bit.
Okay.
Permanent hair color can do thatusing the hydrogen peroxide and
ammonia.
Okay.
So it lightens and tones thehair in one step.
If you're using 10 volumedeveloper or higher, okay.
(08:03):
And the developer, that isbasically a hydrogen peroxide
mix.
If you have one liter bottle of10 volume developer, only 3% of
it is actually the active oxygenthat powers the hair dye.
The rest is literally water.
So what the developer is doingis giving the dye the energy it
(08:28):
needs to lift your naturalpigment and bond the artificial
hair color inside of your hairstrand.
Hopefully that makes sense toyou.
Now, ethanolamine.
This is where some modernammonia-free lines switch out
(08:50):
the ammonia for a gentleralkalizer like MEA, which comes
from the ethanolamine family.
That family is basically a groupof less intense cuticle openers.
Remember when I was talkingabout the cuticle?
So it's supposed to be a moregentle, and it is, a more gentle
(09:16):
hair color.
A lot of color lines, like theone I use, Euphoric color, uses
the lowest amounts possible ofammonia or the MEA, anywhere
between 0.53 to 0.8%.
This is Euphoric color I'mtalking about.
(09:38):
You'll have to check out thecolors of other lines, ask your
stylists, or if you're astylist, take a look at the
packaging.
Because the dye molecules are sosmall and efficient now, thanks
to something calledmicropigmentation.
This is again in Euphoricolor.
It is known formicropigmentation, meaning the
(09:58):
smallest possible colormolecules.
So what happens is you don'thave to open up the cuticle
quite as far like you used to.
So you're not going to damagethe hair.
Okay?
The size of these micropigmentsmatters because they're small
enough to slip into the hairwithout the hair having to swell
(10:19):
up like a sponge to let them in.
And that's what used to happen.
Tons of ammonia in colors, andso it would blast open that
cuticle, and it was really,really hard to get it shut back
down.
And so that's why you ended upwith frizzy hair long time.
(10:39):
I'm talking about like in the80s.
Um there was a lot of otherthings going on in the 80s that
caused frizzy hair, so it wasn'tjust color, but let's just talk
about color right now.
Um, but the amount of ammoniathat used to be in some of these
colors were just crazy.
So, what's the translation ofthis?
So having the ethanolamine inthe color, they open less, they
(11:06):
stink less, they hurt the strandless, and they give a lot of
shine to the hair.
And because you no longer haveto crank the cuticle wide open
to make color stick, the hairstays in better condition,
especially for our fragile andfine-haired friends.
Now, does ethanolamine or MEAcause hair falling out from the
(11:32):
root?
No, no, there is no solidevidence of root-level hair loss
from ethanolamine or MEAspecifically.
But, and this is key, anythingthat opens a cuticle, even
gently, can contribute tobreakage if the hair was already
hanging on by a prayer, and youknow who you are.
(11:55):
And breakage can absolutelytrick people into believing they
lost hair because shortersnapped pieces make the overall
density look thinner.
So if someone colors weak,damaged, dry strands too often
with a high developer, thestrands might crack mid shaft.
That is not hair falling out,that's hair saying, girl, get
(12:17):
some moisture in my hairstrands.
Okay, so here's the real prosand cons we want to give people
without making it soundterrifying.
If your hair is healthy,ethanolamine-based alkalizers
like MEA are actually the moregentle choice.
They smell better, they feelkinder on the scalp, and they're
(12:40):
a smart option for people whocan't use harsher ammonia
systems.
But if the hair was alreadyporous, dehydrated, or
overcolored, the alkalineingredient can contribute to
dryness, which increasesbreakage, which increases the
illusion of thinning.
(13:01):
So it's less harmful, and moreabout using it cautiously on
fragile hair, keeping liftminimal and stacking
conditioning support.
Okay.
So now let's talk shade choicesfor someone who still wants
color but wants minimal chemicalstress.
If someone really truly doesbelieve coloring stresses their
(13:23):
hair and they want to continue,here's the first thing I would
say.
Slower is safer, softer isshinier.
Hydration is your best friend.
And color that deposits withoutaggressively lifting is gonna
feel the most gentle on yourstrands because hair that's
(13:46):
stressed should stick to colorsthat don't require bleach, don't
require high developer energy,meaning low developers under 10,
and mostly just tint and glossthe strand deeper or warmer.
So you're not lifting any colorout of your strands.
So the colors that you canchoose that are beautiful, like
(14:08):
a chocolate brown, you can getricher color without lifting
anything out of your hair orwithout lightening it.
A copper brown tint, this isreally in right now, warm,
dimensional, and you don't needbleach to do it.
You can choose mahogany or softburgundy browns.
This is really glossy colorwithout aggressive lightening
(14:31):
first.
And what about demi-glossing?
This is also an awesome way tokeep the tone refreshed, super
low stress and lots of shine.
Actually, that's what I use onmy hair.
I use a demi-permanent haircolor.
I recommend that to so manypeople.
If you're not trying to get yourhair lighter, always go with a
(14:55):
demi-permanent hair color.
I learned that from Beth Minardia long, long, long time ago.
You do not have to reach for apermanent hair color if all
you're doing is going the sameshade or darker.
In fact, it is so much healthieron your hair if you just choose
a demi-permanent hair color ifyou're not going lighter.
(15:17):
If you're going lighter, youronly options are either a
permanent hair color on naturalhair or a lightener or bleach.
So what we're saying here ispermanent color is still
oxidative, yes.
But avoid the heavy lift choiceslike bright blondes, high lift
fashion tones, or anythingrequiring a 20 to 40 volume
(15:40):
developer, at least until thehair is stronger.
So, how do you get it stronger?
There's protein masks out there.
If you need recommendations, letme know.
I'll I will I have a bunchactually on my Amazon um page.
I have my links down in my shownotes, but there's a couple of
(16:01):
really good masks on there thatif you use them weekly, if you
have, if you have uh your hair'sbeen kind of traumatized by
color, you really do need to getsome protein and moisture, not
just protein, moisture, um, intoback into your hair.
And this takes a little bit oftime.
So what if you want to keepcoloring your hair, but you
(16:24):
don't want the drama, you don'twant this to happen.
Just go darker and warmer.
That's what I do.
I have gray hair and it covers100%.
Get very dimensional gray umbrown hair, which is what you
want anyway.
It's more believable, it's morenatural looking.
You don't want a one solid colorhair, so demi permanent.
(16:48):
You want to gloss more, you wantto lift your hair color less,
meaning you want to lighten itless.
Um, in my hair, I maybehighlight it once a year and
barely.
I put like six foils in my hair.
So, in case you're wondering.
And you definitely, definitelywant to condition more.
Meaning, weekly masks, if yourhair is really, really stressed,
(17:11):
you might want to do it likeevery third day until your hair
starts feeling better.
Your hair's gonna tell you,okay, because the hair color is
not the thing that's hurtingyou, it's the pressure and lift
that can get dicey on hairthat's already fragile.
If your stylist is puttingsomething on your hair that your
(17:34):
hair can't handle, you will getbreakage.
You will.
I don't care what brand of coloryou're using.
There's all kinds of things outthere that you can put into hair
color to we used to call it ourarsenal, so you could hardly
ever even, you know, hurt thehair.
Um, the bond builders, thingslike that.
(17:54):
Yes, that helps.
I'm not saying uh that doesn't.
That there are things out therethat uh science has found that
is freaking fabulous.
But if your stylist isn't usingbond builders every single time,
and uh probably more than likelythey're not because it costs
money.
And these days everybody'strying to save money any way
(18:16):
they can, uh, or they're gonnacharge you more for it, and
maybe you're saving money.
I don't know, but the bondbuilders they really do help
with the breakage and with thecolor lasting longer.
But if your hair is fragile, youneed to get it in in good
working order before you coloryour hair.
And listen, I'm not here to saythat hair color is scary.
(18:39):
I'm here to say that color ischemistry, yes, but not all
color formulations are createdequal.
And the modern lines that relyon micropigmentation and low MEA
or low ammonia are some of themost gentlest our industry has
ever seen.
(19:00):
So should you be concerned aboutethanolamine in your hair dye?
If you're using a high-qualitysalon color brand that keeps it
low and you're not bleaching,frying, or applying high
developer energy to fragilestrands every week, no, you
shouldn't be concerned.
You don't need to live in fearof it.
(19:22):
You just need to respect whatyour hair is capable of
tolerating and choose color thatsupports your strand, not shocks
it.
Because remember, you canabsolutely keep coloring your
hair.
I just want it to feel likeself-care, not chemical warfare,
okay?
So here's what you should careabout more than any scary
(19:44):
ingredient headlines say thatyou could should care about care
about.
Hair is naturally ascetic,around 4.5 to 5.5 on the pH
scale.
Healthy hair stretches when wetabout 50% without snapping.
Okay, so if you took a strandand out of the shower and you
(20:07):
stretched it, it should stretch.
Hair stretches when it's wet.
Okay, if it snaps right away,there's a problem.
Your hair is mostly protein andmoisture, the lipids provide the
shine.
So you need all three protein,moisture, lipids.
(20:30):
Dye bonds to protein.
Okay, so the hair dye bonds tothe protein.
So if protein gaps exist, thecolor fades uneven.
Isn't that incredible?
So if you don't have enoughprotein in your hair, you need a
(20:51):
protein spray or a protein maskso your hair color doesn't fade
uneven.
If you're a stylist, youactually need to be spraying
some kind of protein conditioneron the hair before you put the
hair color on.
That'll help the color take moreeven.
(21:15):
Okay, so in hair color, thereare larger dye molecules, and
that goes on the outside of thehair strand, and then the small
ones slip inside easy.
Okay.
So a lot of the color brands outthere, they have the larger dye
(21:35):
molecules.
Now, I'm not saying all of them,because um, in today's world,
our science is getting betterand better, and the molecules
are getting smaller and smaller.
But if you're still using an oldbrand, uh you might be doing
more damage than you know.
The developer gives the hair dyethe lift energy.
The higher the volume, the morelift.
(21:57):
When I say lift, I'm sayinglightening.
So if you're using a 40 volume,keep this in mind.
It's gonna, it's going tolighten your hair about four
levels of lift.
That's a lot.
That's a lot of pressure for thefragile strands.
So if your hair is fragile orfine in that matter, stick with
(22:17):
10 volume or lower.
They make five, they make seven,they make ten.
Actually, you can take a 20 andand add, we used to do this.
Um uh what do you call it?
Not not regular tap water, butum, oh shoot, I've lost it.
Um but you can add water to itand make it a less less volume
(22:42):
because basically it's justwater and hydrogen peroxide.
So chemistry, yes.
Harm?
Not if you're using the rightstrength for the hair.
Concern?
Only if we're not checkingstrand health and developer
percentage.
Hair loss from the root becauseof ethanolamine, not proven.
(23:03):
Hair loss from breakage becomesstressed hair.
Couldn't take more cuticleswelling?
Very possible.
So overall, color isn't thething hurting us.
It's the strength, timing, lift,porosity, moisture, and how
often we process it.
That's what really matters.
(23:24):
So to wrap it up in the mosthuman way possible, if your hair
could talk to you, it would say,don't be afraid of the hair
color.
Balance the chemistry, lift lesswhen you can, and hydrate the
heck out of you like it's yourfavorite plant.
Right?
(23:45):
Make sure you're doing a weeklymask, especially if you're
coloring your hair.
It's okay.
It's okay to take care ofyourself.
And for anyone who's listeningwho's ever panicked over a color
ingredient list, do not stress,don't spiral, and don't give up
coloring if you don't want to.
Just shift your shade, okay,soften the lift or use a
(24:08):
demi-permanent, boost yourconditioning, and keep that good
hair energy flowing.
Because at the end of the day,knowledge gives you choices, and
choices give you confidence.
And remember, when you knowbetter, you do better.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
(24:30):
If you loved this episode, hitsubscribe, leave us a review,
and share it with a fellowstylist or hair loving friend.
You want more tips, tools, andbehind the scenes goodness?
Follow me on YouTube or head tomy website at deniseKeilitz.com.
Yes, I know it's hard to spell,so don't worry, the link is in
the show notes.
Until next time, keep learning,keep creating, and keep loving
(24:54):
what you do.
Hey guys, welcome back to the show.
Today we're chatting colorchemistry, but the real human
kind, the super simple kind, sowe can all understand what's
actually inside hair dye, why itworks, and whether we need to
panic or if we just need to pouranother cup of coffee and relax
about it.
So let's pretend we're sittingtogether in the salon break
(03:19):
room.
No science degree, just goodsense, and maybe a little hair
color on our shirts, okay?
You might hear words likeammonia, hydrogen peroxide, even
ethanolamine.
And the big question is, is thisstuff harmful?
Could it make your hair fallout?
And should you be worried?
(03:41):
Let's talk like real people fora minute.
Welcome to All About Hair, wherewe talk to shop, share stories,
and spill the secrets behindgreat hair and a great career.
I'm your host, Denise Keilitz, aformer salon owner, educator,
and a lifelong hair crusader.
Whether you're a new stylistbuilding your book, or just
(04:03):
someone who loves learning aboutall things hair, you're in the
right place.
Okay, so first things first.
Hair color is basically lightplus pigment plus a helper
(04:24):
ingredient that gets it to stickto your hair.
When we talk about light, whatwe actually mean is the fact
that every color we see in theworld comes from light bouncing
off of something.
So hair dye, paint, clothes, allthe color around us, it's
literally just light reflectingback to us in a way our eyes
(04:47):
understand.
That's a really hard concept tograsp.
When light hits a pigment, likein hair dye, that pigment
absorbs some light colors andreflects others.
That reflected color is what weend up seeing.
So if a hair color looks redviolet to us, that means it's
(05:11):
bouncing back the red and violetparts of light and soaking up
the rest.
Now, the hair strand itself.
Your natural hair before anydye.
It gets its color from melanin,which is your body's built-in
(05:32):
pigment system, basically thesame pigment family that colors
your skin and your eyes, too.
You have three types of melaninliving in your hair, all mixed
together in different amounts.
Some people have more dense,darker melanin, that gives brown
to black hair.
(05:53):
Some have more of the warmerpigments, that gives off the
gold and the orange tones, and ateeny tiny amount of the super
strong red melanin shows up inredheads.
Tells you that redheads arereally rare.
Your melanin cells keep addingcolor into your hair until,
(06:13):
well, life happens.
Then melanin production slowsdown and hair gradually turns
gray and eventually white.
So now let's shift into theactual hair dye.
Most traditional permanent salonhair color works the same exact
(06:34):
way it did 50 years ago.
It's usually PPD-based, useshydrogen peroxide, and uses
ammonia to open the door to thehair strand so color can get
inside and permanently changeit.
Permanent color can both lightenand tone the hair in one step.
(06:58):
If you're using 10 volumedeveloper or higher, you guys
have heard me say this over andover again.
And if not, I'm going to let youknow about it right now.
Think about fish scales or apine cone.
Okay?
Your hair strand has basicallyfish scales around it.
(07:20):
That is the cuticle of the hair.
Permanent hair color uses theingredients in that to open
those cuticles up, kind of likean open pine cone.
It makes the permanent hair dyego into the cortex of your hair,
(07:41):
which is the inside of yourhair, and then it shuts down the
cuticle just a little bit.
Okay.
Permanent hair color can do thatusing the hydrogen peroxide and
ammonia.
Okay.
So it lightens and tones thehair in one step.
If you're using 10 volumedeveloper or higher, okay.
(08:03):
And the developer, that isbasically a hydrogen peroxide
mix.
If you have one liter bottle of10 volume developer, only 3% of
it is actually the active oxygenthat powers the hair dye.
The rest is literally water.
So what the developer is doingis giving the dye the energy it
(08:28):
needs to lift your naturalpigment and bond the artificial
hair color inside of your hairstrand.
Hopefully that makes sense toyou.
Now, ethanolamine.
This is where some modernammonia-free lines switch out
(08:50):
the ammonia for a gentleralkalizer like MEA, which comes
from the ethanolamine family.
That family is basically a groupof less intense cuticle openers.
Remember when I was talkingabout the cuticle?
So it's supposed to be a moregentle, and it is, a more gentle
(09:16):
hair color.
A lot of color lines, like theone I use, Euphoric color, uses
the lowest amounts possible ofammonia or the MEA, anywhere
between 0.53 to 0.8%.
This is Euphoric color I'mtalking about.
(09:38):
You'll have to check out thecolors of other lines, ask your
stylists, or if you're astylist, take a look at the
packaging.
Because the dye molecules are sosmall and efficient now, thanks
to something calledmicropigmentation.
This is again in Euphoricolor.
It is known formicropigmentation, meaning the
(09:58):
smallest possible colormolecules.
So what happens is you don'thave to open up the cuticle
quite as far like you used to.
So you're not going to damagethe hair.
Okay?
The size of these micropigmentsmatters because they're small
enough to slip into the hairwithout the hair having to swell
(10:19):
up like a sponge to let them in.
And that's what used to happen.
Tons of ammonia in colors, andso it would blast open that
cuticle, and it was really,really hard to get it shut back
down.
And so that's why you ended upwith frizzy hair long time.
(10:39):
I'm talking about like in the80s.
Um there was a lot of otherthings going on in the 80s that
caused frizzy hair, so it wasn'tjust color, but let's just talk
about color right now.
Um, but the amount of ammoniathat used to be in some of these
colors were just crazy.
So, what's the translation ofthis?
So having the ethanolamine inthe color, they open less, they
(11:06):
stink less, they hurt the strandless, and they give a lot of
shine to the hair.
And because you no longer haveto crank the cuticle wide open
to make color stick, the hairstays in better condition,
especially for our fragile andfine-haired friends.
Now, does ethanolamine or MEAcause hair falling out from the
(11:32):
root?
No, no, there is no solidevidence of root-level hair loss
from ethanolamine or MEAspecifically.
But, and this is key, anythingthat opens a cuticle, even
gently, can contribute tobreakage if the hair was already
hanging on by a prayer, and youknow who you are.
(11:55):
And breakage can absolutelytrick people into believing they
lost hair because shortersnapped pieces make the overall
density look thinner.
So if someone colors weak,damaged, dry strands too often
with a high developer, thestrands might crack mid shaft.
That is not hair falling out,that's hair saying, girl, get
(12:17):
some moisture in my hairstrands.
Okay, so here's the real prosand cons we want to give people
without making it soundterrifying.
If your hair is healthy,ethanolamine-based alkalizers
like MEA are actually the moregentle choice.
They smell better, they feelkinder on the scalp, and they're
(12:40):
a smart option for people whocan't use harsher ammonia
systems.
But if the hair was alreadyporous, dehydrated, or
overcolored, the alkalineingredient can contribute to
dryness, which increasesbreakage, which increases the
illusion of thinning.
(13:01):
So it's less harmful, and moreabout using it cautiously on
fragile hair, keeping liftminimal and stacking
conditioning support.
Okay.
So now let's talk shade choicesfor someone who still wants
color but wants minimal chemicalstress.
If someone really truly doesbelieve coloring stresses their
(13:23):
hair and they want to continue,here's the first thing I would
say.
Slower is safer, softer isshinier.
Hydration is your best friend.
And color that deposits withoutaggressively lifting is gonna
feel the most gentle on yourstrands because hair that's
(13:46):
stressed should stick to colorsthat don't require bleach, don't
require high developer energy,meaning low developers under 10,
and mostly just tint and glossthe strand deeper or warmer.
So you're not lifting any colorout of your strands.
So the colors that you canchoose that are beautiful, like
(14:08):
a chocolate brown, you can getricher color without lifting
anything out of your hair orwithout lightening it.
A copper brown tint, this isreally in right now, warm,
dimensional, and you don't needbleach to do it.
You can choose mahogany or softburgundy browns.
This is really glossy colorwithout aggressive lightening
(14:31):
first.
And what about demi-glossing?
This is also an awesome way tokeep the tone refreshed, super
low stress and lots of shine.
Actually, that's what I use onmy hair.
I use a demi-permanent haircolor.
I recommend that to so manypeople.
If you're not trying to get yourhair lighter, always go with a
(14:55):
demi-permanent hair color.
I learned that from Beth Minardia long, long, long time ago.
You do not have to reach for apermanent hair color if all
you're doing is going the sameshade or darker.
In fact, it is so much healthieron your hair if you just choose
a demi-permanent hair color ifyou're not going lighter.
(15:17):
If you're going lighter, youronly options are either a
permanent hair color on naturalhair or a lightener or bleach.
So what we're saying here ispermanent color is still
oxidative, yes.
But avoid the heavy lift choiceslike bright blondes, high lift
fashion tones, or anythingrequiring a 20 to 40 volume
(15:40):
developer, at least until thehair is stronger.
So, how do you get it stronger?
There's protein masks out there.
If you need recommendations, letme know.
I'll I will I have a bunchactually on my Amazon um page.
I have my links down in my shownotes, but there's a couple of
(16:01):
really good masks on there thatif you use them weekly, if you
have, if you have uh your hair'sbeen kind of traumatized by
color, you really do need to getsome protein and moisture, not
just protein, moisture, um, intoback into your hair.
And this takes a little bit oftime.
So what if you want to keepcoloring your hair, but you
(16:24):
don't want the drama, you don'twant this to happen.
Just go darker and warmer.
That's what I do.
I have gray hair and it covers100%.
Get very dimensional gray umbrown hair, which is what you
want anyway.
It's more believable, it's morenatural looking.
You don't want a one solid colorhair, so demi permanent.
(16:48):
You want to gloss more, you wantto lift your hair color less,
meaning you want to lighten itless.
Um, in my hair, I maybehighlight it once a year and
barely.
I put like six foils in my hair.
So, in case you're wondering.
And you definitely, definitelywant to condition more.
Meaning, weekly masks, if yourhair is really, really stressed,
(17:11):
you might want to do it likeevery third day until your hair
starts feeling better.
Your hair's gonna tell you,okay, because the hair color is
not the thing that's hurtingyou, it's the pressure and lift
that can get dicey on hairthat's already fragile.
If your stylist is puttingsomething on your hair that your
(17:34):
hair can't handle, you will getbreakage.
You will.
I don't care what brand of coloryou're using.
There's all kinds of things outthere that you can put into hair
color to we used to call it ourarsenal, so you could hardly
ever even, you know, hurt thehair.
Um, the bond builders, thingslike that.
(17:54):
Yes, that helps.
I'm not saying uh that doesn't.
That there are things out therethat uh science has found that
is freaking fabulous.
But if your stylist isn't usingbond builders every single time,
and uh probably more than likelythey're not because it costs
money.
And these days everybody'strying to save money any way
(18:16):
they can, uh, or they're gonnacharge you more for it, and
maybe you're saving money.
I don't know, but the bondbuilders they really do help
with the breakage and with thecolor lasting longer.
But if your hair is fragile, youneed to get it in in good
working order before you coloryour hair.
And listen, I'm not here to saythat hair color is scary.
(18:39):
I'm here to say that color ischemistry, yes, but not all
color formulations are createdequal.
And the modern lines that relyon micropigmentation and low MEA
or low ammonia are some of themost gentlest our industry has
ever seen.
(19:00):
So should you be concerned aboutethanolamine in your hair dye?
If you're using a high-qualitysalon color brand that keeps it
low and you're not bleaching,frying, or applying high
developer energy to fragilestrands every week, no, you
shouldn't be concerned.
You don't need to live in fearof it.
(19:22):
You just need to respect whatyour hair is capable of
tolerating and choose color thatsupports your strand, not shocks
it.
Because remember, you canabsolutely keep coloring your
hair.
I just want it to feel likeself-care, not chemical warfare,
okay?
So here's what you should careabout more than any scary
(19:44):
ingredient headlines say thatyou could should care about care
about.
Hair is naturally ascetic,around 4.5 to 5.5 on the pH
scale.
Healthy hair stretches when wetabout 50% without snapping.
Okay, so if you took a strandand out of the shower and you
(20:07):
stretched it, it should stretch.
Hair stretches when it's wet.
Okay, if it snaps right away,there's a problem.
Your hair is mostly protein andmoisture, the lipids provide the
shine.
So you need all three protein,moisture, lipids.
(20:30):
Dye bonds to protein.
Okay, so the hair dye bonds tothe protein.
So if protein gaps exist, thecolor fades uneven.
Isn't that incredible?
So if you don't have enoughprotein in your hair, you need a
(20:51):
protein spray or a protein maskso your hair color doesn't fade
uneven.
If you're a stylist, youactually need to be spraying
some kind of protein conditioneron the hair before you put the
hair color on.
That'll help the color take moreeven.
(21:15):
Okay, so in hair color, thereare larger dye molecules, and
that goes on the outside of thehair strand, and then the small
ones slip inside easy.
Okay.
So a lot of the color brands outthere, they have the larger dye
(21:35):
molecules.
Now, I'm not saying all of them,because um, in today's world,
our science is getting betterand better, and the molecules
are getting smaller and smaller.
But if you're still using an oldbrand, uh you might be doing
more damage than you know.
The developer gives the hair dyethe lift energy.
The higher the volume, the morelift.
(21:57):
When I say lift, I'm sayinglightening.
So if you're using a 40 volume,keep this in mind.
It's gonna, it's going tolighten your hair about four
levels of lift.
That's a lot.
That's a lot of pressure for thefragile strands.
So if your hair is fragile orfine in that matter, stick with
(22:17):
10 volume or lower.
They make five, they make seven,they make ten.
Actually, you can take a 20 andand add, we used to do this.
Um uh what do you call it?
Not not regular tap water, butum, oh shoot, I've lost it.
Um but you can add water to itand make it a less less volume
(22:42):
because basically it's justwater and hydrogen peroxide.
So chemistry, yes.
Harm?
Not if you're using the rightstrength for the hair.
Concern?
Only if we're not checkingstrand health and developer
percentage.
Hair loss from the root becauseof ethanolamine, not proven.
(23:03):
Hair loss from breakage becomesstressed hair.
Couldn't take more cuticleswelling?
Very possible.
So overall, color isn't thething hurting us.
It's the strength, timing, lift,porosity, moisture, and how
often we process it.
That's what really matters.
(23:24):
So to wrap it up in the mosthuman way possible, if your hair
could talk to you, it would say,don't be afraid of the hair
color.
Balance the chemistry, lift lesswhen you can, and hydrate the
heck out of you like it's yourfavorite plant.
Right?
(23:45):
Make sure you're doing a weeklymask, especially if you're
coloring your hair.
It's okay.
It's okay to take care ofyourself.
And for anyone who's listeningwho's ever panicked over a color
ingredient list, do not stress,don't spiral, and don't give up
coloring if you don't want to.
Just shift your shade, okay,soften the lift or use a
(24:08):
demi-permanent, boost yourconditioning, and keep that good
hair energy flowing.
Because at the end of the day,knowledge gives you choices, and
choices give you confidence.
And remember, when you knowbetter, you do better.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
(24:30):
If you loved this episode, hitsubscribe, leave us a review,
and share it with a fellowstylist or hair loving friend.
You want more tips, tools, andbehind the scenes goodness?
Follow me on YouTube or head tomy website at deniseKeilitz.com.
Yes, I know it's hard to spell,so don't worry, the link is in
the show notes.
Until next time, keep learning,keep creating, and keep loving
(24:54):
what you do.
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