gymfreak336
New Member
In light of the recent posts regarding feeling restricted with your hair, whether living in protective styling or feeling to paranoid to ever dust off your flat iron, I thought it would be nice to for us all to contribute to the guide of doing “bad†enjoyable things the right way. Color, flat ironing, blow drying, not washing, etc....
After going through my share of dye disasters I know a couple of things about how to actually obtain and maintain healthy color treated hair. Many ladies here have accomplished the same feat; The color queen who got me on my way Tracy, BlackBarbie and Ambitious to name a few. They all prove that you can have healthy color treated hair and still embark on obtaining length as well. So if you want to cross over to the dark or lighter side of the mane world here is your guide to do it with grace.
So you wanna dye it
For starters, with color like most things, what works for some doesn’t work for others. The strength of your hair is the first factor you need to think about. Some will be able to handle colors that require a lot of processing and some won’t but the most important thing to do is to make sure that you start with healthy hair, if not all colors can be a total disaster. Decide if you want highlights or all over color. I have done both and I find that all over color is better when I am not changing my natural shade that much. I like highlights better when I want something that gives me more contrast. Whatever you decide make sure that you can take the commitment. When highlights are done correctly, you won’t have to retouch every other month. Blackbarbie is a pefect example of this. With this in mind make sure that the color of your dreams works with your skin tone. Your warmer or cooler undertones will change the direction of your color choice. Also remember that each shade has it own set of issues, ranging from pre and post care and extent of damage. Red hair usually looks best on women that have red and pink undertones in their skin. Red color has a larger molecular size than most other colors so it fades quickly. Make sure that if you want to go red that you are willing to do the work to keep your shade bright (more on that later). If you are having a case of blond ambition, keep in mind that going blond is more traumatic than any other color. Having a mane of all over light blond and relaxed hair is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY, EXTREMLY, hard thing to do. I would not advise that you try that. If you must go golden, get light highlights. Think about how you style your hair and make sure that your highlights will be placed to accentuate your style. If they don’t you will have to add more to compensate. If they are placed correctly, you won’t need many so you will save yourself from unnecessary damage. Blond hair has a tendency to turn brassy and lighter hair also magnifies imperfections so you have to make sure that you can be diligent to protecting your hair from other damage from heat and physical damage. Going brown has long been considered the boring choice but there are tons of browns to choose from. It also gives you the best of the color worlds because you can always choose browns with golden bases to give you the brighting boost that blond hair can give you as well. The same goes with choosing red, warm based browns. The rule with brunette hair is that in order to avoid looking dull and blah, you need to pick either extreme. Either do a lighter brown or go dark and glossy. Brown hair looks better when it contrasts. Don’t let it blend in with your skin.
Now, you picked your color, your picked your application choice (all over color or highlights) so lets get on to pre and post care to make sure you look fab.
Pre- Care
I am going to assume that you are starting with healthy hair. Before you even think about color you should have already have established some sort of regime including weekly conditioning treatments, healthy styling, daily moisturizing and any chewed looking raggety ends need to be trimmed. If your hair isn’t healthy, take a couple of months to get it right. If you have been following the LHCF commandments for a while you should be fine. 3-5 Weeks before coloring, I like to use a heavy duty protein treatment. Aphogee, Duo-Tex, Emergencee, all of these work well. Then each week till I color I make sure to thoroughly condition after each wash. Make sure you incorporate light protein each week. For example, if you wash twice a week like I do, I might do a full moisturizing treatment one wash, and do a light pre poo with a protein conditioner before the next wash or use something like Elasta QP Breakage control serum for 5 mins and follow with a moisturizing conditioner the next wash. Coloring on top of relaxed hair is a rough process. It will be rough no matter what but if you start with strong hair, you will have a better start. Start strong and finish strong. Make sure that before you color, you don’t have any scalp lesions or abrasions. Also make sure you have been relaxed before you color. If you are due for a touch up go ahead and touch up. Condition, Condition, Condition and color your hair 3 weeks later. For example; If I relax my hair every 8 weeks I would do a heavy duty protein treatment 2 weeks before I relax, relax, and then do twice weekly protein and conditioning treatments for 3 weeks and then color.
Coloring
I usually color my hair myself. This past year I had two dye disasters and they were because I let someone else do it. Not to say that a professional dye job is no good but I will say that you need to thoroughly research the stylist doing it. Ask to see picture of their work before. Go on a consultation and fully explain what you want. They will be able to give you color advice and help suggestions. I recently had one and I learned a lot. You and the stylist need to be on the same page. Make sure that they understand your hair type. Having a consultation will ensure that all of these concerns get addressed. I brought pictures of colors I like and pics of how I style my hair. Ask what products they use, what conditioning will be done afterward, how much maintenance the look will require. If you decide to do it yourself, get a friend to help you. I have used the Softsheen Hi Rez color line and Clairol Textures and Tones with much success. As far as self home highlights I have used African Pride Highlighting kits. Home highlights are tricky. I don’t do them at home any more. The problem is not necessarily that doing them the first time is hard, its that when it come times to touch them up (much much much later), placement is tricky. If not done properly, you will get highlights that are too inconsistent. You will look a streaky mess. Make sure that you have a timer and follow the allotted times on the box. Wear an old shirt and put old towels on your floor. If you have trouble at home, most companies have a 1-800 number you can call for help. Home dye kits have changed a lot and many are much gentler than ones of the past.
Afterwards
Now you have dyed your hair and hopefully you love it!! Now what? Well this is where I have to shout out Tracy. Her advice helped me out tremendously at this point. Color Treated Relaxed hair needs more of just about everything. One of the common mistakes at this point is not realizing this important point.
Your prescription for success
Starting with the shampoo, make sure that you use gentle but effective products. I find that using shampoo for color treated hair work well. Paul Mitchell and Keracare make nice ones. Pick one with a relatively low pH to smooth the cuticle.
Protein is very important. Regular protein treatments are a must. At this point, this is not an option. Find one you like and use it every week. The first time I colored my hair with success; I started to use a light reconstructor every week after my wash and followed it with my regular moisturizer. I also made sure I did heavy duty ones every 6 weeks. You might try again Duo-Tex, aphogee and Essastions hair mender for your heavy duty options. Keraphix, aphogee keratin packs, henna and placenta packs, and aubreys gpb conditioners work well for weekly strengthening. For mositurizing conditioners, use your best ones. You want to really push all the mositure you can into your hair. I like aubrey organics conditioner and ors packets. You can also try conditioner washes to keep hair moisturized. I belive BlackBarbie does this with success. Whenever I am colored, I always make sure I leave my conditioner on for as long as I can. If you usually only do 15 mins or so, see if you can squeeze out 20-25.I also find prepooing with conditioners before washing to be very helpful in making sure that your hair stays moisturized. After washing and conditioning, I like to use leave ins that where made with colored hair in mind. They contain sunscreens which can help protect your new shade from the sun. The sun can and will turn your color brassy and the sun is a killer for red shades. Moisture is a must so everyday, be sure to fully mositurize the entire shaft of your hair.
After going through my share of dye disasters I know a couple of things about how to actually obtain and maintain healthy color treated hair. Many ladies here have accomplished the same feat; The color queen who got me on my way Tracy, BlackBarbie and Ambitious to name a few. They all prove that you can have healthy color treated hair and still embark on obtaining length as well. So if you want to cross over to the dark or lighter side of the mane world here is your guide to do it with grace.
So you wanna dye it
For starters, with color like most things, what works for some doesn’t work for others. The strength of your hair is the first factor you need to think about. Some will be able to handle colors that require a lot of processing and some won’t but the most important thing to do is to make sure that you start with healthy hair, if not all colors can be a total disaster. Decide if you want highlights or all over color. I have done both and I find that all over color is better when I am not changing my natural shade that much. I like highlights better when I want something that gives me more contrast. Whatever you decide make sure that you can take the commitment. When highlights are done correctly, you won’t have to retouch every other month. Blackbarbie is a pefect example of this. With this in mind make sure that the color of your dreams works with your skin tone. Your warmer or cooler undertones will change the direction of your color choice. Also remember that each shade has it own set of issues, ranging from pre and post care and extent of damage. Red hair usually looks best on women that have red and pink undertones in their skin. Red color has a larger molecular size than most other colors so it fades quickly. Make sure that if you want to go red that you are willing to do the work to keep your shade bright (more on that later). If you are having a case of blond ambition, keep in mind that going blond is more traumatic than any other color. Having a mane of all over light blond and relaxed hair is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY, EXTREMLY, hard thing to do. I would not advise that you try that. If you must go golden, get light highlights. Think about how you style your hair and make sure that your highlights will be placed to accentuate your style. If they don’t you will have to add more to compensate. If they are placed correctly, you won’t need many so you will save yourself from unnecessary damage. Blond hair has a tendency to turn brassy and lighter hair also magnifies imperfections so you have to make sure that you can be diligent to protecting your hair from other damage from heat and physical damage. Going brown has long been considered the boring choice but there are tons of browns to choose from. It also gives you the best of the color worlds because you can always choose browns with golden bases to give you the brighting boost that blond hair can give you as well. The same goes with choosing red, warm based browns. The rule with brunette hair is that in order to avoid looking dull and blah, you need to pick either extreme. Either do a lighter brown or go dark and glossy. Brown hair looks better when it contrasts. Don’t let it blend in with your skin.
Now, you picked your color, your picked your application choice (all over color or highlights) so lets get on to pre and post care to make sure you look fab.
Pre- Care
I am going to assume that you are starting with healthy hair. Before you even think about color you should have already have established some sort of regime including weekly conditioning treatments, healthy styling, daily moisturizing and any chewed looking raggety ends need to be trimmed. If your hair isn’t healthy, take a couple of months to get it right. If you have been following the LHCF commandments for a while you should be fine. 3-5 Weeks before coloring, I like to use a heavy duty protein treatment. Aphogee, Duo-Tex, Emergencee, all of these work well. Then each week till I color I make sure to thoroughly condition after each wash. Make sure you incorporate light protein each week. For example, if you wash twice a week like I do, I might do a full moisturizing treatment one wash, and do a light pre poo with a protein conditioner before the next wash or use something like Elasta QP Breakage control serum for 5 mins and follow with a moisturizing conditioner the next wash. Coloring on top of relaxed hair is a rough process. It will be rough no matter what but if you start with strong hair, you will have a better start. Start strong and finish strong. Make sure that before you color, you don’t have any scalp lesions or abrasions. Also make sure you have been relaxed before you color. If you are due for a touch up go ahead and touch up. Condition, Condition, Condition and color your hair 3 weeks later. For example; If I relax my hair every 8 weeks I would do a heavy duty protein treatment 2 weeks before I relax, relax, and then do twice weekly protein and conditioning treatments for 3 weeks and then color.
Coloring
I usually color my hair myself. This past year I had two dye disasters and they were because I let someone else do it. Not to say that a professional dye job is no good but I will say that you need to thoroughly research the stylist doing it. Ask to see picture of their work before. Go on a consultation and fully explain what you want. They will be able to give you color advice and help suggestions. I recently had one and I learned a lot. You and the stylist need to be on the same page. Make sure that they understand your hair type. Having a consultation will ensure that all of these concerns get addressed. I brought pictures of colors I like and pics of how I style my hair. Ask what products they use, what conditioning will be done afterward, how much maintenance the look will require. If you decide to do it yourself, get a friend to help you. I have used the Softsheen Hi Rez color line and Clairol Textures and Tones with much success. As far as self home highlights I have used African Pride Highlighting kits. Home highlights are tricky. I don’t do them at home any more. The problem is not necessarily that doing them the first time is hard, its that when it come times to touch them up (much much much later), placement is tricky. If not done properly, you will get highlights that are too inconsistent. You will look a streaky mess. Make sure that you have a timer and follow the allotted times on the box. Wear an old shirt and put old towels on your floor. If you have trouble at home, most companies have a 1-800 number you can call for help. Home dye kits have changed a lot and many are much gentler than ones of the past.
Afterwards
Now you have dyed your hair and hopefully you love it!! Now what? Well this is where I have to shout out Tracy. Her advice helped me out tremendously at this point. Color Treated Relaxed hair needs more of just about everything. One of the common mistakes at this point is not realizing this important point.
Your prescription for success
Starting with the shampoo, make sure that you use gentle but effective products. I find that using shampoo for color treated hair work well. Paul Mitchell and Keracare make nice ones. Pick one with a relatively low pH to smooth the cuticle.
Protein is very important. Regular protein treatments are a must. At this point, this is not an option. Find one you like and use it every week. The first time I colored my hair with success; I started to use a light reconstructor every week after my wash and followed it with my regular moisturizer. I also made sure I did heavy duty ones every 6 weeks. You might try again Duo-Tex, aphogee and Essastions hair mender for your heavy duty options. Keraphix, aphogee keratin packs, henna and placenta packs, and aubreys gpb conditioners work well for weekly strengthening. For mositurizing conditioners, use your best ones. You want to really push all the mositure you can into your hair. I like aubrey organics conditioner and ors packets. You can also try conditioner washes to keep hair moisturized. I belive BlackBarbie does this with success. Whenever I am colored, I always make sure I leave my conditioner on for as long as I can. If you usually only do 15 mins or so, see if you can squeeze out 20-25.I also find prepooing with conditioners before washing to be very helpful in making sure that your hair stays moisturized. After washing and conditioning, I like to use leave ins that where made with colored hair in mind. They contain sunscreens which can help protect your new shade from the sun. The sun can and will turn your color brassy and the sun is a killer for red shades. Moisture is a must so everyday, be sure to fully mositurize the entire shaft of your hair.
I figured that due to the title of this thread, I should post it all here, rather than start a new one 
) but you can use any smoothing balm. I like the Joico one b/c it has humidity protection...
...I'm not in the mood for another setback. 
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this information. I had streaks before that I didn't take care of. Now I have jet black hair that I want to get rid of. I believe with this information and the upkeep of how I have been taking care of my hair leave me confident enough to go brown.
