Putting tint on your hair

Anne Ruthenburg Fashion
HELLO there folks, I hope you are all doing well this week. Question this week is. . . Dear Madam, I have long natural hair that is just plain looking. I would like to put tint on it. Will it not break my hair and is it a good idea?

Thank you reader for that question. Well done for asking before you make a major change to your beautiful hair. Kinky hair is not as strong as people think it is especially once it has tint or relaxer, so if you have managed to grow it long naturally try and keep it that way. Tinting hair no matter what people say is like relaxing it. You are basically changing the DNA of your hair strands. The only way for the hair to get back to normal is to grow back. So to answer your question, is it okay? It really depends on you and why you are doing it.

You see just like anything if you over use it, it will damage your hair. Even good hair products can stop working effectively on your hair if you over use them. So go ahead and add colour to your hair but here is my thinking. Since it is your first time rather do highlights in your hair. Highlights are much gentler and they do not affect the whole head, only strips of hair here and there. The nice thing with highlights is that it helps you see whether the colour will actually look good on you if it was the whole head. Also highlights in time (months) fade away into your natural hair colour, so no one will know you added colour to your hair, it will look like your hair is naturally like that. Highlights do not damage hair as the product they use is much less acidic than with hair dye/tint. It is best however to have your highlights done by a professional hairdresser only.

Tint/hair dyes are popular and they come in a variety of colours, product house, strengths and costs. Let me tell you, the worst ones to buy are the ones that are cheap. Cheap dyes will eventually damage your hair if you continue to do it constantly. I advise my clients to dye their hair maybe once a year. Unlike Western or Asian hair, kinky hair cannot hold the chemical in dye well. The hair strands are too soft and eventually will become dry or brittle or split and break. If, however, you still want to try hair dye, okay, but use one that comes with after care products. The cheap hair dyes simply come with the dye and nothing else. You need a dye that also comes with a colour or protective shampoo and or a conditioner. If you do not wash the chemical out of your hair fully after the hair has been changed, the hair will break off in the area where the chemical was left. Also if you dye your hair at home and you leave the chemical on too long, when you wash your hair a lot of it will break off.

Problem comes in when you buy a dye that does not have extra care or colour shampoo so that you can see if all the chemical is out. I would say have your tint/dye done by a professional hairdresser and make sure they do a hot oil treatment or some form of after care treatment.

Tints dry the hair badly, so you will need to make sure you invest in some form of hair pomade or serum, or oil, or hair food. But it needs to be something that you can put on the whole head and not just the hairline. It will be important to ensure the ends of your hair are also kept moist with hair oil. Tinted hair always look great, but after about three months you will see the negative side of hair dyes if you do not keep your hair moist.

Tints definitely take to the hair better after hair is relaxed, that is a proven fact. Tints like Henna catch much better on silky strands. Henna is a natural dye used by many Asian, Indian and mixed raced women, and it works beautifully. However it depends on the strand of hair. The straighter the strand; the stronger the colour will take.

So those with not so straight hair tend to put chemical on their hair to soften it or straighten it first before dyeing it. But there are repercussions to that. If you want to also relax your hair, please wait at least three weeks before you do that. Relaxing your hair straight after putting tint is like putting chemical on your hair again after you just finished – that is trouble already there. I am sure you have seen women with tinted hair that is uneven, there are patches everywhere and it is different lengths.

It is because they relaxed their hair and then put dye a few days later, hair cannot take that strain.

Okay so try it dear (highlights), see how it goes, and if you like it then do the whole head, but after many months (six – 12 months). Good luck!

That is it from me this week folks. God Bless!

Anastasia is an ex-beauty queen, photographic model, is a blogger: (annruthenburg.blogspot.com), a motivational speaker and a fashionista. Message her on 0733285730 or email on [email protected].