THE DYED HARD TRUTH BEHIND THAT BOX OF HAIR COLOR

Millions of Americans color there hair, it is a billion dollar industry that is growing every year. Big name companies like Clairol, Loreal and Garnier make millions upon millions a year on box color alone. It may be convenient or even a little less expensive but using box color is definitely not in your hair's best interest.

The name itself,  box color is pretty self explanatory to most, its hair color you can purchase in a box. These boxes are supposed to be a complete kit for you, the consumer to properly color your hair. Inside the box you will find a bottle or tube of color, a developer which is mixed with the color, a pair of thin cheap gloves, a packet of conditioner and instructions. Taada, you now have all you need to achieve beautiful salon color, right at home for a fraction of the cost. Well not really, but these companies try very hard to have you think that and a lot of consumers do. In fact according to hair color statistics 85% of women in the US color their hair and over 45% of those women use at home box color.

Walk into any drugstore or supermarket and you will see entire sections dedicated to box color with celebrities indorsements. Let's get real, those celebrities you see with their faces on the front of those boxes are not coloring their hair with it. Why should they?, they have stylist who will do a much better job with less damage and much better results.

When you go and purchase a box color from the store that box has no way of knowing anything about your hair. Is your hair course, blonde, damaged or porous, it doesn't know. All box color can do is cater to the masses and because of this you may be using more chemicals than you really need.

 For example, Sally a 42 year old woman colored her hair medium brown 2 months ago to cover those grey hairs (with box color) and it turned out great. Sally then decides she would like her color to be a bit lighter with some red tones. So, Sally goes to the drugstore grabs the color she is wanting and follows the instructions included in the box. After Sally rinses out the color she is horrified to see orange roots and medium brown splotchy ends that feel like straw. What did Sally do wrong? 

Nothing, Sally didn't do anything wrong in fact she followed the instructions exactly as they were written on the box. What happened is that box of color didn't know Sally colored her hair medium brown 2 months before and it didn't know that Sally was going lighter this time around. This happens so often it boggles my mind why anyone would use box color, after all there is a good reason hairstylist go to school for so long to learn about color.

If the unpredictable results are not enough for you to not use box color, maybe the ingredients inside the box is. Box color uses higher levels of developer (which is what activates the color) then what is required most of the time. Developer is a hydrogen peroxide solution that reacts with the sulfur in your hair, the higher the developer the more sulfur is removed.

Our hair is comprised of a durable protein called keratin, which is high in sulfur content. Sulfur is required for proteins (like keratin) to maintain their shape, which contributes directly to the overall health and strength of hair. More exciting is that there are studies indicating that sulfur has positive effects on hair growth.

Ammonia is another ingredient found in box color and although a lot of brands are trying to eliminate the use of it,  you can still find it on the ingredients list. Ammonia not only raises the pH levels in your hair, it also pulls apart layers of the hair’s proteins, so that the dye can access the hair shaft. Ammonia also damages the hair follicles causing your hair to thin overtime. 

Besides the fact ammonia is toxic to your sense of smell, its also very toxic to your health. The major concern I have is that ammonia is a neurotoxin and is highly corrosive and we put it on our skin and hair. 

There's one more ingredient I feel is extremely important to mention and that is metallic salts. Metallic salts are metallic compounds used in most box color that also react with the sulfur in your hair. The most dangerous of these metallic salts are: copper, silver nitrate, silver, bismuth, or lead.

Metallic salts such as these can remain in the hair for 1-2 years after use. This means that if you color your hair again while these salts are present, it may turn your hair green, bright red or some other funky color. Metallic salts do not mix well with other chemicals and the reaction could result in hair chemically smoking/burning and potentially melting off. As an added bonuses: they dry out the hair, damage the follicles, dull the sheen, and make the hair become overall brittle.

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when coloring your hair and it should be done by someone licensed to do so. When you visit the salon your colorist goes through a series of steps to formulate your color. They ask questions (or they should) about previous chemicals used on the hair, they evaluate the condition of the hair and determines the course of action needed to achieve your desired outcome. Every ones hair is different and the formula used on your hair should be as well. It's not as simple as going into a store looking at Eva Longorias red hair color on the box and slapping it on at home. Chances are, the results will not look like it does on the picture.