Professional permantant color reccomendation for curlies

curliehunnie · 05-28-2012, 01:52 PM

I am looking to find a professional permanent hair line that is found best for curly hair, if there is such a product.

I have been using Aveda for highlights for 8 years thinking it is natural and safer, and recently found it contains ammonia. My issues only started about 1 year ago when I started noticing my hair becoming very frizzy with dramatically reduced slipage, easily knotting in the shower when I tried to comb through my conditioner, and less spiral curl and more of a wave closer to 2B from what used to be more of a 3A.

In response I did some research and started using the CG method. Initially I tried the no-poo method but I felt my was not clean after washing with a co-poo and I felt my hair always looked greasy, so after more research I changed to a low poo method using a shampoo (Giovanni) without sulfates. This was recommended for very thin fine hair which is what mine is.

After a year, I feel my hair is healthier and I am happy with my regimen but I now realize that the most frequently highlighted hair is the only area where I still have knotting and low slipage and over dryness. I am now beginning to consider trying a different approach to permanent hair color. Could my problem be that I do not pre-treatment prior to a color, or is it that the Aveda dye uses ammonia? Should I give up highlights alltogether? Initally I did them for the looks, but now they help to disguise my increasing graying. Do any Curlies who do professional permanent color have any recommendation for a brand of hair color that may be better for curly hair? I have heard about the Robert Craig on the fourm, but I understand that this is a do-it-yourself system.

SusieSuze · 05-31-2012, 10:58 PM

If you are wanting your hair lightened, you must open the cuticle. It's inevitable. Whether you use ammonia or some other chemical that doesn't smell so bad, they all open the cuticle by using a high pH level (base/alkaline). So.. when you see "No Ammonia" on the label, this is intended to make you think you are getting a more gentle product, when really it could be a lot harsher. It just smells nicer and fools you.

I'm sorry I don't know the current information on all the colour lines out there as it's been a number of years since I repped for Goldwell.

I am assuming they are using permanent colour on your hair and not bleach. If it is a bleaching product and you have medium brown hair, you may be able to get great results with permanent colour instead.

I know that at the time I worked for Goldwell, it was really top of the line when it came to how gentle it was on your hair. The testing is done in Germany where many people have finer more delicate hair. Hence, you need to go through more work with Goldwell colours to get it to cover gray or lighten coarser hair. The trade off is that when you use it on fine or medium hair you are really doing minimal damage.

I find what is just as important is to find the right colorist. Someone who really knows their stuff, perhaps is actually a colour technician for a hair colour company. I had a tech that could do highlight foils and only touch up the roots, never exposing that same hair again and again with colour, as most stylists seem to do. I doubt you'd find someone who can do this, as it's an amazing technique and I think most stylists would think it's impossible. I would try getting in touch with a local distributor of hair products and see if they can get you in touch with any colour techs that work for the companies they carry. It's a start, anyway...