The decision to change your natural hair color to one of the many available shades of red is definitely not for the faint of heart, but the results can be fabulously glamorous and beautiful. Whether you choose a coppery gold, strawberry blonde, deep burgundy, rich auburn, or cherry red, your look can be transformed from mundane to exotic. While tresses both straight and coily look amazing in red, curly red hair certainly does seem to have a unique potential to make a huge impact. Julia Roberts’ hair in Pretty Woman was unforgettable, Merida’s hair in Brave took on a life of its own, and Christina Hendricks’ wavy locks are simply stunning.
If you are considering red for the first time or desire a radical departure for your natural color, enlisting the skills of a hair color expert is prudent. For the most flattering effect, it is critical to find the correct shade of red for your skin and eye color, as the wrong tones can enhance features most of us might prefer to downplay. It is also essential that they consider your natural hair color to be certain the formula selected does not produce unexpected effects when mixed with the natural tones in your hair.
Once you have made the bold move to go red and have found the perfect shade for your unique look, it is time to revel in your new look, right? The initial results can be thrilling, but the brilliant hues often do not last for long. Sadly, the honeymoon period is usually too short, and the revelation that red hair is extremely difficult to maintain comes all too soon. Do not despair, though! Understanding why the molecules that create red hair are more susceptible to fading and knowing what scientists recommend to slow this process down can help you extend the vibrancy of your new red hair between coloring sessions. It truly is worth the effort.
Quick summary of permanent dying process
Most radical hair color changes are best achieved via a permanent coloring process, rather than a temporary one. In this process, ammonia or another base is used to raise the pH of the hair and open the cuticle in order to permit diffusion of the other ingredients into the cortex. A precursor (usually paraphenylene diamine”> is oxidized with peroxide into an activated form that then reacts with a molecule known as a coupler, which is responsible for the final color of the dye. The couplers found most often in red dyes are napthol and amino phenols. The result of this reaction is the formation of a much larger molecule known as a chromophore, which is not only too large to easily diffuse back out of the hair, but is also protonated so that it bonds with the proteins in the cortex.
