Hair and Other Musings

A mahogany brown hair color suits many people because it is a vibrant blend of red and violet tone that has elements of both cool and warm hair color. Even if you have a cooler skin tone and don't normally suit red hair, chances are that you can pull off a mahogany brown color. What is mahogany brown hair? Mahogany shades incorporate rich red tones that are blended with a less dominant violet tone. This gives the shade a similar appearance to mahogany wood, which is itself a deep, rich red color. As mahogany shades contain violet color, they work well with a cool skin tone, as the violet tone helps to soften the warmth that would otherwise completely clash with your complexion. Essentially, mahogany brown hair is a color that can suit people who wouldn't normally be able to successfully pull off red hair. The dye process The dye process for mahogany brown hair depends on whether your hair is already brown or is blonde. A different procedure is required in both cas...

[1] Hair dye is one of the best ways to change your look and create a brand new style. Whether you dye your hair a few times in your lifetime, or you change your color every chance you get, you'll get the best results if you learn how to color hair before applying the dye. Level and tone Your hair color is a combination of two different qualities: level and tone. Understanding these qualities is the secret to coloring hair at home for a salon result. The level is a scale from 1 to 10 which represents how dark the actual color of your hair is. Hair that is a level 1 is black, whilst hair that is a level 10 is nearly white. Tone, on the other hand, describes the actual color that is present. This can be either a cool or warm tonal direction. The different tones include: Ash Pearl Natural Beige Golden Copper Red Mahogany Violet There are also many different combinations that can be made up by blending these tones together; such as honey or caramel c...

[1] A keratin hair treatment is a type of hair straightening treatment that is rather unique in what it can achieve and how it works. These treatments can not only smooth and straighten hair to a completely pin straight result, but also do this without damage, unlike relaxers and other conventional methods of straightening hair. In fact, these products actually repair existing damage and can greatly improve the condition of your hair, leaving it feeling better than it did before using the product. How Do Keratin Treatments Work? Hair is made of a protein called keratin. This protein forms the strong yet elastic structure of your hair and gives it all its natural qualities, including determining whether it looks straight or curly. This natural texture is due to chemical bonds between individual keratin proteins in your hair. Keratin itself, as a protein, is comprised of amino acids. An amino acid called cysteine forms disulfide bonds with other cysteine molecules. The...

[1] Platinum blonde hair is beautiful, although it can often be a difficult color both to achieve and maintain. This is because in order to get a platinum blonde hair color, your hair needs to be lightened quite a bit. In fact, it first needs to reach a very pale yellow shade before it can be properly toned to platinum. What is platinum blonde? Platinum blonde hair is typically a pale silvery blonde color, although warmer variants like beige platinum blonde also exist. In order to achieve this color, your hair must be effectively lightened to close to a level 10, which is the lightest hair color possible. This results in pale yellow hair that is the color of the inside of a banana peel. Of course, this banana color isn't what would be considered platinum yet, and toning is required to neutralize the small amount of remaining warm pigment. A pastel violet toner is used in this last step to correct this warmth and produce a sleek, frosty blonde color. The dye pro...

[1] A new hair color can mean many things. It can be change, a whole new style, or even reflect the movement into a different stage of your life. What is consistent however, is that the choice itself needs to match your features and work within the bounds of what you can realistically achieve. Choosing your new color like this is the best way to not only get a color that looks great on your hair against the other features of your appearance, but is easier to maintain and less prone to mistakes. Matching hair color to features The most important factor in your choice of a new hair color is the appearance of your other features like your skin tone and eye color. A color that isn't matched to these features can create too much contrast. Whilst this contrast can sometimes work in your favor, it is more often harsh and just looks odd. Your skin tone has the biggest effect on your overall appearance, and a new hair color should be matched primarily to this. Warm hair...

[1] Some people dye their hair once every few months. Others seem to change their colour every week; but how often should you dye your hair? To keep your hair in the best condition possible, while also maintaining or changing your colour, you need to look at the type of dye, as well as what your hair has already been through in the past. How often can dye be applied? There are several different types of dyes available which vary in terms of whether the colour washes out over time, and how long this takes if it does. Permanent dye is the most durable and lasting kind of dye, whilst other forms of dye like semi-permanent and demi-permanent dye eventually fade out. Hair dye can also vary in whether it is damaging, and how much damage it causes. Permanent dye is damaging as it requires oxidation to work properly, whilst temporary and semi-permanent dye are non-damaging. The demi-permanent dye process also usually requires oxidation to work, so it too can be mildly da...

[1] Brown hair can be just as diverse as other more vibrant colours like blonde and red. There are many shades of brown hair available and there is always going to be at least one that suits your complexion and other features. There are even bold vibrant fashion shades if you want a colour that is unique and somewhat different to the usual brown colour. The many shades of brown hair Brown hair shades can vary across both tonal families. This means that you can choose from shades that are either cool or warm. Cool shades are better suited to cool features and can include ash and pearl browns, as well as violets and neutral colours. Warm shades, on the other hand, are best suited to a warm skin tone and vary from beige browns, to honey, golden, and copper colours. The different shades available include: Ash brown Natural ash brown (Pearl) Natural brown (Neutral) Beige brown Golden brown Honey brown Copper brown Burgundy Violet and violet brown [2] ...

[1] Hair color developer is a crucial component in hair dye that drives the chemical reaction that takes place during development. It is also the ingredient in hair dye that lightens your hair, and choosing the correct developer to use for your desired results is crucial to getting the color you want. What is developer? Developer is a solution of hydrogen peroxide, water, and other ingredients like conditioning agents. It is the hydrogen peroxide in this solution that creates an oxidative environment when combined with permanent hair dye, allowing the dye to work. This oxidation is necessary for the color to develop, and causes it to gradually change into the intended shade after the dye enters the hair shaft. It's a chemical change that forms bonds in the dye molecules, allowing it to become permanent. Without developer, permanent hair coloring wouldn't be possible. Developer also lightens your natural pigment, causing your hair to become lighter. How much ...

[1] Temporary hair color is one of the different kinds of dye that can be used to change the look of your hair. Unlike permanent dye, these dyes will wash out over time and thus can be used whenever you want a hair color that isn't going to last longer than a few days up to a few weeks. What is temporary hair color? Temporary hair color is any hair dye that is intentionally designed to wash out of your hair over time. As well as fading out, it is also completely non-damaging because it doesn't contain ammonia or peroxide. Unlike permanent dye, which penetrates deep into the inner parts of the hair shaft and works through oxidation, temporary dyes merely stain the hair. It is this stain on the outside of the hair that gives it the dyed colour and shampoo will gradually remove it. Types of temporary hair dyes Temporary dyes can also be divided into two sub-categories: Semi-permanent color Rinse dyes Semi-permanent color is longer lasting than a rinse and...