Boxed hair dye is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. Even though it’s highly tempting to grab that $8 box on your way out of Walgreens, your momentary impulse buy could have big, expensive consequences if it needs to be re-corrected by a professional. In this article, our Cary hair colorist explains why when it comes to coloring, you’re better off thinking outside of the box.
Box color is unpredictable
Have you ever accidentally spilled a drop of bleach on a pair of black pants—and watched it turn orange? Or accidentally turned a blue towel, pink? There’s an art and a science to how different bleaches and dyes react with different substances, and professional stylists attend cosmetology school for years to learn it. Professional colorists also learn how to match the right coloring choice with your natural shades, and we never need to guess what the box color is going to look like—since we use our products every day on hundreds of clients, we have a pretty good idea what the results will be.
Box color harms hair
Box hair color is formulated so that anyone and everyone can use it, even though human hair comes in a vast variety of textures, colors, and thicknesses. To make their product as homogenous as possible, manufacturers use a maximum amount of pigment, ammonia, PPDs (p- phenylenediamine) and metallic salts in their dyes. This unnecessary overload of ingredients wreak havoc on hair health and increase your likelihood of allergic reactions.
Box color doesn’t last
Ammonia in particular is the worst offender when it comes to hair health. The corrosive nature of ammonia allows it to blast open your hair’s cuticle, allowing the new color particles to penetrate the hair, and irreversibly changing the hair’s pH to an unhealthy level. Once the hair’s cuticle has been blasted open with ammonia, it has difficulty closing back up, meaning you will have major damage and split ends. And, finally, the new color won’t last long; since the hair can’t close up and lock in the color, it will fade fairly quickly.
It’s flat and one-dimensional
Box color contains just one formula, meaning it will give you one boring, flat color. That is, unless you already had a different color or highlights—in that case, you could end up with orange roots or salmon highlights! Most professional hair colorists will use multiple blends of colors and formulas, along with strategic placements, to achieve a look that fits you perfectly. Customization is key to achieving your healthiest, happiest color, and you can’t get that from a box.
Prevent a bad hair day with our Cary hair colorist
Here at Artisan Hair Cary, we’ve done our fair share of color corrections for people who used boxed color and regretted it. Trust us when we say that it’s almost always a better cost investment to color your hair the right way, with a professional, than with a cheap dye and a YouTube tutorial. It might be more expensive, but the color will last longer, look fresher and healthier, and compliment your natural hair color—all of which will give you more confidence! To schedule an appointment with our Cary hair colorist, call Artisan Hair today.
