Knowledge key to successful dye job
Any at-home colouring experience is predicated on having the right product for your hair
A few weeks into the COVID-19 salon closures, stylists were advising clients to step away from the box dye.
But, as closures continued — and those grey hairs continue to pop up amid regrowth — the tone of the conversations shifted.
Admittedly, experts say, it had to.
“The timeline has gone on a little longer than people expected,” Brennen Demelo, a Toronto-based hairstylist and salon owner, said in late April. “Now we’re getting into a situation where it’s four weeks in and people are having grey hair. And they say, ‘I don’t want to leave the house because when I do, I’m going to be really self-conscious about it.’”
As a L’Oréal Paris Canada hair artist and L’Oréal Paris expert, Demelo has become a go-to resource for people curious about tackling their hair colour at home.
“I’m in a position where I empower people with the knowledge to be able to take matters into their own hands. And, right now, everybody is in that situation,” he says.
Assuring people that, “yes, it’s safe to do your hair colour at home,” Demelo says the successful outcome of an at-home hair-dye experience is all about information.
“It has come a long way,” he says of home hair colour products. “The key to making sure that at-home hair colour is safe is knowing what you are trying to achieve.”
Demelo recommends connecting with your go-to hair professional in advance of picking a hair colour product to see what they recommend for your hair type and colour processing.
Some salons and stylists, he says, are even offering to dispense colour to their clients so their at-home colouring process is done using the same colour and formula used on their hair in the salon.
“There is more of relationship between hairdressers and clients with people getting formulas and people getting information,” Demelo says.
If a salon product pickup isn’t an option and, instead, your hair colour solution is best found in a box at the drugstore, Demelo says it’s important to understand what each product does — and how it will work for your hair.
And that begins with reading the product packaging. Carefully.
“Gather as much information before you start,” he stresses. “Don’t just walk into a place, see the colour on the front of the box and be like, ‘Oh, that’s the one.’ That’s what you don’t do. And a lot of people do that.”
Demelo recommends spending some time studying the “guide” on the side of the box that provides realistic projected outcomes for the hue when applied to different hair colours. He suggests spending some time finding the shade that matches the shade of your hair.
If you’re between two shades, Demelo recommends purchasing both colour options and mixing them together at home for a more customized shade.
If you’re looking to do something that’s entirely “risk free,” Demelo recommends opting for hair makeup products, such as root cover-up sprays, that temporarily cover up grey hairs and regrowth and can last until hair is washed.
“This is the safest, no-harmno-foul everyone answer,” he says.
For those with a “few grey hairs,” who are looking for something a bit more permanent than makeup, Demelo recommends a product like L’Oreal Paris Casting Creme Gloss Hair Color, which is a semi-permanent dye that is perfect for “tone-on-tone action.”
In-shower gloss, which is available from stylist-backed brands such as Rita Hazan an Kristin Ess, work to condition, as well as boost colour and shine. The products are offered in colour-matching formulas that can deposit subtle colour, as well as offer some toning for those battling brassiness.
“If you’re trying to cover 100 per cent grey, knowing which product to use will really determine the result,” Demelo says.
Look for a permanent hair colour with “100 per cent grey coverage” listed on the box.
“In this case, just apply where the regrowth is,” Demelo suggests. “Because, you’re not trying to redo your colour, your not trying to rework anything. You’re just touching it up. To me, this is the safest approach to just do maintenance.”
For blondes, Demelo says there is a certain point that he calls “the limit” — a six- to eight-week point where your hair colour has grown out so much that lightening the regrowth can lead to “banding” or discoloration.
“Blondes right now, they’re in a position where they think, ‘Ok, I really need to act’,” Demelo says.
For those who can’t wait for salons to reopen, he recommends picking up a product like Féria Absolute Platinum Extreme Platinum.
“It gives you seven levels of lift with only a 30-volume developer,” he says. “They’ve developed this product to make it safe for you to be able to take these matters into your own hands.”
Balayage highlights and any other advanced colour techniques are still best left to the hair professionals.
While Demelo admits at-home hair colour may still not be the most celebrated solution, at this point, it’s the one that’s possible.
“I really side with the hairdressers,” Demelo says. “I’m a salon owner, I sit in this boat. I understand. … They want to make sure that they’re not creating more work for them when they reopen and their clients come back.
“But, it is really about information and working together to make sure that we’re empowering people to have the right information to take these matters into their own hands, essentially, because they have no other option.”
The key to making sure that at-home hair colour is safe is knowing what you are trying to achieve.” Brennen Demelo, hairstylist