STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kelly · Hermes

semi-permanent vs permanent hair dye

Elle · Hermes

I'm sorry for the potential health issues cry - I hope they get straightened out soon!

Semi-permanent is alot gentler than permanent haircolor. It's just depositing color onto the hair, so it's not changeing the color like permanent dye does, it's just covering up the color that's there naturally. I've been doing mine with the semi-perm at home stuff (Natural Instincts) for a year or so and really like it, and I'm going from a medium brown to a few shades darker as well. I have thin hair to begin with, and in my experience semi-perm color makes it fuller and more manageable. The farther you go from your natural color the longer it lasts, so I usually get nearly 2 months out of one coloring before it starts to fade noticeably.

I always feel disgusting when I go to the derm - it's always been for acne in the past, and you have to go in sans makeup so they can see it. That's the whole point. But I always feel so ... unkempt? You're not alone in that!

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

Elle wrote:
I always feel disgusting when I go to the derm - it's always been for acne in the past, and you have to go in sans makeup so they can see it. That's the whole point. But I always feel so ... unkempt? You're not alone in that!

Me too! I always feel so gross. I hate going out in public without makeup on, and my derm is so pretty!

I have no ideas on the hair color issue, but it sounds like Elle's got it right. I used to use semi-perm dye in college and mine always faded very quickly, but I used a different brand. Something by L'Oreal, but I don't think they make it any more. It was in a blue box.

I'm sorry for your health problems, Kelly!

Miss Mabel · Kenneth Cole

I am also sorry to hear about your hair! But, hopefully it will get sorted. And I always feel gross at the derm, too. My doc is a dude, but his receptionist has absolutely flawless skin. Flawless. And she's like, 12.

Anyway. Someone who really knows should vet what I say here, since I'm not 100% sure, but ... Leah is definitely correct that dye that is only depositing color is much less harsh on your hair. However, I think some semi- and demi-permanent colors do contain ammonia and/or peroxide or other lifting agents, even if they aren't marketed as containing any lift. All these agents are bad for your hair, but obviously less quantity will be less damaging, so maybe check the package? At the same time, I've been told (not sure if it's true) that color from the drug store is always harsher than professional color.

I have used natural haircolor (Whole Foods has a lot of brands) and found it to be pretty good and I think less harsh. I also have a local beauty supply store that sells Wella "professional" color (I suspect it's a middle ground between drugstore color and Wella's salon color). If you go with that option, you can purchase a developer with less lift, which will be less damaging (and since you're not trying to lift color, it should work fine).

Boots · Gucci

I hate having to go to the derm's appointments too because I have to go straight from work. So I run into the bathroom about 5 minutes before I leave and clean all the makeup off my face then have to go back to my desk and hope that no clients walk in before i can get the hell out of there. Because my skin could be nice and clear all week before my appointment, but the day of, of course that's when the acne will flare up.

I started going gray when I was about 28 (I'm 36 now, well, at least for a couple more weeks) and I've used Herbal Essences to dye my hair for years now. I do it every 8 weeks or so. The trick is to do a deep conditioning once a week. I've found that it really helps. Also, I use a leave in conditioner (Garnier) almost every morning to help protect the hair from heat damage.