Greetings Daizies,
It took me about an entire year to finally follow through with dyeing my natural hair. As soon as I would get close to booking an appointment, I would chicken out and get scared that all of the years of hard work would be in vain if my hair got damaged. I temporarily satisfied my craving for color with protective styles until the itch for highlights came again during the spring of this year. The before and after activities are key to a successful transition to a new hair color.
What to Know Before You Dye Your Hair
With any major decision you have to do enough research to the point where you’re comfortable going through with a decision. This can be a two-fold tip though because at one point I had watched so many videos and read horror stories about people dying their hair and it never being the same again that I would close my laptop and swear to never dye my hair at any cost. On the other side it’s all just education. It’s being aware of things that could happen and balancing it with knowledge of how to take care of your hair before and after the process. The more I felt confident with my current hair habits, the closer it led me to booking an appointment.
If your hair is currently damaged or struggling to get by, it’s probably best you do not dye your hair.
The next important thing is finding a professional stylist that’s experienced with natural hair to dye your hair the color you want it. I was ready to make an investment in this style because I needed it to be done correct the FIRST time. Corrections require more dye and more appointments. I rarely go to the salon for anything more than a dye, so my previous stylist that did my first silk press was my first choice for getting my hair colored. I also took the time to read reviews on Style Seat and checked out the work of others as well.
It’s also really fun to scroll through Instagram and Pinterest for hair color inspiration. Send a few photos ahead of your appointment so your stylist knows what you’re aiming for ahead of time.
A few days before my appointment I deep conditioned my hair so that there was tons of moisture within each layer of my hair preparing for the cuticles to be lifted. I was also undergoing heat since I wanted my hair silk pressed as well (might as well go all out). It was my last wash day with my natural hair color so I took some time to bond with it 🙁
The appointment seemed like a routine shampoo and condition until the dye started to be applied. When I first looked at the color I was like omg what have I done. But this was before the color was toned and it was super bright at the time. I thought my hair looked like a tiger!
Thankfully the final result was EXACTLY what I wanted. I went for a balayage style with some highlights and lowlights. It was the perfect color to start the summer! And can we say inches though?
Have I Noticed Any Changes?
Once I reverted my hair from straight to curly, I was a little nervous to see if there would be any changes to my hair porosity, moisture level, or hair type. But overall, I can say that there hasn’t really been any changes with how my hair feels or behaves. The curl consistency and moisture retention have all been the same since dying my hair. Yay for that!
Favorite Products for Color Treated Hair
Prior to dying my hair I went on a search for products specifically geared towards color treated hair. The main type of product stressed highly for those with chemically processed hair is a protein based product. Before dying my hair, I probably remembered to do a protein treatment about one every 3-4 months to be honest. It usually coincided with getting a trim. Now with color treated hair it’s important to get the protein your hair may have lost during the process of bleaching your hair.
My favorite protein based products since dying my hair are:
- Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil masque
- Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 renewal system
Other deep conditoners I enjoy:
- TGIN Honey Miracle mask
- Suave Almond & Shea Butter conditioner
Shampoos pretty much stayed the same but aI like the SM superfruit complex because apart of the 10 key benefits is color protection.
BestHabits for Healthy Natural Hair
The same habits promoted for overall natural hair growth can be applied to when your hair is dyed. Since I didn’t really experience a change in how my hair behaved, my routine didn’t change much. However if you did experience the common effect of drier hair, there are some things you can do to help manage this.
Hot Oil Treatments
Hot oil treatments are great for helping to smooth split ends and add a boost of moisture to your hair. It is an extra step in wash day but the results are worth it once you start doing this consistently.
Hot oil treatments can be accomplished with any carrier oil of your choice. My favorite to use is coconut oil or olive oil. Both are easily found in the grocery stores and are the cheapest options.
- Section hair into fourths and work on each section at a time
- Use a generous amount of oil and apply to each strand of hair
- Take time to massage your scalp with the oil to generate more blood flow *bonus: add in some essential oils for relaxation. Peppermint oil is a great addition to your hot oil treatments because it’s known to help stimulate hair growth*
- The hot oil part of this can come in by warming up your oil and/or using a warm toil or deep conditioning hat once your hair is covered with a plastic bag
- Leave on for about 30-45 minutes and continue on with wash day starting with shampooing.
More Frequent Trims
If you notice your hair getting super tangled and rough at the ends, it may be time to re-evaluate the frequency in which you trim your hair. It doesn’t need to be a huge cut but maybe just dusting the ends once a month could help as you adjust to the changes of your hair.
You can do this by going to a salon for a few times but if it’s more frequent you may want to start learning ways to cut it yourself to save a little bit of coins and time. My favorite easy way of doing this is by purchasing some good sheer scissors and trimming off the tangled part at the ends of twists.
Minimal Heat
You can give your hair a break from heat and opt for heatless styles and protective styling to minimize any sort of damage caused by heat. I typically don’t use heat, besides a blow dryer, every few months when it’s time for a trim. And even then you don’t always need to blow out your hair for a trim.
If you want to stretch your hair, try these options here for heatless stretching options.
Weekly Deep Conditioning
If this isn’t currently in your hair routine, it will definitely benefit your color treated hair. I use this time as a self care pampering time for myself. With some of the products listed above, it sets the tone of my hair for the week and gives my hair the shine it needs, especially making my highlights pop!
As always,
