Can you apply permanent hair dye to wet hair?

 

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Common sense can sometimes play tricks on us.

Why do I say this?

 

Today, Amelia came to see me. She renews her hair color every forty days.

What does common sense have to do with Amelia’s visit?

 

Don’t be impatient, I’ll tell you.

Two days ago, Amelia had an appointment at the salon for her hair color renewal. However, something came up, and couldn’t make it.

Since Amelia can’t see even a millimeter of her growth, she decided to dye her hair at home.

 

It was the first time Amelia would do it herself.

She bought a box dye but when she got home, she realized that one box of dye wouldn’t be enough.

Amelia’s hair is ten centimeters below her shoulders.

What did she do?

 

She applied common sense.

She said, “If I apply the permanent dye on wet hair, it’ll be enough to cover all my hair.”

 

What Amelia didn’t know at the time is that common sense often doesn’t work in hair matters.

What works, indeed, is experience and knowledge of colorimetry.

 

When she rinsed the dye out, she noticed in horror that  the color was completely uneven. 

She washed her hair again because she thought she had rinsed it wrong and discovered that all the dye had gone down the drain.

 

And then, she applied common sense again, and it worked.

Her common sense told her to go to the salon to fix the problem.

That day, Amelia learned one very important thing about coloring.

Can you imagine what it is?

 

Permanent hair dyes are always applied to dry hair

It’s because of their composition.

Let’s see.

 

Permanent hair dye contains a chemical called ammonia, and it’s applied with a developer, which is also a chemical.

These chemicals open the hair cuticles and fix the color.

 

When your hair is wet, it’s full of water molecules.

 

Therefore, the chemical reaction generated during coloring will lose strength. It means that it’ll fail to change the color of your hair.

What will happen then?

 

Something similar to what happened to Amelia.

You may not even notice a difference.

 

Have you ever had lemonade on a hot summer afternoon?

Lemonade always has three or four ice cubes. If you don’t drink the whole glass of lemonade when it’s ready, you don’t see the ice cubes because they quickly melt.

Then, the flavor of the lemonade is completely diluted. It’s more water than lemon.

 

Something similar happens when you apply hair dye to wet hair.

There’s one more thing to remember.

 

Wet hair absorbs any product easier than dry hair.

 But just as it absorbs it quickly, it quickly removes it too. 

 

So, by the time you rinse out the dye, you’ll pretty much lose all the pigments.

Now you know that your hair must be completely dry before applying permanent hair dye.

But while we’re on the subject of hair dye application, there’s something else you should know.

 

You shouldn’t wash your hair 48 hours before applying the permanent hair dye.

Permanent hair dye contains chemicals that dehydrate your hair.

 When your hair loses moisture, it becomes weaker and drier. 

 

How can you protect it from hair dye chemicals?

Actually, you don’t have to do anything. The human body is wonderful and will create its own defenses.

How?

 

Your scalp will expel natural oils to moisturize your hair and protect it from the dye chemicals.

That’s why you shouldn’t wash your hair 48 hours before coloring.

 If you do, you’ll remove the scalp oil, and your hair will be exposed to drying.  

 

Every colorist in the world recommends not to apply hair dye on clean to freshly washed hair.

If you color your hair unwashed for 48 hours and dry, the dye will have the intensity and shine you desire.

 

Conclusions

Permanent hair dyes are applied to dry hair, and shouldn’t be washed for at least 48 hours before the coloring process.

Otherwise, if you apply the permanent dye on wet hair, the color will definitely not set properly.