Does hair dye damage hair follicles? Absolutely not, and it’s because of these 5 reasons

Hair dye doesn’t damage hair follicles, and it’s due to these 5 reasons.

We’ll discuss each of these reasons in depth below.

 

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Were you thinking about dyeing your hair and are afraid that the dye will damage your follicles?

As I told you, there are 5 reasons why hair dye doesn’t damage follicles. Follow me to take a look at each one in detail.

 

REASON 1: Hair dye doesn’t damage your follicles or any other part of your hair

There’s no way for the dye to damage the follicles because it acts on the surface, which is the outer layer of the hair.

In other words, the dye acts between the hair cuticle and the cortex, where the pigments (they color the hair) are located. Therefore, the dye can’t access the follicle.

 

To enter the follicle, hair dye would have to access the hair marrow and thus reach the follicle directly. However, this is completely unlikely, as none of the dye components have such high power.

Therefore,   you can rest assured that no hair dye can ever damage your hair follicles.  

 

REASON 2: Hair dye doesn’t damage the follicles because they’re under the scalp and protected from any aggression

There’s no way for the dye to damage the follicles because they’re located within the second layer of the scalp (the dermis). In turn, it’s covered with a small muscle (the hair erector muscle) and a layer of sebum.

Therefore, the dye acts only on the surface and on the superficial layers of the hair.

 

For these reasons,   the dye has no way to reach the follicles.   This is the main reason why you can rest assured that there’s no way for the dye to damage the follicles.

 

REASON 3: Hair dye doesn’t damage the follicles, though other agents can damage them

Although hair dye doesn’t damage the follicles, it doesn’t mean that they cannot suffer any damage. At this point, special attention should be paid, as a damaged follicle has consequences, such as hair thinning and potential hair loss.

 

Possible reasons for hair follicle damage include:

 

In most cases, the damaged follicles are then infected by staphylococcus bacteria.

People who suffer from scalp or hair follicle problems could see their hair health affected but not the follicle. If you suspect this may be the case, you may want to make an appointment with a dermatologist.

 

REASON 4: Hair dye doesn’t damage the follicles because its process doesn’t reach them

Hair dyeing doesn’t reach the follicles. Dyeing is a physical-chemical process to color the hair fiber. The dyeing process consists of 4 phases:

 

For the dye to fulfill its function, you must mix it with the peroxide.

Peroxide (or hydrogen peroxide) creates an alkaline field that opens the cuticles of the hair fiber. This causes the dye to penetrate into the hair fiber. At this point, natural pigments are exchanged for artificial pigments. Then, the excess is washed out.

Throughout the dyeing process, there’s no chance for any of this to reach the hair follicle. So, breathe: there’s no chance of damaging the follicle with the dye.

 

REASON 5: Hair dye doesn’t damage follicles even when used incorrectly

There are different brands and qualities of hair dye on the market: from professional dyes to very low-quality box dyes. Whether you apply the best or the worst dye, none of them can damage the follicles.

 

For example, let’s imagine the worst-case scenario.

You bought the worst quality box dye and mixed it with a lousy oxidizer. Then, someone advised you to do so or because you saw a tutorial on the Internet, you left the dye in your hair for much longer than the package indicated.

To complete the mess, you applied heat. Then, you washed your hair, and not only did you not get the color you wanted, but now your hair is in terrible condition. That’s not all.

 

To try to fix it, you decided to immediately apply another dye to cover up the mess, so you doubled the damage: the result is extremely dry hair that’s on the verge of breaking off on its own. But there’s more.

As you didn’t succeed in improving your hair, you opt to cut it too short. You have come to unusual mistreatment of your hair.

What do you think happened to the follicles in an extreme case like the one I made up?

 

You should know that after all that damage, your follicles would be safe and ready to produce healthy hair as it grows again.

The first piece of advice is to never do anything crazy with your hair, but if any of this has already happened to you, you can rest assured: as I said, hair dye will never damage your follicles.

 

Beware: your follicles aren’t damaged by hair dye, but your hair is

In this article, I’ve revealed the reasons why hair dye can’t damage your hair follicles.

Always make an appointment with your trusted hairdresser, and ask a thousand questions.

 

We hairdressers have spent hours of study to be able to clarify all your doubts and, if something we don’t know (because we don’t know everything!), don’t hesitate, we will investigate it for you.

Hair is our most precious work tool. Therefore, we’ll always be on the agenda to improve its quality and health. Bring it on!