Your Buying Guide to Semi-Permanent Color Solutions

When you suddenly notice that you are starting to have gray hair, chances are you just want to cover these up so, you won't look old.  Gray hair can happen at any age and there are many who suffer from it at an early age.  What can be done here is to color the hair to a shade that fits you.  And so, we'll be discussing the different types of hair color solutions, what other buyers are saying, what to look out for as well as some of the most popular brands.

Types of Hair Dyes

Temporary Hair Color

Shades of gray and pastels have been lighting up social media feeds recently. These on-trend colors make for a pretty picture, but not everyone is ready to keep such a bold look for the long term. This is where temporary hair color comes into play.

Temporary hair dye coats the outside of the hair shaft. Within a few shampoos, the vibrant, new color will fade and the original shade can show again. This allows the wearer to experience a new hair shade without the long-term commitment.

However, you should know that damaged hair that's dyed with temporary hair color could look stained after a while.

Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

If you're ready to take that temporary look a little further, semi-permanent hair color will do just the trick.

These dyes are generally not formulated with ammonia, so they should not require any development, but can last up to eight washes. Semi-permanent dye can be a great option to cover gray hair if you know you can't get to the salon right away.

Some of the benefits of semi-permanent color can include:

• Help add gloss and shine to dull looking hair
• Great to use when growing out permanent color
• Help provide temporary root touch-ups

Like temporary color, if your hair is thin it could retain semi-permanent color more, meaning you may get more wear between applications. However, this also means the hair could stain for longer than expected.

Permanent Hair Color

If you're looking to stick something out long term, permanent hair dye is probably the right option for you. This dye requires more complex chemical processing and should penetrate your hair across the cortex. This means your color can last for weeks without visible signs of fading.

Permanent hair color can be used to:

• Help lighten, darken, or tone your hair
• Help provide high coverage of gray hair
• Help prevent fading
• Help provide high coverage

Despite its long-lasting benefits, permanent hair color will eventually have to be reapplied due new growth. Depending on your base color and what you'd like to achieve, you may have to gradually color your hair to achieve your desired look. While it would be great to go from dark to platinum in one sitting, slow and steady usually wins the hair color race.

Highlights

Not every look requires all-over color, which is where hair highlights come into play. These are achieved by placing the color on different segments of the hair to help promote depth, tone, and shade.

The chunky-looking highlights of the past are long gone, and now a more dimensional, toned-down look has become a way to help refresh tired locks.

These include:

• Ombre: This style leaves the natural color at the root and gradually fades into a lighter highlighted tone at the bottom of the hair.
• Balayage: This highlighting technique involves painting on the highlights where they will pick up the light, and helps give tired-looking hair a youthful glow.
• Lowlights: Instead of picking strands to lighten, this technique can introduce darker tones to the hair and is perfect for a fall update.
• Textured Highlights: This style will incorporate different shades of highlights to help create a multi-dimensional look.

Most highlights for hair are done with permanent color, but they are much easier to change out than a full-coverage color job.

Root Color

For some people, gray hair can be the bane of their existence. You may not need or want a full color dye, so a root cover up may be the best way to help maintain your natural color.

The great news is that root concealer can range from temporary to permanent, and there are plenty of new options to cover gray hair.

• Sprays are a great way to help quickly cover the appearance of gray roots. If you need a quick solution, these sprays distribute color and can be washed out that night. These are not a great permanent solution, but are amazing for last-minute events and touch-ups.
• Low-ammonia, semi-permanent dye like L'Oreal Root Rescue can last longer than a temporary cover and offers even color in only a 10-minute process.
• Then, there are permanent options to help cover gray hairs for longer periods of time and help keep your color looking fresh.

A temporary root touch-up shouldn't take a long period of time, especially as you will probably need to reapply whenever there is new hair growth.

What Other Buyers Are Saying

There are many hair dyes available whether online or in a brick and mortar store.  So, before you purchase one, be sure to ask your friends or read the reviews that customers have left for the product they have purchased.  Here are some feedback that a popular hair dye, Just for Men, in the UK has from its buyers:

I have purchased this on a quite a few occasions and the product is decent. I only use it for touch ups so seems a bit of a waste to have such a massive amount, you can seal and re use but I find that after about a month the effectiveness diminishes. The comb applicator could do with being a little finer to improve ease of use, but it works fine if you don't rush. This will stain your pillows even after a couple of hair washes so.  Overall a good product and decent color match will continue to purchase.

The color is mild, therefore it does not stand out, which is what I wanted. But it is not really efficient at covering all grey area, especially in my beard. I will buy again and give it another and let the product rest for longer in the hair before washing it away. We shall see. I may edit my review later on.

Just for Men - Autostop - Real black. I have tried this previously and it works really well. The color starts wearing after about 2 weeks of daily shampooing so you will need to reapply at that point. It's is a nice and easy to use. For me, 1 tube is enough for 2 applications. The comb for the applicator is perfect, but plastic glove provided is a bit big and it can easily get messy while applying the product to your hair.  The product works as advertised and Amazon sells it for a nice price. Will be buying again.

What to Look Out for

When buying a hair dye, make sure that you read the ingredients to make sure that you aren't allergic to it.  If you allergic to ammonia, go for natural solutions made up of plant by-products and with no harmful chemicals in it.  Also, do note of the frequency of applying it to your hair as it may cause damage.

Most Popular Brands

Just for Men - is a brand that manufactures hair dye, which is easy to apply with the applicator, only needs 10 minutes to be on your hair before washing it and it makes your crowning glory to be soft and manageable.

L'Oreal - is a popular Paris brand of hair care product line that manufactures hair dye, which can last up to 30 uses and lasts until it's washed out.

Arctic Fox - is a brand of hair dye that manufactures products made from vegan ingredients so, it has not animal by-products.  Also, it doesn't contain chemicals so, it's gentle on your hair.