Strong blonde hair

[jimrhodes]

A friend of mine has naturally blonde hair. Every time that she colours her hair the colour is pushed out after a week or so. She says that her hair is so strong that colours are just rejected. Is this physically possible?

[Miss Zippy]

If your friend is using a semi-permanent hair colour, then it does fade eventually. How quickly this fades can depend on the condition of your hair to start with. For instance, hair that is not in tip-top condition tends to be more porous as the scales of your hair have been 'opened' as a result of damage, so the hair takes colour better and may 'hold' it for longer. Also, if your friend is using a light colour anyway, such as a honey blonde shade, these do not last as long as darker colours (I think it is because the colour molecules used in light hair dyes are smaller than darker colours, so they wash out quicker). If your friend wants a permanent colour change, she may need to bleach her hair first slightly (although she is naturally blonde, this still needs to be done to 'strip' the natural colour) then apply the colour of her choice on top. This is best done by a professional though!

[froggequene]

I actually find that dark colours won't stay on my hair, I have medium brown hair and I have dyed my auburn and dark brown in the past. The darkness doesn't tend to last very long regardless of the type of dye I use, permanent or semi, it fades down until it actually washes out until it's nearer my natural colour. So far this year, I have been auburn (purply red) and very dark brown, they've now melded together so that I'm a very nice shade of chestnut red.

[froggequene]

To put is succinctly, the further you stray from your own hair colour you stray the less likely it is to last so if she fancies a radical change as Miss Zippy says she's best to speak to a pro.