Hair Coloring for Men
Over the years, there have been many debates about the styles of men’s hair. Long, short, perms, baldness, the list goes on and on. Should you wear a toupee? Are there products a man should use on his hair? What about hair transplants? There are many questions as well as debates over all of these issues.
The other issue men have is over hair color. The first question is, should men color their hair or not. The next is, what is a reason for coloring their hair that is acceptable. Many men state that covering up gray hair is an acceptable reason to dye their hair. What to use to color men’s hair is a popular question as well.
A lot of men feel that gray hair makes them look old, sometimes older than they are. Mostly, men want to regain the looks of their youth by covering up their gray hair. Then the question most of the men have is, “what should I use?” This is the question that stumps many individuals.
There are many hair color products available that are formulated to color someone’s gray hair. Typically, these products use a metallic dye and work over time when you apply the product on a regular basis. The idea of this is to change from gray to a darker color slowly and make the change less noticeable. These products have been used by millions who swear by them. The products do deliver the results that they state.
However, some considerations should be taken before beginning to use one of these products. First, if you use this type of product you must be careful when you use other types of hair coloring products or have any other chemical treatments done to your hair. The reason is these products will deposit metallic salts into the hair cortex. The salts are a catalyst for breaking down the hydrogen peroxide in other hair color products formulas. The chemicals from the hair color combined with the metallic salts can lead to hair damage and scalp burns.
Additionally, if you use this type of metallic hair color you must take care to not ever get your hair straightened, permed, or a wave treatment that uses an ammonium thioglycolate. The reason is that this chemical combined with the metallic hair dye can cause the hair to literally dissolve.
Common Hair Colors
Recently, manufacturers of hair color have begun manufacturing and marketing hair colors specifically formulated for men. These products are almost identical to the formulas that women have been using for years. The companies have simply changed the names to allow men to save their masculinity.
To determine the type of product that you need, simply determine what you want to achieve by using the product. This will help you choose a product that will meet your needs.
A temporary hair color can be used and will only last until you wash your hair again. This is great for those individuals that want to see what their hair will look like without the gray. This type of hair color does not lighten the hair.
Demi and Semi permanent hair colors will last for around six to twelve shampoos. This is a good choice for a man that wants to cover gray hair or try a darker color, but does not want to permanently commit to it.
Permanent deposit hair color will penetrate the hair and create a permanent change in its color. To get rid of this type of hair color you will have to grow your hair out or get it colored again. If you have already tried a temporary or semi permanent color that you like, you may want to go with a permanent option. You should know that you will have to have the hair recolored about every six weeks and this formula does not lighten the hair.
Permanent lift hair color comes in varying formulas and depends on how much of your natural color needs to be lightened or lifted. If you want your hair a lighter shade, this is the type of hair color to use. You can typically lighten your hair between one to four shades.
Hair lightener can be used to lighten hair further than three or four shades and is a separate product that is available. A man that has medium brown hair and wants blonde hair will have to use this product and then have the desired hair color applied.
Gray Hair Tips
One important fact to remember is that there is gray hair that will resist coloring. If this is the case an additive must be included in the hair color formula for the color to penetrate the cuticle of the gray hair. If you have gray hair that is shiny, it is probably resistant.
Additionally, the color that is chosen to cover your gray hair will depend on the amount of gray hair that you have. For individuals with less than 10% gray, use a color three shades lighter than what you desire. For those with 10 to 30% of their hair that is gray, go with two shades lighter. If you have between 30 and 50% gray hair use a mixture of equal parts one shade and two shades lighter. If you have 50 to 70% gray hair use a level one shade lighter. Equal parts of one level lighter and the color you desire should be used if 70 to 90% of your hair is gray. For those that have more than 90% gray hair, use the color that you desire. This guideline will give you the best results in color for the percentage of gray hair that you wish to cover.
It is important to know that if more than ninety percent of your hair is gray or white, the color that you use may appear brassy or flat. This can be fixed by adding some highlights or lowlights to different areas as needed.
No matter what your reason is for wanting to color your hair, there is no reason to hesitate. Just take your time to make a good choice before you do anything permanent. Or you can look at it from this perspective, after all, I am a guy and if I do not like the color I can always shave my head bald and begin again.
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See also:
Gray hair
Why hair turns gray