Here's What Happens When You Put Hair Dye In Your Conditioner
Back in the 1950s, just 7% of women had their hair colored. Compare that to 2015, the percentage of women with colored hair had increased to roughly 75%. Of the total number of women who chose to dye their hair during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, about 80% of them did it themselves. There's just one little concern with doing it yourself, you're likely to make more mistakes than a professional would, per Madison Reed.
With the huge selection of hair dye products available today, all of them in different colors and shades, it's pretty obvious to see why people are keen on asking the right questions so that they know how to avoid ruining their hair while dyeing it. For instance, if the dye stains your skin or touches your forehead during application, how do you get rid of the dye on your skin?
Also, how do you get the actual shade of a color that you want, and how do you prepare your dye for application? Then there are those who put their dye in hair conditioner. But, why is this even necessary at all when dyeing your hair?
Hair reacts to a mixture of hair dye and conditioner
Dyeing your hair can be a little bit tricky, especially when it comes to achieving your desired shade of color. This is more of a concern when dealing with bold and electric colors. So, to avoid excessively sharp colors, adding a small quantity of conditioner into your hair dye will produce a calmer shade, adjusting your hair color in the process, notes Loved by Curls.
Hair dyes are made with three major chemicals, two of which, ammonia and peroxide, directly affect the process of dyeing the hair. The ammonia is responsible for raising the PH of your hair when you apply the dye. That way, your hair cuticle opens up easy and allows the dye in. The peroxide, on the other hand, removes the natural color of your hair and allows the new color to combine easily with the cortex to form your new hair color, according to Hair Queenie. When conditioner is introduced to the hair dye, it stops the ammonia present in the dye from altering the PH of your hair, explained Botox Capilar. As a result, your hair is only able to take in bits of the color, resulting in a lighter, more pastel shade.