What You Should Know About Metallic Dyes
Do you color your hair at home? Have you ever used one of those progressive dyes that changes your hair color gradually to look more natural? I know you have seen the commercials on TV. These dyes are metallic and the colors are produced by a reaction between metallic salts and the sulfur in keratin producing sulfides it then oxidizes and reduces the metal salts. Basically the metallic salts interact with the sulfur in the hair keratin and then turns the protein brown.
This is only a surface color and does not penetrate the cortex, but it builds up on the outer surface over a period of time. I know a lot of older men use these products because they don’t like going to a salon and they don’t like people thinking they are so vain. They get embarrassed easily. The younger generation really do not care. They love changing their hair color.
Professionals do not use these products because they do not work with other oxidized solutions we use in salons.I know a lot of people have found out the hard way by giving themselves home perms on top of metallic dyes. They do not mix. If you color your hair at home and decide to go for a professional perm, your stylist should ask you what brand of color you have been using. If she doesn’t then make sure you tell her because there could be a very bad chemical reaction.
Always read the label and if you do use metallic dyes it is very important to make sure you cleanse your hands thoroughly if you ingest any orally or contaminate food it can be fatal. People using these dyes (copper, lead, silver) have experienced hair loss and breakage, lead poisoning, headaches,and scalp irritations just to name a few.There are also some brands other than the progressives that use metallic salts so be very careful if you are a home colorist.
Judy Andrews is a licensed cosmetologist in York, Pa. She is currently putting together an informative beauty blog called the Beauty Denominator
heres a question….
I’ve just bought a red hair dye to cover my dark brown hair,it has peroxide in it and says do not use if i had used any henna or matallic dyes. However it was only about 5weeks ago i used another red dye by garnier and it only come on as like a reddish tint. I have no clue if it contained any metallic or henna. SO wat would happen if i was to use this hair dye if the last dye did have metallic or henna in it??
Hi Victoria,
It could melt your hair so be very careful.
I have a question about metallic salts. What are the salts called when you read the label? What should I be looking for. I dyed my hair last night and it is bright orange so I am thinking of bleaching(I have bleached 4 times before and loved the outcome). I have read the label over nad over and have no clue what I am looking for as far as ingredients? I don’t want to turn my hair to mush! Please help!
Amy
lead acetate and bismuth citrate should be listed if it has metallic salts added, but when in doubt always call the manufacturer to make sure it would be safe. Also if your water has minerals in it using any home product could produce in unforeseen results.
To determine if hair has been colored by a metallic dye, mix 1 oz. of 20-volume peroxide with 20 drops of 28% ammonia. Submerge 20 strands of hair in the solution and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. If the hair lightens rapidly, the hair contains lead. If there is no reaction after 30 minutes, the hair contains silver or bismuth. If the solution starts to boil and emits a foul odor, the hair contains copper. Hair that has no metallic salts on it should lighten only very slightly.
I had my hair dyed by my friend who works in a salon i dyed it black with red tips my brown hair was starting to show through tips so i went and bought a kit from the store that was for black hair only!!!!!! It was spoused to lighten black hair up to 3 times lighter, I put it on and have long hair so used 2 two bottles the only results i got are brown tips and brown roots the rest of hair is still black what do i do???? please help!! im timpted to go buy more but am afraid of what gona happen
Black hair can not be lightened by any thing but bleach and since you already have a dye on your hair the best thing you can do is let it grow out and have it trimmed as needed till you get rid of it. Please don’t put anything else on your hair and please go have a deep conditioning done. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but right now you really shouldn’t do anything else.
Does dark and lovely (by carson) permenant hair dye have henna in it or metallic dye?
SaQuoa,
I don’t believe it has either, but to be sure please call U.S. Toll Free: 1-800-442-4643 Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm EST or visit softsheen-carson.com if you have any questions.
About 3 weeks ago I dyed my hair intensive red with Color of nature dye….i think thys the name not sure though…but I hated the outcome I want to dye it red with splat dye but it ncluded bleach and say dont dye if hair has been processed with metallic dyes…but I dont kno if the dye I put in before was or not…so im confused….also if this helps the due was a ethnic dye for women of color…please help
I have found that hairdyeremover from walmart… or color oops works with black dye… so is this bad? how so give me specifics?
Hello. I just had my hair dyed and I didn’t really like the outcome.The hairstylist used the color mahogany copper brown. Now I bought Koleston Chestnut to dye my hair again but the label said not to use it if metallic dye has been used. I am confused, please help.
Jewel,
Besides drying out your hair making it look and feel like straw.There should be no problem what so ever so long as the black”color” had none of the metallics in it.
Elle,
As a rule professional salons do not use metallic colors, but you should check to be sure. I don’t believe you should have any problem with the Koleston, but you can always call their hotline to make sure. I would wait a week and do a couple conditioning treatments before trying to correct the color.
Ok about 2 or 3 months ago i used an at home dark brown perm hair dye. I just bought a box of SPLOT it is a dark blood red semi perm but it has, Oxide Developer. Is it safe for me to use it?????
He, two weeks ago I used the Britsh version of ‘Sun-in’ for the first time… I have googled it and apparently sun-in is supposed to have metalic dyes in- but I’ve checked the box and it says it definately does not have any ‘metalic dyes or alcohol’.
The problem is- I hate the colour its gone, so I’ve just bought some ‘Nice’n Easy NON Perminent dye(colour 765 meduim brown) for £4… now should I put this in to help make my hair go back to being a browner colour (more like my natural brown colour I was before I used sun-in? Or will it fry my hair cos I’ve also googles nicen easy and well i have absoultely no idea if they use metalic dyes either??/ :S thelabel for it says ‘don’t use on metalic or henna treated hair’.
So basically now what should i do- use this nice n’ easy stuff now or wait a while????????? Please help!!! Much apprecited Clare x
I advise you to wait till it grows out. There should be a phone number on the box of Nice And Easy call them and ask about their product.
I dyed my hair light brown with L’oreal Superior Preference, 2day, the 21st of April, 2011 and I want to highlight it with an at-home-kit from Revlon called Frost&Glow but it says do not use over metallic dyes, henna, or color restorers…Do u think that will be okay to use if I wash it each day b4 then or should I wait a few weeks, first?
Oops!!! I want to highlight on Saturday, the 23rd….that’s only 2 days later…That’s why I’m wondering!!! lol I have never done the process of both so close 2gether. They are usually separated by 8 weeks!!
I bought L’Oreal’s Violet Soft Black and I was reading the ingredients but it says NOTHING about the dye itself, just the serum and its conditioner…do you happen to know if it uses metallic dyes/chemicals or not? ‘Cause after I dye it I’m grobably going to bleach some of it to put in a different color. Please Help:)
Claire: This reply may be too late for you, but I thought Id reply anyway in case anyone had a similar question.
Nice n’ Easy contains metallic salts. I know this because I went into my local hairdressers to correct a bad home dye job (after having used Nice n’ Easy) and the hair dresser was horrified. He told me never to use Nice n’Easy because it contained metallic salts and almost refused to correct my bad dye job. Thankfully my strand test came out fine, but not everyone will be as lucky.
i dyed my hair with a metallic dye! How do i get rid of it
Does Loreal Majirel Hair color contain metallic dyes in them?
and MATRIX hair dyes are they metallic in composition?
Please help me, I am desperate. I have been home dying my hair for many years. About 9 months ago I decided to try sun-in instead of the usual dye. I used it and didn’t like the colour effects so bought a colour remover and removed all the colour from my hair. Unfortunately it left my hair smelling of bad eggs. Every time I do an exercise class or anything that makes my head sweat it smells of bad eggs again. After reading stuff on here I am really starting to panic that I have poison in my head! Is there anything I can use to neutralise it or remove it?
Thank you.
Hayley,
I have found that with most odors, if you use a cup of water and add 4 tablespoons of baking soda and run it through the hair and let it dry in, odors should disappear with the next shampoo. Follow this application with a leave in conditioner. I have also used one or two capfuls of lavender essential oil to a cup of water to neutralize stubborn odors. This leaves a nice smell in the hair but isn’t always strong enough to rid the hair of smell.