Hair Confession: I box-dyed my hair for years

The truth is that boxed dyes make it difficult to nearly impossible to have your hair professionally dyed. Boxed hair dyes are formulated differently from salon dyes because boxed colours have a high ammonia content and may contain harsh metals
or metallic salts. This damages the hair and make it super hard to remove. You get what you pay for when it comes to boxed hair dyes because most manufacturers of box hair colour include the lowest amount of pigment possible, in order to control costs. Salon hair colour considers individual hair quality and the necessary level of pigment to deliver beautiful results. Quality results require a lot of customization, where a box off a shelf simply can’t compete with.

Hair is not a one shade fits all process. Hair professionals usually don’t stick to just one shade when colouring a client’s hair. They use tonal variations to add dimension.

Although, don’t lose all hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to your hair strands. However, not to sugar coat anything it is a lengthy and costly process, but it can be completed with the right amount of patience.

Here’s what will happen when you seek a pro for help:

• Multiple salon visits (over a period of weeks and months to ensure hair isn’t damaged)
• Colourist will select product depending on the hair’s integrity to begin removing the existing colour
• Colourist will strip the unwanted hair colour at every visit
• Treat the hair between every stage to restore hair health

If this idea doesn’t sound too appealing, with spending too much money and time… you can take another route. You can patiently wait and let your hair naturally grow out. Secondly, you can also use a clarifying shampoo treatment. A clarifying shampoo treatment will gradually release the permanent dyes from your hair. Deep condition two to three times a week to keep your hair healthy during this process. After you have waited few months or a year, have your colourist do a strand test for you to see if your hair will react to salon dyes.

This just goes to show you that you should think twice the next time you’re in line at Costco or Shoppers checking out with a box of hair dye. You will be saving short term but in the long run you actually end up spending 3x more than a usual colour cost to correct the damages from a box hair dye.