Hair Color
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01.18.2024
Is Demi or Semi Permanent Hair Color Damaging?
By: Zara Kenyon & Edward Sweeney
There’s more than just one letter that sets demi-permanent and semi-permanent hair colors apart. In the salon, these two hair color types are more distinctive and different than your clients might realize. So, how do you explain their benefits? Here’s everything you need to know as we answer their top questions – including ‘is semi-permanent hair color damaging?’ (Spoiler alert: with Wella Professionals, it’s not.)
Demi-Permanent Hair Color in Detail
First, let’s quickly cover how permanent hair colors work. They’re usually formulated with ammonia, which helps to open up the hair cuticle, so the pigment can penetrate deep within the hair shaft. It’s this process that makes permanent hues so intense and helps them last longer than any other color. It’s also how certain permanent colors, such as Koleston Perfect and Illumina Color, are able to give your client up to 100% gray coverage. But demi-permanent hair colors work quite differently. They tend to be ammonia-free, yet they feature an alkali ingredient that gently opens just the outer layer of the hair, so color molecules can rush in. Because this coloring process isn’t as intensive, demi-permanent colors don’t last as long as permanent shades. However, they are also gentler to hair, and offer softer regrowth in between color appointments. On average, your client’s demi-permanent shade will last around 24 washes, but it may stay true even longer if they’re working bold shades or starting with a lighter base. A demi-permanent color is the perfect pick for anyone who wants to transform their shade, banish brassy tones, enhance highlights and balayage, or even create a soft root smudge. Put simply, it’s ultra-versatile.
Is Demi-Permanent Hair Color Damaging?
Some demi-permanent hair colors offer low damage, and some, like Shinefinity, give your client zero damage. It all depends on the color product you’re working with. As the No.1 salon color brand in the world*, our products at Wella Professionals harness the latest technology to ensure all formulas are kind to the hair. So your client doesn’t have to compromise to enjoy rich, radiant results they can make their own.
Try These Demi-Permanent Hair Colors:
Color Touch: With a huge color palette, a vibrantly rich finish, and the softest root regrowth around, Color Touch Opens is the demi-permanent to reach for when your client wants distinctive toning that’s kind to locks. It respects the natural highs and lows in their hair by enhancing – not covering. So, whether you use it for a client’s dramatic shade switch-up, transformative toning with intense results on blonde hair, or to personalize their balayage, you’ll get a multi-dimensional finish. Plus, it can even be applied for gray blending, with up to 70% gray coverage when using Color Touch Plus.
Shinefinity: This zero lift, zero damage, demi-permanent glaze offers shine you can feel, available in a range of blonde, brunette, red and even pastel hues. If your client wants sheer, radiant color that corrects, enhances and subtly tones their locks, a Shinefinity Color Glaze is their ultimate pick. The kind-to-hair magic is in the pH-balanced technology, which very gently opens the hair cuticle to let color in, before the pH level drops back down to close the cuticle once more. It’s your partner in shine when your client wants to subtly tint virgin hair, correct unwanted yellow or orange tinges, or tone a pre-lightened base. It’s ultra-quick, too, taking no more than 20 minutes (or less for a softer glow) to develop. In fact, when you try the new high-level flash glaze shades, you’ll get shine and tone in just five minutes.
Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Detail
Unlike demi-permanent hair colors, semi-permanent shades only coat the surface of strands. They don’t open up the outer layer of hair, so no pigment is deposited inside. This means that a semi-permanent color may not last as long as a demi-permanent hue, although it can still offer plenty of staying power, depending on the hair base you’re working with. As a general rule, your client will get around 10-20 washes out of their shade, but if the hair is very light or highly porous, or the color is bold, it could even stay visible for months. Suggest semi-permanent hair colors to clients who want a low-commitment fling with a new shade, or simply hope to enhance or correct their existing hue without the risk of any damage.
Is Semi-Permanent Hair Color Damaging?
No, semi-permanent hair color isn’t damaging. Because it only tints the surface of strands – not the inside – it has no effect on the internal structure and condition of the hair. So, while these shades might not last as long as a demi-permanent or permanent hue, their zero damage finish means you can top them up as often as your client wants.
Try These Semi-Permanent Hair Colors:
Color Fresh: A conditioning color enhancer, packed with a nourishing vitamin complex, Color Fresh is your semi-permanent product of choice for a range of rich naturals. Blondes, brunettes and redheads can all enjoy its multi-dimensional results. No damage and no lift – just low-commitment color that revives and refreshes locks. Plus, you can retail this product to your clients, so they can refresh their professionally recommended shade at home.
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