Does dying your hair damage it? The short answer is yes. But with the right care, you can keep your hair healthy through the color process. Read ahead for our tips.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of fresh-from-the-salon colored hair. But coloring your hair comes with a price. The chemical effects of hair dye can wreak havoc on your strands, damaging and making them prone to breakage. How does dying your hair damage it? Hair is made up of an inner cortex of keratin proteins; a cuticle encasing the cortex; and lipids, which help to make the hair shiny and strong. Dying your hair changes the structure of the cuticle, breaking down the proteins and lipids in the hair. So without the right hair care practices, the health and appearance of your freshly colored strands can be short-lived. We’ll get into minimizing damage and maintaining the health of your hair, but first let’s dive a little deeper into what hair dye actually does to your hair.

First up is permanent, and you’re likely wondering, is permanent hair dye damaging? The answer is unfortunately, yes. It’s the most potentially harmful dye. Most permanent hair dyes use a two-step process. First removing the pigments from the hair and then depositing new ones. Permanent hair dye contains ammonia, an alkaline chemical that opens the cuticle and acts as a catalyst with a developer. Peroxide is used as the developer or oxidizing agent, removing pre-existing color and depositing the new one. This process breaks down the chemical bonds in the hair, essentially changing its structure, drying out and weakening strands.

Next up is semi permanent. Semi-permanent hair dye is temporary and washes out gradually with shampoo. So is semi permanent hair dye damaging? People who want to experiment with color without the long-term effects are in luck. Because semi-permanent hair color doesn’t contain ammonia, it’s considered less harmful than permanent dye. Semi-perm dyes deposit pigment onto the outside of the hair shaft. They don't open the cuticle or interact with the cortex the way perm does, although small pigment molecules may slip inside the hair shaft.

Finally, let’s talk about our least favorite hair color option, box dye. Does box dye damage hair? You bet it does. Box dye tends to use more aggressive formulas with higher levels of ammonia. This can do even more damage to your strands. Besides this, box dye is a one-size-fits-all color, and there’s no guarantee you’ll end up with the color you’re really trying to get. Professional colorists go through thousands of hours of training to be able to give you exactly what you want, while keeping your hair as healthy as possible in the process.

Let’s take a closer look at the common chemicals used in hair dyes and how they affect the hair and scalp. Ammonia is used to lift the hair’s cuticle so the dye can enter into the shaft. Ammonia can cause skin irritation, and can make you sick if it enters the bloodstream. Peroxide is the developer or oxidizing agent that removes pre-existing color. Peroxide can dry out strands, making them brittle, and stripping their natural shine. Then there’s PPD or p-phenylenediamine, which is used as a dye in darker shades. PPD is made from coal tar, a petroleum-derived chemical that can cause reactions ranging from mild skin irritation to more severe allergic contact dermatitis.

We can’t definitively answer the question of ‘does coloring your hair damage it?’ without considering your natural hair color. This plays a major role in its susceptibility to dye damage. Your chances of damage are higher the darker your starting color and the lighter you go. Similarly, the thinner or finer your hair, and the more chemically processed it is, the more likely it is to experience damage from hair dye..

A not uncommon question many colorists hear at their color consultations is, does hair dye cause hair loss? The answer to this one isn’t so cut and dry. While hair dye doesn’t directly stop or even slow down hair growth, it can cause hair loss by damaging strands. The color process also requires combing and rubbing, which can also contribute to hair loss because it can loosen color-treated strands. So the more often you color your hair, the greater your potential for shedding. But it’s important to note that any hair loss that occurs as a result of dying your hair isn't permanent. Hair dye can’t reach the hair beneath your scalp so it won’t harm any hair that’s yet to grow.

Taking preventative measures before dying your hair can help limit the damage you’ll incur. A few weeks before you plan to color, start weekly hydrating hair masks and protein treatments, and avoiding heat styling when you can. When you can’t, heat protectants are a must! Only trust a professional colorist to dye your hair and avoid overlap during touch-ups. Does dying your hair damage it if you do these things beforehand? Definitely not as much as without doing them.

So does dying your hair damage it? Unfortunately, yes. But with the right hair care practices you can minimize that damage and maintain the health of your hair. Follow our tips and use only the highest quality hair products on your colored hair. Ready to update your look with a new color or just have questions about your hair? See a colorist at a Davines salon near you.

by Jaclyn LaBadia, featured contributor