The 3 Ways Hair Loses Color and How You Can Stop It

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You just spent over $100 to get your hair colored at your salon and it looks great!

Unfortunately, the moment you walk out of the shop your hair is inundated with factors that conspire to take that color out of your hair. Things such as washing, combing, blow-drying and sun exposure can all ruin your color. Just how much each of those factors impact your color is known to the cosmetic scientists at Custom Beauty Products. And now, we’ve asked them to let you in on their secrets.

Hair Washing - The Number One Cause of Hair Color Loss

Despite what you’ve been told by tv, radio, magazines, and your stylist, the absolute most damaging thing you can do to your hair color is washing it. The first time you wash your freshly-colored hair, you will lose over 20% of the color! That’s not just a little bit of color. That is a significant amount that is noticeable. In fact, if you took before and after pictures of your haircolor you would see a difference after just one washing. Permanent color? I don’t think so.

Washing removes color because the water makes the hair fibers swell. It’s like putting a sponge in water. Notice how it gets bigger? The same thing happens to your hair. But when the hair is made bigger like this it becomes more porous and the artificial color that was put inside your hair during the coloring process (link) essentially leaks out. Sometimes you can even see the color going down the drain or coming off on your towel during drying. You literally wash the color right out of your hair.

Here’s one of the biggest secrets in the beauty industry. The type of shampoo you use makes almost NO DIFFERENCE on how much color is lost. ALL shampoos will remove color from your hair. This includes baby shampoos, clarifying shampoos and even ones made specifically for colored hair. This is because it’s the water that makes the color loss possible. If you don’t get your hair wet, you won’t lose any color.

How you can stop color loss due to washing

Now, there is a technology that allows you to stop losing so much hair color during the washing process. It is the basis for the Color Capture system. Within this product is a special blend of molecules that actually reduce the amount of water your hair can absorb. When the hair fibers do not absorb as much water, less color can come out.

But this product doesn’t stop there. It also makes more bonds in your hair fibers. These bonds have the added benefit of holding and capturing the color that would otherwise be washed away. No matter what shampoo you use, Color Capture keeps your color in longer. It protects you haircolor investment.

If you’re not protecting your haircolor from the effects of washing then protecting it from the other factors that cause hair color loss are futile. You will never notice any effect from those products. However, with Color Capture you’ll significantly cut down on hair color loss due to washing and other factors become important to stop.

Hair and the Environment - The Number Two Cause of Hair Color Loss

We all know that the sun changes hair color. Just think of how light your hair gets in the summer. Well, the sun has the same effect on your artificial hair color. The UV and Visible light rays react with the color molecule to break them down and make the color lighter. If you aren’t protecting your hair from the sun, then you’re going to lose the hair color too.

And unless you live in a small farming town your hair is going to get a healthy dose of urban air pollution. The ozone, monoxides and oxides will wreck havoc on your beautifully expensive hair color. Unless you treat it with an anti-oxidant, your hair color will be ruined.

That’s why the scientists who created Color Capture included UV blockers and natural anti-oxidants like Sunflower and Blueberry extracts. These all-natural ingredients have been proven to effectively halt the color changes that can occur because of sun exposure.

Your hair style and color loss - The Number Three Cause of Hair Color Loss

Perhaps the least known factor of hair color loss is the styling process. Every time you comb your hair, heat it with a blow dryer, or expose it to a curling iron, you damage the color. The heat actually can react with the color and modify it slightly. But the heat and combing also damages your hair. A little bit of the protective outer layer (called the cuticle) is chipped away with every brush of a brush or movement of the hair. When this protective layer is gone, more and more color will leak out during your next washing. Eventually, your color will look dull and drab and you’ll be longing for the beautiful locks you had the day you left the salon.

Color Capture protects your hair from this damage. It provides a slick surface so your comb glides right through without damaging. It creates a protective barrier that can withstand the damaging effect of blow dryers and curling irons. Your hair color is protected because your hair is protected.

How you can stop hair color loss

Hair color will change over time. But by using a product like Color Capture you can slow the process down. You can keep that color in your hair fibers looking bright and beautiful. Color Capture will not do anything about root outgrowth but nothing can stop that. However, wouldn’t you rather have salon-fresh looking hair color instead of the drab, lifeless hair color you have a week after it’s been colored?

Color Capture lets you keep that color. Let your roots tell you when it’s time to recolor, not your color!

Hair Color Science Series - How Is Your Hair Color Changed?

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Alright, admit it. You’ve gone to the salon or bought a box at the store just to change the color of your hair. It’s not surprising as over 75% of women in the United States report coloring their hair. But did you ever wonder what exactly is going on? How are your lovely brown locks transformed into sassy blonde strands? Read on to find out.

A brief history of hair coloring

Before we talk about how hair color is changed now, it is helpful to know how women have been modifying their hair color for centuries. Ancient Egyptians were known to use indigo leaves, black walnut shells and henna extracts to give their jet black hair reddish or bluish tints. Women in India also used henna to color their hair. Lighter colors were achieved by the ancient Roman women who used acidic plant extracts and sun to bleach their colors. Unfortunately, these natural solutions had limited and inconsistent effects. And it wasn’t until the late 1800s when hydrogen peroxide solutions were introduced that people were actually able to create truly blonde hair.

What makes your hair’s natural color?

You might be surprised to learn that all natural hair colors are the result of only 2 types of hair pigment. That’s right, red heads, blonds, and brunettes are all created by the same 2 pigments. Both of these pigments come from a molecule called melanin and it is produced right inside your hair follicle. Phaeomelanin is responsible for the yellowish-blond to red colors and Eumelanin is responsible for the brown to black shades. What about grey hair? Well, this is what happens when you stop producing these melanin molecules. Grey/white hair is what hair looks like when there is no pigment.

How is hair color changed?

If you’re like most people, you’ve changed the color of your hair at some point in your life. There are really only three ways that hair is colored, bleaching, staining, or a combination of both. Which one you use depends on primarily on factors including your starting hair color, your ending hair color, and how long you want it to last.

Going lighter

We’ve already talked about what gives your hair its natural color. If you have dark hair and want to go lighter then you have to do something to remove the color you’ve already got. This is where bleaching comes in.

Bleach (most commonly hydrogen peroxide) chemically reacts with the hair’s melanin rendering it permanently colorless. How light it gets depends on the strength of the bleach solution and the amount of time it is left on the hair. If you have a really dark color you’ll need to use repeated applications to chemically change all of the melanin. But even if you use the strongest bleach you can find, the hair will maintain a pale yellow tint. This is due to the fact that there is still some melanin that will remain unreacted. To get all of the pigment to react, an alkaline solution is used in addition to the peroxide in order to open up the hair’s cuticles and allow the bleach into the hair shaft.

Note that bleaching is a permanent color change that is not reversible. If you lighten your hair you can only go dark again by coloring it or letting new hair grow out.

Making your hair darker

To make hair darker you’ll need to add color to it. If you are not sure about a new color, you should start with a temporary hair colorant. Temporary or semi-permanent hair colors are stains that deposit color on the outside of the hair shaft. These are the same type of compounds people have been using for centuries. Unfortunately (or fortunately) they wash out after a number of shampooings.

Of course, the lighter your hair the easier it will be to add different hair colors. If you have blonde hair you can go to almost any color from black to red to brown to blue. If you have dark hair changing to a different shade will require a different strategy.

Changing to a different hair color shade

If you want to really change your hair color then you’ll want to have a permanent dye job. No matter what hair color you start with permanent dying is a two-step process. First, your natural hair color is removed through the process of bleaching as described above. Then the hair dye is put on your hair where it chemically reacts to permanently change the color. Typically, both of these processes happen at the same time.

The permanent hair dyes are special chemicals. They start out as tiny molecules (called monomers) that are small enough to penetrate into your hair shafts. Then when they are there, they react with each other to create bigger molecules (called polymers). These polymers are so big that they can not be washed out of your hair. They stay in your hair even through shampooing. At least they are supposed to.

The problem with ‘permanent’ hair color

In an ideal world, permanent hair color would stay permanent. Unfortunately, hair color can be removed and it is, EVERY TIME YOU WASH. Anytime you expose your artificial hair color to water and shampoo you lose more and more hair dye. This is why you are not able to keep the just-from-the-salon look for more than a couple of days.

That’s where Color Capture comes in. When you spray it on, it actually binds the color to your hair. It “captures” the hair color and will not let it get away. In that way it is protected from the color damaging effects of water and shampoo. Your hair color will stay truer longer. Your hair will also feel smoother, have less frizz, and have increased shine. But best of all, you can keep your hair color looking the way you want it to look. Get your bottle of Color Capture from Custom Beauty Products today!

Color Capture - Advanced Hair Color Retention Spray

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Color Capture - Hair Color Retention Spray - 8 FL. OZ (200 mL)

Stop watching your beautiful new hair color go down the drain!

Studies prove that no product is more effective than Color Capture for keeping your hair color where it belongs, in your hair.

Color Capture is a brand new technology designed to stop the 3 main causes of hair color loss : washing, UV exposure and oxidation.

Most of your color loss comes from washing your hair. But now you can stop this color loss with Color Capture and keep that “salon fresh” look longer. Specially formulated with advanced Color Locking Technology scientifically proven to bind color to your hair and keep it there instead of down the drain. Color Capture is also made with Sunflower and Blueberry extracts to prevent other color damaging factors like UV and oxidation damage.

Color Capture is also designed to:

Lock color in the hair
Strengthen hair and prevent damage
Detangle and make any hair type easy to comb
Smooth frizzy hair and noticeably increase shine

Directions: Apply Color Capture spray all over clean wet or dry hair. Comb through with fingers to ensure each strand is treated. and style as usual. Do not rinse. For best color retaining results, apply each time you style your hair.

Ingredients: WATER (AQUA), GLYCERIN, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, PEG-12 DIMETHICONE, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER SEED) EXTRACT, VACCINIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM (BLUEBERRY) FRUIT EXTRACT, BENZOPHENONE-4, DMDM HYDANTOIN, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM)

Cruelty Free Production: Color Capture has never been tested on animals and it never will be.

Color Capture is a new invention by Custom Beauty Products, ltd.