Most hair is prone to becoming “brassy” or orange/copper when artificial hair colors fade. This is because all oxidative dyes (both permanent, and demi-permanent colors alike) remove or “lift out” some of the natural pigments from the cortex of the hair in the process of depositing artificial color there. This is especially problematic for folks who are trying to blend or cover grey hair to match a natural color.
The root cause of excessive warmth in artificially dyed hair comes from the hair’s underlying pigment or undertone (see illustration). All permanent and demi-permanent hair coloring products on the market that combine an artificial dye with a developer (hydrogen preoxide) utilize a chemical reaction to drive small color molecules under the cuticle of the hair and deep into the cortex (center shaft) of the hair where the dyes swell and “stick” during the “processing” time. The faster the coloring process, the more unstable the dye color results and the more likely the color will change and fade over time. During the oxidative dying process, natural melanin pigments are removed from the hair and replaced with artificial pigments. This increases the hair’s porosity and makes the hair prone to color fading over time - revealing the hair’s warm or “brassy” undertone. The darker the hair the more orange/red the undertone. Fine hair is especially prone to becoming brassy after artificial hair coloring.
For folks who experience a lot of undesirable warmth or “brassiness” from artificial color (but don’t have a lot of white/grey hair), I recommend trying my Artisanal Herbal Hair Color: a natural plant dye that preserves all the natural pigments in your hair, effectively blends grey hair with natural hair colors, strengthens and seals the hair’s cuticle, and preserves the hair’s natural dimension, color variation and reflection. I have created a bespoke range of non-oxidative, herbal hair colors that are designed to stain and seal the cuticle of the hair, providing natural color protection and a permanent color change to silver and white hair.
Herbal hair color is the ultimate way to take care of hair naturally, using the healing and protective properties of nature. The more often it is applied, the healthier the hair becomes. It doesn’t go “brassy” and provides optimum grey blending and conditioning benefits to hair.