Curl Talk: The Best And Brightest Semi-Permanent Hair Color

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One hair trend that we have yet to get bored with is a bright dye job.

Cotton candy pinks, mint greens, purples, yellows or blues are hair colors that have become the norm for everyone, especially celebrities. If you are looking to join the rainbow hair movement, you’ll need to understand just how your curls work with semi-permanent hair dyes.

Your hair shaft contains three important parts. The medulla is the innermost part found in thicker hair types and often missing from fine hair. The next layer is called the cortex, which is made up of keratin. The outer layer is known as the cuticle which is made up of overlapping cells, similar to shingles on a roof, that serve as a protective barrier to the cortex.

Coloring hair has less to do with texture and more to do with porosity. Porosity is the hair’s ability to hold and retain moisture . So not only do the layers of your cuticle have to lift to let color and/or moisture in, they have to close back up to keep it in. A cuticle with a kinky or curly texture is actually more porous and more likely to take color faster. Curls can be more porous, which is good for retaining color, but hair can also be overly porous, where the cuticle’s layers don’t close back tight enough to hold moisture in. This means extremely dry hair (Learn more about your hair’s porosity here).

If you want your colorful hair to be intense you may have to bleach it. This means a chemical process that lightens your hair. But if you want to go with a color less drastic, you won’t need bleach. Regardless of your process, read and follow the directions on all labels of the products you use, skipping no steps. If you can’t do it on your own you can always go to a professional.

Still pondering what hair color you’ll rock this spring? Read on for some brands that will boldly amplify your curls.