The question of the day is, “can I color my hair before Japanese Straightening?“
A lot of people are familiar with Japanese straightening, which is sometimes referred to as thermal reconditioning.
Japanese straightening has been our go-to for those of us with kinky and curly hair.
The best thing about Japanese straightening, aside from the fact that it leaves your hair silky, is that it also allows you to color your hair easily.
And to be honest, what better way is there to slay a newly Japanese straightened hair if not to color it?
Well, the simple answer is no. Don’t get me wrong, you can color your hair, it just can’t be before your thermal reconditioning.
Can I Color My Hair Before Japanese Straightening?
Like I said earlier, you can’t color your hair before Japanese straightening. But if you have colored your hair already, you must wait for the colors to fade.
I know you are wondering why it is such a big deal.
Dyeing your hair before straightening it can result in hair damage. Using dye on your hair would weaken your hair and make it unstable and, in worse cases, vulnerable to damage.
And as we all know, Japanese straightening involves a lot of chemicals and heat. And if applied to an already weakened hair, it would damage the hair.
But there are some exceptions. When we talk about colored hair, we are referring to the whole hair being colored.
So in cases where the coloring is just light tints or highlights, you can still Japanese straighten them. But you can only do so provided the hair has not been damaged in any way.
Note: I would advise you not to do so even with this exception because the results might vary.
How Long Should You Wait Before Straightening Colored Hair?
I know it sounds like a stretch but the best waiting period is six months. Yes, you heard me right, six months.
The efficiency of your thermal straightening operation may benefit from this waiting period, even though it may feel like a long time.
Your hair will not only be stronger, but it would also be healthier for the procedure. It is also best to refrain from using any type of chemical on your hair during this time.
This alone will not only make the Japanese straightening easier, but it would also yield better results.
When Can You Color Your Hair After Japanese Straightening?
You’ve decided to get a Japanese hair straightening treatment because you’re sick of your rebellious hair.
The issue is that you’re unsure of the ideal timing for coloring your hair in Japanese straightening.
When is the right time to dye your hair when Japanese straightening is involved? Can I dye my hair after Japanese straightening?
The standard to wait before doing anything to a Japanese straightened hair is 72 hours.
Most times, people think they can dye their hair after that 72 hours mark. But the truth is that you have to wait for quite a long time before you can color Japanese straightened hair.
It is important to wait for no less than four to six weeks before applying color to Japanese straightened hair.
This would have given the hair enough time to relax and get stronger.
How To Color My Hair After Japanese Straightening
Your hair’s chemical composition is directly impacted by Japanese hair straightening.
Planning is vital to safely execute additional chemical hair treatments and prevent over-processing or damage.
This is why you have to be careful with what type of dye you use or how you dye your hair.
Types Of Dyes And Their Effects On Your Hair
Like we said earlier, planning is crucial to safely execute any treatment on your hair.
This is why we must all be aware of the types of dyes we are allowed to use on Japanese straightened hair.
We must also be aware of how using the wrong one can affect the hair.
Bleaching
Bleaching and highlighting is a process that takes the color out of your hair through an oxidation process.
Permanent Hair Coloring
Permanent hair coloring makes use of hydrogen peroxide-containing colors to give a longer-lasting result. And this color may be a lighter color than your original hair color.
Permanent hair coloring also makes use of the oxidation process to dye the hair.
Semi Permanent Coloring
These types of coloring use dyes rather than oxidation to create an effect.
And this effect gradually fades over roughly six weeks without lightening your color. And this is how it got the name semi-permanent coloring
Oxidation
There’s something these processes have in common: “oxidation”.
Oxidation is a chemical process that aids the dyeing of your hair. Just like Japanese straightening, it also weakens your hair.
This is why one has to be careful when dyeing their hair.
Doing these processes together or shortly spaced can lead to very bad outcomes like extremely dry and not-so-silky hair.
Tip: In worse cases, dyeing hair without proper precautions may lead to hair breakage.
Now that we are all aware of the effect of too much oxidation on our hair, it is best to use a semi-permanent dye.
This is because it is the only dye that does not make use of an oxidation reaction.
Not only that, it does not dye your hair lighter than the original shade, unlike permanent hair coloring.
There are two ways to color Japanese straightened hair: professionally or at home.
Professionally
I would always advise people to go to a professional stylist rather than dyeing their Japanese straightened hair at home.
With all that has been said so far about the hazardous nature of some dyes, it is best to have your hair colored by a professional.
Specifically, one knows a lot about Japanese straightened hair and how a particular dye can affect it.
To determine whether a particular dyeing product is effective for your hair type and condition, a professional stylist will give you a pre-treatment.
At Home
How To Color Your Hair At Home For Japanese Straightening?
Here is the procedure for coloring your hair at home
Step #1: Wash Your Hair Two Days Prior
A lot of people believe that they should not wash their hair before coloring it because it is believed that dirty hair grabs color faster.
Well, they are wrong, you should wash your hair before coloring it. You shouldn’t dye your hair at all if it is dirty.
You should wash your hair before dyeing it but it should be at least a day or two before when you’ll dye it. This is because freshly washed hair has a lighter shade than your original hair.
Not only that, the color will stick better on you if it has natural oil. And you know the best way to get it is by letting your scalp secrete it on its own.
Tip: The oil also protects your scalp and hair from sensitivity.
Step #2: Use Semi-Permanent Dye
Japanese straightening lightens your hair a little. Though the color change might not be obvious, it is still there.
This is why I advise you to use a semi-permanent dye since the other types of dye will damage the hair and also lighten the shade.
You can also consider making use of mild, ammonia-free dye, considering how delicate the hair is.
Step #3: Pick The Right Shade
For those who are using permanent hair dye, it is best to get a color that is within two shades of their natural color.
For those who chose semi-permanent dye, it is best to go for a color that is one shade darker than their hair color.
Step #4: Strand Test
A strand test is really important when dyeing your at home or professionally.
It is to determine if you have any allergic reaction to the product before applying it fully to your hair.
Apply the dye to a section of your hair and see how you react.
Step #5: Separate Hair-Line Section And Apply
Separating the hairline is to prevent staining of the scalp. To separate the hairline, apply vaseline along it.
Apply the dye to your hair in sections to make sure it is evenly distributed and leave for the duration of time written on the dye box.
Tip: First, apply from the root of the hair before combing through the rest of the strands.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve gotten to the end of the article, let’s have a little recap.
The question of the day “Can I color my hair before Japanese straightening?”. Now has a different answer based on all that we’ve said so far.
Though it is not advised, you can decide to dye your hair before Japanese straightening, even if it is a bad idea.
I hope this article has been helpful. Thank you very much for your time and patience.
