Surroundings

“If you can’t change your surroundings, change your hair color.” (Brittany Murphy)

Some archaeological evidence suggests humans may have used dye on their hair as far back as the Paleolithic Period (a.k.a. the Stone Age, as in millions of years ago). Their preferred source: reddish iron oxide, which they found in the dirt and used to adorn their skin, their abodes—and their hair. Ancient Egyptians were some of the first known people to use hair dye by applying henna to cover gray hair. Natural hair color was also used years later in Ancient Greece and Rome, where people pulled different plant extracts to modify the color of their hair.

The first permanent hair color (jet black) can be credited to Ancient Rome, but it took a few hundred years for Greeks and Romans to introduce more color choices beyond black. During the Roman Empire, prostitutes were required to have blonde hair, and while many wore wigs, some used a plant-based mixture to lighten their natural hair color. Outside of these ancient empires, other civilizations used hair color on the battlefield as a means to show their rank and frighten the enemy. 

 Like many great modern inventions, hair color as we now know it was invented by accident. English professor William Henry Perkin was attempting to come up with a cure for malaria when he instead discovered the first synthesized dye in the color of mauve. Chemistry professor August Wilhelm von Hoffman enhanced Perkin’s discovery by creating para-phenylenediamine (PPD), which is still the base for many permanent hair colors today. In 1907, French chemist Eugene Schueller took PPD and created the first hair color for commercial purposes, dubbing the new product Aureole, which soon became known as L’Oréal.

 It wasn’t until 1973 when Ilon Specht (a 23-year-old copywriter at ad agency McCann Erickson) came up with the phrase “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal‘s new hair color campaign.

As of 2015 an estimated 70 percent of women in the U.S. use hair-coloring products. For the majority of women, hair color is an important part of beauty.  When it comes to covering gray hair effectively, it can be a difficult thing to do when you’re using an at-home hair coloring. Below are steps on how to get gray coverage correct (every single time):

Make it Permanent- If you’re looking for color that lasts, permanent color is the way to go. Unlike demi-permanent, which lasts only 24 washes, the pigment in the permanent variety will penetrate the grays and alter your hair’s actual color. Done right, you’ll love that quality hue until your next application.

 

Guard Your Skin-Keep the dye where it belongs through careful use of petroleum jelly around the edge of the hairline. You want to use enough to protect your hairline and ear tops, but stay away from the hair itself. It’s better to get a little on your scalp than not have enough to cover your roots.

 

Stubborn Areas First-Anyone who’s dyed their hair at home knows that gray hairs can be irritable. Go for the most color-resistant grays first, so that they’ll get the longest processing time. These could be at the temples, the crown, or anywhere your last color application faded more quickly than the rest.

 

Section and Slice-All the pros know that a smaller work area makes for a quicker, more thorough job. Divide your hair into four sections. Then work in ¼” slices within those sections. This way, you’ve got every last strand under total color control.

 

Use Plenty of Pigment-Even coverage and a beautiful outcome depend on one major thing: enough color to penetrate super resistant grays. Fully saturate those roots, and then go back and do a cross check in the opposite direction for any strays. Better to over-apply than to end up with an uneven result.

 

Timing is Crucial-Make sure to let your hair process for the full recommended time as rinsing color too soon can cause uneven color, less-than-full coverage, or even translucent results. After you’ve finished your full application, make sure to set your timer.

 

Check While Processing- Hair color tends to swell and puff up as it processes, which can propel grays up and out of the pigment you just applied. So to make sure sly grays stay covered in color, do a thorough re-check about half-way through processing time and add a bit more to any spot that may have come undone.

 

Make a Plan-In color as in life, consistency is important. You need a color plan that you can set to your personal schedule (whether that’s every 8 weeks, or every other weekend). For the grays that peep out between applications, a root concealer  can help with that (just in case).

“There's a reason why forty, fifty, and sixty don't look the way they used to, and it's not because of feminism, or better living through exercise. It's because of hair dye. In the 1950's only 7 percent of American women dyed their hair; today there are parts of Manhattan and Los Angeles where there are no gray-haired women at all.” (Nora Ephron) [i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “8 Pro Tips for Covering Gray Hair at Home” by eSalon

 

 

·        “A Brief History Lesson All About Hair Color” by Prose

·        “From 1500 BC to 2015 AD: The Extraordinary History of Hair Color” by Deven Hopp 

·        “The Colorful History of Hair Dye” by Susannah Murdock