Even with everything that is currently going on, a few weeks ago I managed to get fixated on the color of my roots. I even went as far as buying a coloring kit, which has been sitting on my bathroom counter for weeks now. Without our ability to make trips to our hair stylists, I am sure I am not the only one who has made this purchase and I am sure some of you have taken the next step and self-colored your hair.
If you decide that you are unable to wait until your stylists is open again, I just want to remind everyone how important it is to really be careful about what products you use to style your hair, especially if when trying to self-style. Unfortunately, many of the products that we use to color and style our hair can negatively affect our hair health. If you are coloring your hair, use products that contain no peroxide and as little ammonia as possible, as both chemicals can be damaging to hair. Improperly coloring or bleaching can dry out the hair or irritate the scalp. Excessive use of these products can be so irritating to the follicle and it can actually lead to hair loss! Using chemicals to straighten or curl can also be very damaging, as it dries out the hair leaving it brittle and prone to breakage. There have also been reports of scalp burns from the chemicals in perms and processing, which can lead to dramatic and sudden hair loss. This is often the result of improper color application or overly aggressive processing.
Our recommendation would be to hold off until you can have your hair treated by a trained professional in order to minimize the risk of damaging your hair. However, if you cannot wait, reach out your stylists for an at home recommendation that is follicle friendly (again we recommend always using ammonia-free or low-ammonia hair dyes and never bleach your hair). As of today, I plan on letting that box of hair coloring sit on my bathroom counter and will wait it out until a trained professional can color my hair.
If you have any questions or concerns about the health of your hair, do not hesitate to reach out.
Posted by Mary Wendel, MD
