Developer <> Hydrogen Peroxide It Speaks Volume's

Hydrogen Peroxide / Developers

{Let me bring the concepts down … to the planet, a lot of this may seem unnecessary and strange sounding but everything needs to be taught and understood for those of you wanting to professional hair color at home front. All of the info talked about, needs to be said ...so I can refer to it as I head deeper into teaching hair coloring at home, be patient. If you want to learn information that would cost a tremendous amount of $$ plus years of experience, just read and re-read every post. I am teaching all our secrets - I don’t know a soul that would do that.}

Getting down to the nitty-gritty > to make a batch of haircolor to put on hair, this is the picture: You have a bowl…a tint brush …on one side of the bowl is some color ….squeezed out of a tube…on the other side of the bowl…..Is the “white stuff”…..which has no smell until the 2 substances are combined…then POW- mix the 2 things together and it explodes in aroma and changes hair color .

That white stuff is the Developer …or Hydrogen Peroxide. I snicker when I hear that some new hair color is great & wonderful because it doesn’t use peroxide. To me….as a chemist….as a Colorist…the last thing on the planet I would want would be a hair color that does NOT have hydrogen peroxide in it ! Which of course depends on what you want to do ( lighten or darken).

A developer is an oxidizing agent that, when mixed with an oxidative hair color, supplies the necessary oxygen gas to develop color molecules and create a change in hair color. Developers, also called oxidizing agents or catalysts, having a pH between 2.5 and 4.5 . Although there are a number of developers on the market, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the one most commonly used in hair color.

VOLUME is the measure of the potential oxidation of varying strengths of hydrogen peroxide. The lower the volume, the less lift is achieved; the higher the volume, the greater the lifting action. The majority of permanent hair color products use 10 ,20,30,40 Volume hydrogen peroxide for proper color development.

TYPES OF HAIRCOLOR - 4

1} Temporary Hair Color
Temporary color is what many of you use at Halloween, it can be sprayed in and shampooed out. The pigment molecules in temporary color are large and therefore don't penetrate the cuticle layer, allowing only a 'coating action' ... that may be removed by shampooing
This type of hair color only makes a physical change not a chemical change in the hair shaft.
Temporary haircolors are available in a variety of colors & products, such as:

• color rinses applied weekly to add color
• colored mousses & gels used for slight color/dramatic effects
• hair mascara
• special effects
• color-enhancing shampoos/conditioners : the red/brunette/blond boosters so prevalent right now

2} Semi Permanent Hair color
Semi - Perm is color formulated to last through several shampoos, depending on the hairs porosity. The pigment molecules are small enough to partially penetrate the hair shaft and stain the cuticle layer, but they are also small enough to diffuse out of the hair during shampooing and thus fade with each shampoo. It lasts only 6 - 8 shampoos. It cannot lighten hair, so the change is minor and it does not require the maintenance of "new growth". It is formulated without AMMONIA and is generally as gentle to the hair as shampoo.
Many Semi-Perm colors can be used straight out of the bottle, some require an activator - which bothers me as I feel it should stay on the side of Semi-Perm.....or not. The activator develops the color pigments within the formula and helps to swell the cortex and open the cuticle for color penetration, which begins the difference between semi and demi permanent colors.
In order to understand why the BOXED HAIR COLOR Kits do not work, it is necessary to thoroughly understand 'what' : Semi....Demi....and Permanent Hair color is. So many of you will purchase one of the boxes that claims to "shampoo out in 8-10 washes and find out it doesn't. you wonder 'why'.... so many of you figure you must have done something wrong when you applied it, when in fact you are "set up to fail" to begin with by companies that truly do not give a damn by turning out a product that does not and could not work in a million years.
3} Demi Permanent Hair Color

The newest classification Demi perm is also called deposit only and referred to as 'semi' permanent by some manufacturers, it is similar to semi, but more long lasting. Some of the European companies have chosen to use super low volume peroxides to differentiate the semi from the demi lines. Honestly, it depends on the manufacturer, the Colorist or the school as to how it is defined. My education is Vidal Sassoon based which is known as the "Harvard of Hair Schools" so I think you'll be safe using my criteria.
I like to think of Demi Perm Colors as any color line that uses above 7 Volume and below 19 Volume Developer, which makes this the perfect category to be used on men's and any hair that needs to be strengthened. With those numbers , the only action that will happen is Deposit of color - no lift <> no lightening.
I am of the belief that depositing color in the hair strands of either gray, white, or simply middle-aged (weak) hair can add:

• strength
• shine
• illusion of thickness
• reduce frizz & tangles

This formula generally imparts vivid color results, and are ideal for covering un-pigmented hair,refreshing faded permanent color, depositing tonal changes without lift, corrective coloring and low-lighting.
By their very nature, demi's or deposit-only hair colors darken the natural hair color when applied. They cause little or no damage to the hair and are generally positioned as gentle and mild due to their low ammonia or no ammonia content. In recent years, many top colorists will apply demi to the 'lengths' of the hair while permanent is applied to the roots. This fights the build-up effect that can occur on previously colored hair and is also less aggressive, resulting in less damage.

The single best line in this category is WELLA's Color Touch Line, to date I have tested most every line and am still headstrong about that brand: its results & quality.

4} Permanent Hair Color

Permanent hair color is mixed with developer ( hydrogen peroxide) @ 20 Volume and above and remains in the hair shaft until the new growth of hair occurs. It is used to match,lighten and cover gray hair. Permanent hair color products generally contain ammonia, oxidative tints and peroxide.

The tint formula contains uncolored dye precursors, which are very small compounds that can diffuse into the hair shaft. These dye precursors also referred to as aniline derivatives, combine with hydrogen peroxide to form larger, permanent tint molecules . These molecules are trapped within the cortex of the hair and cannot be shampooed out and why this is considered Permanent color.

Hair Coloring BASICS

Types and Application methods of HAIR Coloring

Temporary Colour

Semi Permanent Colour

Demi Permanent color

Permanent color


Methods of Applying those 4 types of Colour

Highlighting

Lowlighting

Double-Process

Block or "show" Colour technique

WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL HIGHLIGHT HUE ?

These are merely suggestions for highlights and lowlights.... I have had this chart for over 15 years, which shows you that Hair color may seem to change dramatically to you, but in all actuality it simply goes through phases, exactly the same as "fashion" does.

A new client called the Lab today and asked if we knew anyone that does that "NEW LOOK" of bleached white-blond hair with bright pink highlights surrounding the face...sound familiar? Its been done a lot....what we have to do and as a good hair stylist we 'should' do is come up with "new' ways of presenting the same thing.
Which we do - year in and year out.

OXIDATION , Hydrogen Peroxide & everything White

Oxidation: 1.The reaction of dye intermediates found in hair coloring developers with hydrogen peroxide 2. The interaction of hydrogen peroxide on the natural pigment.

Deposit: describes the color product in terms of its ability to add color pigment to the hair. Color added equals DEPOSIT.

Lift: The lightening action of a hair color or lightening product on the hair's natural pigment

Hydrogen Peroxide: An Oxidizing chemical made up of 2 parts hydrogen & 2 parts oxygen (H2O2) used to aid the processing of permanent hair color and lighteners. Also referred to as a developer by Stylists/Colorists; available in liquid or cream.


Now we move to the Hydrogen Peroxide ,the "white creme" in the other bottle! Within the BOXED KITS OF COLOR (I'm on the war path against) there are 2 items enclosed, one is a bottle of color the other a bottle of peroxide.

The percentage of LIFT in any color is directly related to its AMMONIA content. At times you will hear Color lines boasting of "no ammonia" which would only be in color the manufacturer does not 'want' to lift... for exam: in many of the "men's" color lines promising to cover grey and not change anything else. The only disadvantage to ammonia in hair color: if you are allergic to it, which is rare, but does happen, it is necessary for light blonding.

The percentage of dye content in the bottle is also known as pigment weight. The more dye molecules in the bottle, the more depositing capabilities the color has. The action of depositing dye or color molecules into the cortex of the hair shaft is partly triggered by OXIDATION, which is achieved by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the color.


The dye molecule in any permanent color is too large to penetrate the cuticle of the hair shaft without first altering its structure with hydrogen peroxide. Since without hydrogen peroxide the dye will only stain the cuticle layer,understanding what happens when you add hydrogen peroxide to color is essential. That is also where the difference between Permanent,Semi-permanent, and Temporary color rests.

After the Hydrogen peroxide is added to the color, it begins to oxidize,or lose an oxygen molecule. This creates heat in and on the hair shaft, which expands the cuticle layer so that the color or dye molecules can penetrate.

Once the hydrogen peroxide is completely oxidized, it turns into water (H2O), and its chemical action stops. The color molecules return to their original structure and become part of the structure of the cortex. The cuticle closes, trapping the dye or color molecules inside. the color process is complete.

Don't let me lose you here, this may seem boring/confusing>or BOTH!! but... it will all make sense and come FULL CIRCLE here real soon, promise.
If it doesn't, then ask me questions LOTS of them, I want you to get it...I truly do, because if you do... then you will have knowledge that some of the top Colorists in the country possess & that is what ROCKS about the INTERNET, that high dollar information like that can be had for FREE ;-)...hee hee hee!