Temporary & Semi-Permanent Hair Colour – 5 Tips for Colourists
Whether you’re new to hair colour application or just looking at ways to improve the colour services you offer your clients, there’s no better place to start than temporary and semi-permanent hair colour. These two products can quickly become part of your go-to arsenal and transform the bespoke services you offer as a hair colourist.
Temporary and semi-permanent hair colouring products are extremely versatile. They can be used for refreshing your client’s colour between services, levelling out uneven tone, pre-pigmentation during a colour correction, adding post treatment shine and intensity and much, much more.
The most exciting concept about temporary and semi-permanent hair colour is that they are designed to be gentle and conditioning for the hair. Check out our tips for using them to boost the service you provide to clients.
Tip 1 – Improve Tone & Add Shine With Temporary Colour
Is your client looking for a quick, short-lasting yet stunning transformation?
Temporary hair colours are direct dyes made up of large colour molecules that rest on the cuticle layer of the hair. These molecules are too large to penetrate through to the cortex and wash away when the hair is next shampooed.
Temporary colour can improve hair tone, add shine and, in some instances, provide 15% white hair coverage. What’s more, it’s not mixed with any developer or oxidant. It usually comes in the form of mousses, gels, sprays, rinses, shampoos and treatment conditioners.
The fantastic thing about temporary hair colour is that it is (in theory) exactly that. However, if your client’s hair is compromised and damaged – or you choose a tone that is bright and intense and apply it to pre-lightened hair – you may find that your planned wash-in-wash-out colour sticks around far longer than you ever intended! So make sure you keep this in mind during your client consultation and analysis.
Temporary hair colour molecules rest on the cuticle layer of the hair shaft
Tip 2 – Deliver Fantastic No Commitment Colour With Semi-permanent Hair Colour
Semi-permanent hair colour is designed to last a little longer than temporary hair colour. When used on healthy virgin hair, it’s an excellent no commitment colour service.
Semi-permanent colour is a deposit only colour, which means it cannot make hair lighter. Like temporary hair colour, semi-permanent hair colour is not mixed with any developer or oxidant. It can only deposit depth and tone and usually lasts between 6 and 10 washes.
The best semi-permanent hair colours make use of the electromagnetic charge that hair naturally has. These products create their colour molecules to be both positively charged (cationic) and negatively charged (non-ionic).
The negatively-charged colour molecules attract to the positive charge that hair has when it has recently emerged from the hair root. The positively-charged colour molecules attract to the negative charge of the mid-lengths and ends.
By using the science of cationic and non-ionic colour molecules, this type of semi-permanent colour wedges small and large molecules deeper into the cuticle layer providing a richer, deeper colour deposit that lasts a little longer than semi-permanent colours that do not use this technology.
Tip 3 – Use Temporary Colour for 15% White Hair Coverage and Semi-permanent for 30%
I often get asked “what do you mean by 15% white hair coverage?” “Does this mean that only 15% of the white hairs on a head are covered by the temporary colour?”
When a product manufacturer identifies the percentage of white hair coverage, what they are referring to is how much the existing white hair will change to your target colour.
If you cover all your client’s hair with temporary colour, the individual hairs that are white and do not contain any melanin will have enough colour molecules deposited on the cuticle layer to make them to change their appearance by 15%.
Semi-permanent hair colour generally provides 30% white hair coverage. It is a direct dye that’s made up of a mixture of small and large colour molecules that are deposited on and inside the cuticle layer of the hair shaft.
Example of 15% vs 100% white hair coverage
Tip 4 – Use Semi-permanent Hair Colour for Damaged Hair
Semi-permanent hair colours are incredibly versatile and fantastic for colouring porous, damaged and dehydrated hair.
Colour chameleon clients have money to invest in changing their image. As colourists, we also have a commitment to keeping their hair in the best possible condition.
The best semi-permanent hair colours condition the hair, have no ammonia and are acidic to moisturise and smooth the cuticle. By reaching for a semi-permanent colour for our clients with compromised hair, we’re providing the safest choice. What’s more, semi-permanent colour on compromised hair will gently fade between services and you will be able to offer a different tone at your client’s next visit.
Cationic and non-ionic hair colour molecules attract to the hair’s electromagnetic charge
Semi-permanent hair colour is a mixture of small and large colour molecules
Tip 5 – Use Benefits and Mood Boards to Help Clients Understand the Target Result
Recommending a temporary or semi-permanent colour service is often the hardest part of your client’s consultation. The majority of your clientele wants to invest their hard earned money in a colour service that will last.
Make note of the benefits of these products and really use them to sell the service. Healthy, shiny hair with beautiful tone really is the outcome you’re aiming towards. For example, mood boards are an excellent way to help your clients understand the target result. Here is an example of a mood board we have put together for a rose gold theme.
Use a mood board to plan your hair colour ideas
Want to know more about temporary and semi-permanent hair colouring? Check out some of our recommendations below.
Watch our semi-permanent colouring tutorial to learn the classic semi-permanent application technique with Bee Dixon
Basic Semi-Permanent Colouring Tutorial
Looking to learn a low commitment men’s fashion colour service? Visit our how to apply a flat matte blue green colour on men’s hair technique with Andreas Kurkowitz.
Apply A Flat Matte Blue Green Colour On Men’s Hair
Here are some of our favourite fashion colour techniques using semi-permanent hair colour:
How To Do An Overlapping Tones Hair Colour Techniq
How To Do A Multidimensional Melted Balayage
Pearl Blonde Ombre Hair Colour Tutorial
How To Do A Cyclamen Pure Tone Hair Colour Video Tutorial
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