delp
Well-Known Member
So here is an over all difference between professional color lines & 'box' color-
Professional permanent color consist of some ammonia & 100% of very small molecules (indirect or oxidative dyes). Ammonia softens the cuticle & opens it wide enough for the small molecules to get inside the hair shaft. Then we mix it with developer/peroxide & we pick a right strength that will be needed-10V/ 20V/ 30V/ 40V- custom blend it specifically for our client, not to mention that we also custom blend the tones too. Since ammonia is the part that damages the hair, we usually try to use permanent color only ones on a client (like the root area-to go lighter) & after that we refresh the ends with a demi-permanent color which contains no ammonia & not damaging to the hair.
Well 'box' color consists of 80% indirect/oxidative dyes, which are small but they are larger in comparing to what a professional color lines uses, plus 20% large molecules (direct dyes), Direct dyes are pre-formed molecules that do not swell. Those type of dyes are usually found in temporary or semi-permanent colors, because they are to big to get inside the hair shaft, so they usually just stain the outside of the hair shaft. As you can imagine in order for a 'box' color to get big molecules inside the hair- they put more ammonia into it, so that ammonia can open that cuticle wide open & the big molecules along with indirect ones can get in. Which causes a lot of stress on the hair. On top of that standard developer strength in 'box' color is 25V- not 20V- which explains why when our clients use it, even if they going darker- they lift their hair two and a half levels lighter each time and then deposit whatever shade it meant to be, then few weeks later they complain that the shade faded and their natural level is much lighter from what it was prior to coloring.
So all this information is the main difference between the two, which many of you are already know, most likely. But there is one other thing that makes 'box' color to be not compatible with products that we use in the salon, and the answer is in those 'direct dyes', which also known as 'progressive dyes', 'nitro dyes', 'coal tar dyes'. Many coal-tar dyes do have metallic salts in them. Why they don't advertise that little info?Why would they.
Metallic salts, also known as lead, lead acetate, lead sulfide, alkyl lead compound, salt of saturn, bismuth citrate, cysteine & methionine sulfur, iron ferment, cooper ferment......you got the point- they have too many different types of metal compounds & too many names.
By law product can contain up to 0.6% of lead. The trick here is that 'law' is 'prohibits the use in cosmetics in the European Union', which we are not apart of, since we are in US, there for companies in US violate that 0.6% amount and can get away with it so far ( hopefully soon rules will apply to the US also). Many companies have ingredients in their products that been proven to cause cancer amongst other things and should not be applied on the skin, but since it's not against the law in US they load em up while they can.
At this time there is only to hair color products who admit to have lead acetate & print it right on the package so that consumer knows about it. Those two products are: 'Grecian Formula' & 'EBL Grey Ban Restores Natural Hair Color'. The sad thing is every one else have compounds of lead acetate as well but they don't put that on the package, because the amount that Grecian & EBL have is nothing in comparing to the rest, if anything at least those two are honest about it -the others not so much.
I have arranged different types & brands of color in the order for you guys to decide for yourself -what is worst. All of them violated % on their ingredience, all have lead acetate (or a form of one) in one way or another & only two of them are honest about it.
-On the count from 1- 5.
( 1-being 'THINK BEFORE YOU USE' & 5-is 'YOU POISONING YOUR SELF' )
Starting with the worst, here I go:
Dark & Lovely------------------------------------------5
Loreal Couleur Experte Color System----------4.8
Loreal Feria--------------------------------------------4.6
Clairol Hairpainting Highlighting Kit------------4.6
Clairol Hydrience------------------------------------4.5
Garnier Nutrisse--------------------------------------4.5
Revlon High Dimention 10min Perm. Color--4.5
Loreal Color Spa-------------------------------------4.4
Ultress Color------------------------------------------4.4
Just for Men--------------------------------------------4.3
Maxim---------------------------------------------------4.3
Loreal Preference------------------------------------4.3
Naturtini Vend Color---------------------------------4.3
Bioforse of America, Ltd. Color--------------------4.3
Clairol Extreme bleach------------------------------4.2
Clairol Loving Care-----------------------------------4.1
Clairol Balsam------------------------------------------4.1
Clairol Men's Choices--------------------------------4.1
EBL Grey Ban Restores Natural Hair Color----3.8
Clairol Xtreme Fx Temporary Hair Color--------3.7
Te Tao----------------------------------------------------3.3
John Frieda Highlighter------------------------------3.1
Grecian Formula---------------------------------------3
Sun-In-----------------------------------------------------2.8
Nature's Answer Color--------------------------------2.3
Marc Anthony Color------------------------------------2
Jason Natural Cosmetics Henna------------------1.8
Clairol Natural Instincts-------------------------------1.7
Clairol Touch of Sun-----------------------------------1.5
Panama Jack Legally Blonde hair Highlighter-1.5
Shikai Henna--------------------------------------------1.4
Accelerate Henna--------------------------------------0.1
As you noticed the two products that have lead acetate listed are not the worst offenders & henna with metallic compounds are way at the bottom
P.S. The darker the color is the more coal-tar dyes are in it-the more lead acetate, so next time you guys want to crack up a Blonde joke, think- being a blonde apperently is smarter
So with all that said, if you wonder about how come some of this metallic dyes can be mixed with ammonia in one bottle-some of them can.
And this is were all this funky long words start to confuse & are not pronouncable( for me anyway) & I don't want to bore you with all those, but this may explain a few things. For example:
ALLOM (aluminium potassium sulfate) it can be mixed with ammonia with no reaction. Aluminium sulfate has lots of cuisines- lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium caesium & sulfuric acid.
Different metals produce different colors or contribute to a particular reaction that is needed. Generally they would add aluminium in to the color to give sparkly shiny apperance to hair. And really aluminium is the least of the worries.
If you ever wondered why (when we color over metallic dyes) some hair turn green & brittle- it is the reaction coased with ZINC compounds in the mix. Zinc is a preatty bad one, it is used as a white pigment, as in -it can be mixed in a lots of things for lighter shades. And the uniqe thing about zinc is-when it is mixed with water it creates hydrogen (as in a company may claim that their color is low in ammonia, but they don't mention anything about zinc).
Then we have COOPER-bad,bad,bad stuff. Not only it is considered to be poison (which is a minor little thing), but when we color over cooper -the hair will start to BOIL- yeah, boil...ouch ( I actually witnessed that before) I am not sure what kind of shades cooper produces, but I don't want none, thank you very much.
Thallium is another metal that is bad and widly used to produce color molecules. Unique feature about thallium is that when you mix it with water it forms hydroxide-well that's just great -you'll have a company that says 'our color doesn't have peroxide in it, just mix it with water', well they don't mention thallium -it's poison to!
Also some ACID dyes contain metal complex to, which also known as 'triphenyl methane' -they are used to produce duller shades.
So there is a little 'chemistry'. Scary stuff! There are more types...
I know for sure, myself, won't be using any 'box' color, and I am sure you guys won't ither, but our clients sometimes do. So it is our job to explain to them plain and simple that when they do use it -they put poison on their scalp, which coases cancer & other medical conditions. I don't think that I along can make a difference and make those boxes disapear, but if we can spread the word to the rest of the world, then just maybe, less people will be buying those products & maybe they will go away somewhat, or by voicing a concern in this country we will change the laws, just like in Europe, on as far as what can & cannot be inside the bottles.
I hope...
Professional permanent color consist of some ammonia & 100% of very small molecules (indirect or oxidative dyes). Ammonia softens the cuticle & opens it wide enough for the small molecules to get inside the hair shaft. Then we mix it with developer/peroxide & we pick a right strength that will be needed-10V/ 20V/ 30V/ 40V- custom blend it specifically for our client, not to mention that we also custom blend the tones too. Since ammonia is the part that damages the hair, we usually try to use permanent color only ones on a client (like the root area-to go lighter) & after that we refresh the ends with a demi-permanent color which contains no ammonia & not damaging to the hair.
Well 'box' color consists of 80% indirect/oxidative dyes, which are small but they are larger in comparing to what a professional color lines uses, plus 20% large molecules (direct dyes), Direct dyes are pre-formed molecules that do not swell. Those type of dyes are usually found in temporary or semi-permanent colors, because they are to big to get inside the hair shaft, so they usually just stain the outside of the hair shaft. As you can imagine in order for a 'box' color to get big molecules inside the hair- they put more ammonia into it, so that ammonia can open that cuticle wide open & the big molecules along with indirect ones can get in. Which causes a lot of stress on the hair. On top of that standard developer strength in 'box' color is 25V- not 20V- which explains why when our clients use it, even if they going darker- they lift their hair two and a half levels lighter each time and then deposit whatever shade it meant to be, then few weeks later they complain that the shade faded and their natural level is much lighter from what it was prior to coloring.
So all this information is the main difference between the two, which many of you are already know, most likely. But there is one other thing that makes 'box' color to be not compatible with products that we use in the salon, and the answer is in those 'direct dyes', which also known as 'progressive dyes', 'nitro dyes', 'coal tar dyes'. Many coal-tar dyes do have metallic salts in them. Why they don't advertise that little info?Why would they.
Metallic salts, also known as lead, lead acetate, lead sulfide, alkyl lead compound, salt of saturn, bismuth citrate, cysteine & methionine sulfur, iron ferment, cooper ferment......you got the point- they have too many different types of metal compounds & too many names.
By law product can contain up to 0.6% of lead. The trick here is that 'law' is 'prohibits the use in cosmetics in the European Union', which we are not apart of, since we are in US, there for companies in US violate that 0.6% amount and can get away with it so far ( hopefully soon rules will apply to the US also). Many companies have ingredients in their products that been proven to cause cancer amongst other things and should not be applied on the skin, but since it's not against the law in US they load em up while they can.
At this time there is only to hair color products who admit to have lead acetate & print it right on the package so that consumer knows about it. Those two products are: 'Grecian Formula' & 'EBL Grey Ban Restores Natural Hair Color'. The sad thing is every one else have compounds of lead acetate as well but they don't put that on the package, because the amount that Grecian & EBL have is nothing in comparing to the rest, if anything at least those two are honest about it -the others not so much.
I have arranged different types & brands of color in the order for you guys to decide for yourself -what is worst. All of them violated % on their ingredience, all have lead acetate (or a form of one) in one way or another & only two of them are honest about it.
-On the count from 1- 5.
( 1-being 'THINK BEFORE YOU USE' & 5-is 'YOU POISONING YOUR SELF' )
Starting with the worst, here I go:
Dark & Lovely------------------------------------------5
Loreal Couleur Experte Color System----------4.8
Loreal Feria--------------------------------------------4.6
Clairol Hairpainting Highlighting Kit------------4.6
Clairol Hydrience------------------------------------4.5
Garnier Nutrisse--------------------------------------4.5
Revlon High Dimention 10min Perm. Color--4.5
Loreal Color Spa-------------------------------------4.4
Ultress Color------------------------------------------4.4
Just for Men--------------------------------------------4.3
Maxim---------------------------------------------------4.3
Loreal Preference------------------------------------4.3
Naturtini Vend Color---------------------------------4.3
Bioforse of America, Ltd. Color--------------------4.3
Clairol Extreme bleach------------------------------4.2
Clairol Loving Care-----------------------------------4.1
Clairol Balsam------------------------------------------4.1
Clairol Men's Choices--------------------------------4.1
EBL Grey Ban Restores Natural Hair Color----3.8
Clairol Xtreme Fx Temporary Hair Color--------3.7
Te Tao----------------------------------------------------3.3
John Frieda Highlighter------------------------------3.1
Grecian Formula---------------------------------------3
Sun-In-----------------------------------------------------2.8
Nature's Answer Color--------------------------------2.3
Marc Anthony Color------------------------------------2
Jason Natural Cosmetics Henna------------------1.8
Clairol Natural Instincts-------------------------------1.7
Clairol Touch of Sun-----------------------------------1.5
Panama Jack Legally Blonde hair Highlighter-1.5
Shikai Henna--------------------------------------------1.4
Accelerate Henna--------------------------------------0.1
As you noticed the two products that have lead acetate listed are not the worst offenders & henna with metallic compounds are way at the bottom
P.S. The darker the color is the more coal-tar dyes are in it-the more lead acetate, so next time you guys want to crack up a Blonde joke, think- being a blonde apperently is smarter
So with all that said, if you wonder about how come some of this metallic dyes can be mixed with ammonia in one bottle-some of them can.
And this is were all this funky long words start to confuse & are not pronouncable( for me anyway) & I don't want to bore you with all those, but this may explain a few things. For example:
ALLOM (aluminium potassium sulfate) it can be mixed with ammonia with no reaction. Aluminium sulfate has lots of cuisines- lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium caesium & sulfuric acid.
Different metals produce different colors or contribute to a particular reaction that is needed. Generally they would add aluminium in to the color to give sparkly shiny apperance to hair. And really aluminium is the least of the worries.
If you ever wondered why (when we color over metallic dyes) some hair turn green & brittle- it is the reaction coased with ZINC compounds in the mix. Zinc is a preatty bad one, it is used as a white pigment, as in -it can be mixed in a lots of things for lighter shades. And the uniqe thing about zinc is-when it is mixed with water it creates hydrogen (as in a company may claim that their color is low in ammonia, but they don't mention anything about zinc).
Then we have COOPER-bad,bad,bad stuff. Not only it is considered to be poison (which is a minor little thing), but when we color over cooper -the hair will start to BOIL- yeah, boil...ouch ( I actually witnessed that before) I am not sure what kind of shades cooper produces, but I don't want none, thank you very much.
Thallium is another metal that is bad and widly used to produce color molecules. Unique feature about thallium is that when you mix it with water it forms hydroxide-well that's just great -you'll have a company that says 'our color doesn't have peroxide in it, just mix it with water', well they don't mention thallium -it's poison to!
Also some ACID dyes contain metal complex to, which also known as 'triphenyl methane' -they are used to produce duller shades.
So there is a little 'chemistry'. Scary stuff! There are more types...
I know for sure, myself, won't be using any 'box' color, and I am sure you guys won't ither, but our clients sometimes do. So it is our job to explain to them plain and simple that when they do use it -they put poison on their scalp, which coases cancer & other medical conditions. I don't think that I along can make a difference and make those boxes disapear, but if we can spread the word to the rest of the world, then just maybe, less people will be buying those products & maybe they will go away somewhat, or by voicing a concern in this country we will change the laws, just like in Europe, on as far as what can & cannot be inside the bottles.
I hope...
