Avoiding Home Hair Color Burn

Coloring your hair at home is an easy, economical way to cover gray or change your color. However, even the newer, gentler products use chemicals that can burn your skin. I've been coloring my hair for about 27 years and discovered some tips for avoiding home hair color burn.

Read and follow the instructions. The day before you plan on coloring, read the instructions. This will help to prevent problems before they happen.

Do the skin test every time. Whether you are changing your brand, color or not, it is important to do the skin test every time you color your hair. This will show if you have an allergy or skin sensitivity to the product and help avoid home hair color burn. Allowing the product to sit on your skin for 24-48 hours, depending on the product, will let you see any reactions before covering your entire head with color.

Do the strand test. The strand test can be an effective tool in avoiding home hair color burn. Once you perform the strand test as directed, allow the hair to dry thoroughly. Check the dyed hair for any changes in condition. If the coloring damages the hair at all it could burn the skin. Also, you just saved your entire head of hair from potential damage.

Wait 24 hours after washing your hair. According to the instructions, you should wash your hair 24 hours prior to applying the home hair coloring to remove styling products. Be sure to wait the full 24 hours after washing to allow the scalp's natural oils to return to reduce the risk of home hair color burn.

Apply petroleum jelly. Some products mention that you can apply a thin coating of petroleum jelly to the skin around your hair to prevent color from contacting skin. Don't let it touch your hair as petroleum jelly will keep dye off of your hair as well.

Do not rub color into the scalp. Although all scalp contact cannot be avoided, take care not to rub the product into the scalp. If you pull up small sections of hair at a time and carefully work into the roots you can reduce the amount of hair color that touches your skin.

Remove stray hair color immediately. To help avoid home hair color burn, remove the excess coloring with cotton balls soaked in cool water. If skin staining has begun, immediately use facial astringent on cotton balls. I have found that Sea Breeze and Noxzema brands work well for this. Be careful not to remove coloring from the hair.

Don't make drastic changes. Lightening products are stronger causing more risk of burning the skin. Although you can receive hair color burns at the salon as well, it's best to seek the advice of a professional if you have a tendency for hair-color related skin problems.

Try temporary color. If you tend to be sensitive to permanent home care color products but still would like to change your color or cover gray, try a temporary hair color product. Though these aren't very effective for lightening hair or making drastic color changes, they can be gentler on your hair and skin and help you avoid home hair color burns.