In fact, the release of
hair dyed in bright,
custom colors with-
out a protective film
is bold. When you
think about it, every
day we experience
just how strong the
sun can be. We all
know the dangers of
too much sunlight
on our skin, natu-
ral hair, even the
plastic water bottles
we might forget in
the car. When ex-
posed to significant
amounts of ultra-
violet rays, the sun
has the power to
oxidize the material
and destroy it.
Even though the
shape of the hair is
intact; the strong
ultraviolet rays do
not keep the hair
still. Oxidation oc-
curs inside the hair
and eventually the
color changes. It
melts the melanin
pigment inside the
hair and brightens
the color. Scientif-
ically, hair can be
said to have died, so melanin, once destroyed, is never
restored or improved. For this reason, colored hair sold
as a finished product requires more careful packaging.
It is not only melanin that ultraviolet rays destroy. It
also destroys the proteins in the hair. Since the hair
is dead, it is impossible for this protein to be restored
naturally. Protein damaged hair becomes tangled and
difficult to manage. There is also a chemical ingredient
in the hair called Thol, which conditions and softens
the hair to prevent tangling. However, when exposed to
strong ultraviolet rays, the thol component is also oxi-
dized. Protein and thol ingredients that soften the hair
are oxidized to ultraviolet light, which makes the hair
more tangled and rough.
Due to the disinfecting treatments that hair receives the
cuticle is thinner than natural hair. This means that it’s
already more at risk for fading. The ultraviolet light has
a great influence on the special color because the thin-
ner cuticle makes it hard for the color to be protected.
For this reason, it is necessary to protect colored hair
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C O S M O B I Z M A G A Z I N E
from ultraviolet rays. Modern packaging tends to take
the advertising of quality and aesthetic as the main fo-
cus. We would argue that the most important aspect is
to ensure the packaging reaches the customer with the
inside goods still in perfect condition.
Colored hair, especially specialty colors, can be
wrapped with UV Protected plastic or wrapped in white
paper. This means that the hair will be exposed to the
least amount of ultraviolet light possible. That said, the
responsibility for color care does not end at packaging
alone. Retailers must know the dangers of light expo-
sure so that they can properly store colored hair pack-
ages out of the way of light. It is also their responsibil-
ity to explain this to their consumers so that customers
have a better understanding of how to care for the hair
at home.
There are a lot of cases where retailers may have the
best of intentions, but still sell deteriorated color prod-
ucts by accident. This mostly happens because they are
not showing off the full length of hair when they sell
products in the store. Most buy their hair without ever
opening the packaging. In most stores, an employee
may show the product, but often the hair is only slightly
pulled out so that only the bottom part of the product
can be touched. Therefore, even if the color is altered, it
can not be distinguished from the original color, which
is behind the label, and the customer is likely to buy the
product with the faded color.
You may have never experienced this problem if you
buy from someone with little natural light, but that
doesn’t reduce all the risk. Fluorescent store lights can
cause some color loss over time as well, which makes
checking the color important no matter where you go.
This is riskier for those buying online as there’s no way
to know the storage conditions if you never visit in per-
son. That’s why it’s always important to check; you can
never be too sure.
There is nothing more exciting than bright, uniquely
colored hair and who wants it to be faded before they
even install it? When you’re purchasing always make
sure to double check your colors. That way you’ll never
have to deal with the hassle of returns or exchanges and
you can get right to rocking your new look.