What’s The Difference Between A Permanent Dye And A Rinse

Rinses

Hair dyes known as rinses are marketed as less damaging. This is because the chemicals used to make rinses cause the cuticle of the hair shaft to swell large enough for the color to be deposited deep enough to endure shampooing and conditioning.

The catch to rinses is that the color is still not deep enough in the hair shaft to be completely safe from shampoos and other hair products. This is why a rinse will, literally, be slowly washed out of the hair. Rinses also only cover the hair’s natural cover. They don’t actually remove color. Once a rinse is washed out, the original hair color will become visible again.

For the reasons stated above, rinses may seem to be less damaging to the hair, but they often need to be reapplied more frequently than permanent hair dyes. Over time, this may cause damage similar to that of permanent hair dye.

Rinses also have a limited range of outcomes because they sit on top of the hair and only lightly penetrate the hair shaft. So for those looking to be more daring with their color or who want to play with color combinations, a rinse might not be what will work for you.

Permanent Hair Dye

Now on to the big daddy. Permanent hair dye is just that, permanent. Once hair is permanently dyed, the only way it can be removed is to grow it out or to strip the hair of the color with a second chemical process.

Like with rinses, permanent dye uses ammonia and hydrogen peroxide to lift and swell the cuticle. The main difference between rinses and permanent dyes is that the potency of the ammonia is much stronger in a permanent color.

The ammonia will swell the cuticle to a point that allows the color to penetrate the cortex of the hair. The cortex is the innermost layer of the hair. Once the cortex is penetrated and color has been deposited there, that color will remain…FOREVER!

The cortex is very fragile which is why chemically altering it with permanent dye is damaging. It weakens the bonds of the hair on each level. From the cuticle to the cortex, the bonds that make up the hair are all broken down.

Of course, the good thing about permanent hair dye is that it does not have to be reapplied to the portions of hair which have been previously colored. The argument can be made that the hair is only damaged once to achieve a certain color.

This holds true for jet black or a similar dye job, but most permanent dyes are not used singularly. The differences between a permanent dye and a rinse should definitely be weighed when you are deciding on a hair color method.