By Devon Abelman, Allure
Approximately 50 percent of my daily Instagram feed is made up with rainbow hair. (To be fair, I follow a lot of colorists and stylists.) Most of the neon and peachy looks I scroll past — and frequently write about — are on long, naturally straight hair. I barely see the same vibrant shades on natural and curly hair. Curious as to why this is the case, I asked a couple hairstylists who are experts in dying natural hair what the deal is.
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The most obvious reason is you can't see rainbow hair dyes unless you apply them to lightened hair. Bleaching, in itself, is damaging to all hair types. "It will strip it and cause breakage," Yusef, Rihanna's hair stylist tells Allure. He also stressed that you let a professional do the job.
Leysa Carrillo, a Las Vegas-based hair stylist, is well-acquainted with coloring natural hair. Not only has she dyed several of her clients' natural, curly hair with rainbow hues, but also her own. "I always tell people I've been doing hair for about nine years, but I have 36 years of experience with textured hair," she tells Allure. "Why? Because I have my own to practice on." At first, she says it was scary to take the plunge into dying her own hair. However, she's glad she took the risk because it helped her perfect her techniques. You can catch Carrillo coloring her own hair below.
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Approximately 50 percent of my daily Instagram feed is made up with rainbow hair. (To be fair, I follow a lot of colorists and stylists.) Most of the neon and peachy looks I scroll past — and frequently write about — are on long, naturally straight hair. I barely see the same vibrant shades on natural and curly hair. Curious as to why this is the case, I asked a couple hairstylists who are experts in dying natural hair what the deal is.
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The most obvious reason is you can't see rainbow hair dyes unless you apply them to lightened hair. Bleaching, in itself, is damaging to all hair types. "It will strip it and cause breakage," Yusef, Rihanna's hair stylist tells Allure. He also stressed that you let a professional do the job.
Leysa Carrillo, a Las Vegas-based hair stylist, is well-acquainted with coloring natural hair. Not only has she dyed several of her clients' natural, curly hair with rainbow hues, but also her own. "I always tell people I've been doing hair for about nine years, but I have 36 years of experience with textured hair," she tells Allure. "Why? Because I have my own to practice on." At first, she says it was scary to take the plunge into dying her own hair. However, she's glad she took the risk because it helped her perfect her techniques. You can catch Carrillo coloring her own hair below.
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One of the biggest obstacles in dying natural hair rainbow shades is the actual composition of it. "Natural hair is totally more fragile, can break really easy and you can lose your curl pattern if it's not properly done," Carrillo explains. "Curly hair, in particular, has a rough open cuticle making everything harder and more susceptible to breakage." When you add a high volume of bleach and hair dye to the mix, Yusef says you get a potentially dangerous and seriously damaging situation. "With rainbow hair color, sometimes you are playing with fire if your hair is already damaged, so you have to be very cautious," he adds.
[post_ads]To avoid playing Russian Roulette with your curls, Carrillo says you need to take specific precautions. Before even setting up an appointment, she, as well as Yusef, recommended using deep conditioning treatments regularly to nourish the hair. "You have to remember textured hair is extremely dry," Carrillo explains. "With curly hair, all of the nutrients and oils that we produce in our scalps won't travel easily all the way through the hair since we don't have a smooth cuticle or a straight pattern." Then, request a consultation with your stylist. Carrillo has one with all her clients. "I examine the curls and look at the elasticity to see how much the hair can take," she explains.
From there, the actual coloring process comes down to a couple factors, according to Carrillo, and those are: "products, understanding the texture, how far you can take your client's hair color, and patience." As for the latter, patience is extremely important because achieving vibrant hues can take multiple appointments. "Beautiful colors don't happen overnight," she adds.
Each appointment can take three hours minimum, and Carrillo has used that amount of time for bleaching alone. "That might sound like a crazy-long time, but there is no time limit when I'm creating a healthy, beautiful piece of art!" she says.
You can see some of her latest transformations in action below.
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Once the rainbow hair comes to fruition, it's all about the upkeep. "After hair color, your hair becomes more porous, which causes it to absorb and release moisture easily," Carrillo explains. "This can cause loss of color every time your hair gets wet." With this in mind, she recommends shampooing hair sparingly. And after washing, moisturize hair with a "heavy" amount of product and seal with an oil.
The whole process is worth it in the end, though. "The adrenaline I get with the 'WOW' after a transformation has been completely priceless," Carrillo says, making it clear that her clients are lucky to be in such a knowledgeable and enthusiast hands.
