Loc'd 4 Leisure

This post is all about the best hair dye for locs.

As fall unfolds, our eagerness for change starts to emerge.

New wardrobe, new decor, new hair color;

the renovations never seem to stop.

Choosing which hair dye to color your locs with can be challenging. There are so many different brands and colors to choose from, you may become overwhelmed with the choices you have in front of you.

In today’s blog we’re going to talk all about the best hair dye for locs, why you should say “NO” to bleach, and alternatives to hair dye.

Table of contents

1. L’Oreal HiColor HiLights
2. Just Say “No” To Bleach.
3. Cons Of Bleach
4. Alternative To Permanent Hair Color: Hair Paint Wax On Locs
5. Conclusion

L’Oreal HiColor HiLights

Cutting straight to the chase: this hair dye comes in a small package, but packs a punch that doesn’t leave damage. L’Oreal HiColor HiLights is specifically created for darker hair (black to medium brown).

Hi lift, a color type, is similar to traditional hair color except it has more lightening power.

This advantage takes out the extra work of lifting your hair prior to starting your actual coloring process. In one single step, this hair dye will take your dark hair to the shade of your choice, with long lasting results.

L’Oreal HiColor HiLights has a range of colors including:

• Browns
  • Coolest Brown (Watch me dye my client locs this color!)
  • Cool Light Brown
  • Soft Brown
  • Light Auburn
• Reds
  • Sizzling Copper
  • Red Fire
  • Red Hot
  • Copper Red
  • Intense Red
  • Deep Auburn Red
  • Magenta (Watch me dye my client locs this color!)
• Violets
  • Deep Violet
  • True Violet
  • Red Violet
• Blondes
  • Natural Blonde
  • Vanilla Champagne
  • Honey Blonde
  • Sandstone Blonde
  • Ash Blonde
  • Golden Blonde
• Blacks
  • Black Sapphire
  • Black Plum

To start your color process with this hair dye, all you will need is developer. Generally when using hi color, 40 developer is the standard to ensure a strong lift and intensify the color.

Quick Tip: Color hair before getting locs! Waiting to do so will manipulate starter locs, prolonging process.

Related Blog Post: A Simple Guide to Maintain Healthy Color Treated Locs

Just Say “No” To Bleach

Although L’Oreal HiColor HiLights is advertised to lift hair 3-4 shades with no damage, you may feel as though it just isn’t light enough. Then the inkling feeling of using bleach comes to mind, but I am here to tell you, NO! That is, if your goal is to have healthy locs.

In simpler terms, bleach breaks down the pigment in your hair, stripping away all of its good qualities needed to be healthy hair. Besides being an agent to help lighten your hair for unique hair colors such as; pink, purple, or green, the long term effects it has on your locs might have you thinking twice before using it.

Cons Of Bleach

• Longterm damage: The chemical process of bleaching will weaken the structure of your hair causing dryness, brittleness, and increased breakage.
• Loss of moisture: This process strips your hair away of all of its natural oils, which will leave hair feeling rough and dry.
• Scalp irritation: Hydrogen peroxide, found in bleach, can cause reactions on the scalp such as redness, itching, or burning sensations that may leave scabs overtime.
• Increased maintenance: Once hair is bleached, it will require frequent touch ups to keep it looking its best. Resulting in increased spending.
• Over-processing: Repeated bleaching will lead to an immense amount of damage over time, affecting the overall health of your hair. This can make it more challenging to restore the hair to its natural condition.

Related Blog Post: How To Color Locs With NO Bleach

As a loctician, I have seen it first hand how bleach will deteriorate locs overtime. The roughness, constant thinning, and regret from clients I come across is astounding.

Personally, I absolutely love when I see locs that are different colors. That form of expression definitely has to be one of my favorites. The ability to have fun with your locs shouldn’t have to result in damage though.

In the 4 years that I’ve had my locs, I’ve only colored my hair about 4 times. And each of those times were me freshening up the highlights I already had from the previous year. When I was a loose natural, I went through a phase of coloring my hair all types of colors; blonde, ginger, burgundy, brown, black, I mean the list goes on. Once I started my locs though, I stopped having the urge to chemically change my hair color every other month.

Throughout my research on how to keep my locs as healthy as possible while wanting to switch it up from time to time, I came across hair paint wax and never looked back.

Alternative To Permanent Hair Color: Hair Paint Wax On Locs

Hair paint wax or temporary hair dye, is by far one of my favorite products I’ve come across on my loc journey. Having the ability to switch up your look to any color you can imagine with ZERO damage is literal magic. Then being able to wash it out after having your fun just puts the icing on the cake. There are so many great brands of hair paint wax for locs out there but my all time favorite has to be ORS Curls Unleashed Color Blast Hair Wax. This product is moisturizing, long lasting, and comes in 15 vibrant colors! Some of the colors that I’ve already tried are:

• Molasses (my FAV!)
• Sangria
• Poison Ivy

Watch me try “Poison Ivy” on my 1 year old locs!

Watch me try “Sangria” on my 3 year old locs!

Watch me try “Molasses” on my 3 year old locs!

The application process is fairly simple. Start by dampening your locs, this will help the wax have a soft-touch finish once dry. Afterwards, you can either let your hair air dry or take a handheld/hooded dryer to speed up the process. Once dry, this product has a low color transfer, unless it comes in contact with water (shower, rain, etc).

Now you may be asking how long can you keep this product on your locs before it fades, and well, I recently did a case study on myself and I was pleased with the results. I left this product on my locs for an ENTIRE MONTH, it washed out completely with barely any fading, and not leaving any residue behind. That’s when I knew this product was a winner.

Conclusion

L’Oreal Hicolor Hilights

• If you’re on the hunt for hair dye that is less damaging and will lift your hair in one step, try out L’Oreal HiColor Hilights.

Say “NO” To Bleach

• That beautiful bright color you want might lead to long term damage. Please think twice before taking that step if your goal is to have healthy locs.

Hair Paint Wax

• If you’re looking for ways to switch up your look without any damage, look no further than hair paint wax.

This post is all about the best hair dye for locs.