The Do’s and Dont’s for Home Haircare

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Photo by Honey Yanibel Minaya Cruz on Unsplash

With stay-at-home orders still in effect and our Zoom lines spiked with an influx of calls from employers, friends and family, being presentable for the camera can add additional stress when we factor in the fact that we haven’t been to a salon in months.

To learn more about caring for our hair at home, we tapped Salon Laurie’s owner Laurie Schroeder for her insight. The consensus? This isn’t the time for a permanent DIY hair job. Read below for her tips on how to take care of our hair during quarantine—and, if we must, how to safely color our hair at home.

First things first: Try to wait it out

“Stay-at-home measures mean its that time where people’s roots are starting to show, and maybe they’re getting desperate,” Schroeder says. “But that doesn’t mean we should damage our hair.” 

Over-the-counter hair dye, or the dreaded “box dye” as it is commonly known, says Schroeder, is made with metallic salts, which cause a bad chemical reaction with ammonia-based dyes and cause the hair to dry out. Sometimes, the color comes out darker than anticipated and covers the hair shaft in metallic properties that are challenging and costly to lift.

As far as box-color goes, the general public is not always educated on the formula or application process. Some might also think that they can achieve the color on the box, and that’s not always a true representation of what it’s actually going to look like. It could be three, four, or five hours before we can erase the damage that’s been done by what our clients have done at home,” she says. “It’s not going to be great the first time you’re back in a salon. So we are strongly discouraging our clients from doing that.”  

And don’t even think about bleach.

“Imagine that you accidentally dropped some Clorox bleach on your black sweater, it doesn’t lift white. If you catch it quickly enough, it goes to a deep reddish-brown. If you don’t catch it until later, it looks dark orange or light orange. Or if it’s a thin enough fabric, maybe it looks yellow or gold afterward. This also translates to our hair. This is why its not always best to bleach our hair at home.” 

If you must, only opt for temporary box dyes

If you must scratch the color itch, Schroeder says that you should buy a temporary box color as it can be the least damaging. 

“For those people looking for a quick change, the temporary dye is better, but it can still damage the hair. But if you do this one time, will it be the end of the world? Probably not. So, don’t worry too much.” 

Integrate masks into your haircare routine

Stay-at-home measures mean we’re doing less. So, while we have some downtime, “its a great time to put on a mask or a professional conditioning treatment on your hair,” Schroeder says.  “Salon Laurie has even created some at-home spa kits, filled with hydrating face and hair masks, hydro aromatherapy products, candles and more to help us treat ourselves a little bit rather than sit around during our downtime.”

Need help finding some professional hair treatments? Check here. 

Try giving yourself a haircut

So now that we’ve got the rundown, a bang trim and haircut are about the only things Laurie will recommend anyone at home attempt on their own. 

“Cutting your own hair or bangs is not as detrimental because it grows, right? So we’re not compromising the integrity or the strength of our hair. Nothing is permanent. ”

To see how she cuts her own bangs, click here.

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