How to Color Hair After Japanese Straightening

Japanese chemical hair straighteners are the least-damaging chemical relaxers on the market but they can still cause damage. For this reason, most stylists recommend that their clients pick one chemical service and stick with it. Color clients are gently swayed away from perms and chemical relaxers and vice versa. Double-processed hair, hair that is color treated and permed or relaxed, can become extremely damaged if care is not taken. To color hair after Japanese straightening, you must first determine if the hair is healthy enough. Short hair holds up better to multiple chemical services than long hair and bleaching hair should always be avoided by those with relaxed hair.

Things You'll Need

• Brush
• Clear tape
• Hair color
• 10-volume developer
• Bowl
• Color bottle
• Gloves
• Timer
• Shampoo
• Protein reconstructive treatment
• Conditioner

Instructions

1. Brush through the hair and check for damaged areas. Look specifically for extremely dry sections or sections that feel rough, frizzy or brittle. These sections are usually located toward the ends of the hair and should be removed before coloring.

2. Cut out a small stand of hair from an inconspicuous spot. Wrap a small strip of tape around the ends of the strand to keep all of the hair in place. Mix up small batch of hair color in a bowl using equal parts of the hair color and the developer. Completely submerge the strand of hair in the color and set the timer for 20 minutes. Rinse the hair and check for damage. If the hair is mushy or easy to break, it cannot be colored. If the hair appears intact, move onto the next step.

3. Mix equal parts of hair color and color developer in the color bottle. Screw on the lid and shake the bottle to mix. Put on the gloves and apply the color throughout the hair using small half-inch sub-partings. Apply the color from root to tip until all of the color is completely saturated. Set the timer for 20 minutes.

4. Rinse the hair with warm water until all of the color has been removed. Shampoo twice to remove any lingering color. Rinse thoroughly. Remove the gloves.

5. Open the protein reconstructive treatment and apply it evenly throughout the hair. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Work a liberal amount of conditioner through the hair using your hands and fingers. Wait for five minutes before rinsing.

Tips & Warnings

• All chemical services need to be touched up. When you touch up your chemical relaxer, the chemical will remove the color from your hair. So you should wait until after your hair has been straightened to color your hair. However, you cannot color your hair immediately after a chemical relaxer. Your hair needs to rest at least a week before a second chemical service can be performed.

References

• "Milady's Standard Textbook of Cosmetology;" Milady, Diane Carol Bailey, Margrit Attenburg; 2008