Serenity Salon

“Is it a semi or a permanent colour?”. This is one of the most common question we get asked about colour during a consultation. It is also one of the biggest misconceptions about colour that most people have.

A permanent hair colour is called that because it actually lifts your own natural pigment out first and then deposits colour back in, permanently altering the inside of your hair. It won’t actually stay the same colour in your hair permanently or forever, as most of us have experienced at some point. All artificial colours fade into something else eventually! Even hair with no artificial colour in it is always changing due to the sun, weather, age, etc.

Semi and demi-permanent colours only deposit colour into your hair. A true semi-permanent colour will only last for a few washes, whereas a demi-permanent will last a lot longer and is usually what is used when a stylist says semi.

Whether a colour is permanent or not doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer in your hair. Depending on hair texture, natural colour, what’s on the hair already, as well as the end goal for your hair colour will determine what type of colour is needed. Sometimes a demi will last as long or longer than a permanent if you only need to go darker or just change the tone of your hair because it keeps your hair in a much healthier state. As your hair gets more damaged, it becomes more porous (think of it like a leaky roof!) and colour will fade a lot quicker. Some textures of hair are naturally more porous than others and can fade quickly even if you’ve never had a colour before!

One last note: if a box colour from a drug store/grocery store says it is semi-permanent but you end up with lighter hair or hot roots … they lied! Please always be honest with your stylist about what is on your hair, it can drastically change the outcome that is planned if we put a colour on your hair without knowing the whole history! Hair keeps the remnants of colour forever, even if you can’t see it!