What you should know before cutting or dyeing your hair in quarantine

Because of COVID-19, we have been restricted from leaving our households or being able to come in contact with other individuals. This has resulted in the closing of local stores, pubs, hair & aesthetics salons and more. Because of the lack of accessibility for hair salons specifically, self-dyeing or cutting of hair, is becoming a popular activity for those stuck at home.

Shawnee Williams, a future professional hairstylist with over six years of experience in hair, will her own industry thoughts about self hair treatments. She was to be graduating from MC College this May, which will now be postponed. This will be more difficult for her and others to prepare for professional industry experience and be available once salons open up.

Q & A: Important at-home aspects

Q: How has COVID-19 affected the regular amount of people who have already cut and dyed their own hair?

A: “With COVID-19, there has been so, so, so many more people doing their own hair because of closed salons. It is part of our duty as hairstylists to stay apart from people to prevent it from spreading, closing all salons, which means self hair treatments are becoming more reliable.”

Q: What are some of the concerns with self hair treatments?

A: “When people dye their hair, they may not know exactly what they are buying, sometimes within box dye, it can expire and be unsafe. If this happens it can damage your hair or scalp. It is also very difficult to fix in a salon once self applied or store-bought dye is used.” Paragraph

Q: What are health risks when doing at home hair treatments?

A: “It is possible to ruin your hair from store-bought dye because of expiration or the chemicals used, this can cause hair loss, irritation of scalp and may irritate eyes. Not all hair reacts the same to certain dyes so it doesn’t always turn out as planned. Cutting hair at home is dangerous without the correct cutting equipment, and can be difficult to achieve without knowing the correct cutting techniques.”

Q & A: Industry Reaction and Recommendations

It is very important to know the consequence of handling your own hair.

Q: What are the concerns for hairstylists in this situation?

A: “Those who dye or cut their hair at home, are sometimes upset with how it turns out afterwards because it doesn’t look how they wanted it to, so we (hairstylists) will be the ones they go to, to professionally touch it up. It’s safe to wait until hair appointments are available before making the decision to change your hair.”

Q: When can this issue be resolved?

A: “Anytime during the consultation, to the end of the hair service, this may be delayed due to the Coronavirus, but once the hair studio you usually go to is open, it’s recommended to wait before taking your hair further on your own.”

Hair damage within self-treatment

Q: Do you think self-haircuts or box-dyeing hair should ever be used at home?

A: “As a hairstylist we recommend coming to a salon in order to get the best quality of product and treatment for greater results.”

Q: How can individuals prevent hair damage?

A: “Store-bought hair and scalp treatments aren’t products that will help your irritated hair. Before using any product on your hair it is important to consult your hairstylist beforehand. Brushing, washing, not putting your hair up and wearing hats less frequently will help healthy hair growth.”

–

While hair stylists are preparing to “fix” what has been done from drug-store product, it is important to consider their requests. If you plan to dye or cut your hair by yourself, do some research and make sure you are using safe product, otherwise it is smart to wait to get it professionally done.

---

Comments