We won't use ammonia on your hair!

Why you don't want (or need) ammonia in your hair color (by Hilton Bell).

Ammonia affects different people in different ways. I've seen this happen in salons time and time again.

Client Number One has her hair colored with a product that contains ammonia apparently without any side effects at all. Client Number Two has her hair colored using the same product and ends up with headaches, stinging eyes, trouble breathing or a nasty rash. Or ends up in bed feeling terrible.

I've talked with many hairdressers and hundreds of clients about this and the most common answer goes something like this: "It's the price you have to pay if you want your hair colored".

Often the clients will add "Thank goodness I don't have to get it done every week". Or "I figure every 6 or 8 weeks can't do too much harm."

But I say "If ammonia can affect our clients like this, then what about the hairdressers and colorists who are breathing it in every day?"

There's plenty of information available about the adverse effects of ammonia. It's no secret. Ask any doctor or check it out on the Internet. You'll find statements like this:

"Inhalation of lower concentrations in the air or solution can cause coughing, and nose and throat irritation. It can also produce rapid skin or eye irritation. Ammonia's odor provides adequate early warning of its presence, but ammonia also causes olfactory fatigue or adaptation, reducing awareness of one's prolonged exposure at low concentrations".

At the same time as ammonia is getting into your eyes and lungs, it's getting into the cuticle of the hair. In fact the shaft of hair is starting to resemble Swiss cheese.

Ammonia not only negatively affects the cuticle of the hair, it also damages the amino acid or protein called Tyrosine which is found inside the hair shaft. Tyrosine is responsible for producing melanin (the natural pigment in the hair shaft).

When the Tyrosine is damaged, the hair's ability to hold onto color is greatly reduced (or eliminated altogether). When you introduce color into the hair shaft without damaging the Tyrosine the color lasts longer because the color has something to bond to.

The main purpose of this web site isn't to put down ammonia. It is to simply to inform professional hairdressers and colorists about a product that is readily available that doesn't contain any ammonia at all. And at the same time gives better results.

Better color. No fading. Happier, healthier clients. And happier, healthier colorists.

Hair Styles and Hair Color, the Effects of Ammonia in Hair Salons

For the last 60 plus years, going into a hair salon has meant being exposed to certain chemical smells. People associate that smell with hair salons. Walking down the street you could sense there was a hair salon close, by the smell. Husbands and boyfriends would wait in cars or outside to avoid that smell.

Ammonia has been used in hair products for a long time and hairdressers have had to put up with being exposed to it. Clients have had to put up with it for equally as long of course. I use the term “put up with it” because I would place a substantial amount of money on the premise, that no one actually enjoys being exposed to, or having to breath in ammonia. (Unless you are unconscious and need smelling salts to be brought awake again.)

As a hairdresser for many years, I myself had made the statement numerous times, when people would complain about being exposed to the chemical smell or being in contact with the actual product on their head. “Is this suppose to itch burn or sting like it is doing on my head?” My response would be something along the lines of; “You don’t have a choice, there are no other options”. Just remember no pain no gain. All the time in the back of my head I had this nagging desire to be free of having to subject my clients to this level of discomfort and exposure. After all I was in the process of making the client look and feel more beautiful and better about themselves. Having to have something unpleasant happen during the process took the edge off the experience in my mind.

I remember some years ago taking a leave and not being in a hair salon for 2 months. I also remember going into a hair salon after that time and being hit with that familiar smell. (I use the word hit because that best describes it.) Working around the smell for so long on a daily basis, any hairdresser will tell you that they just don’t notice it. Over the years I had numerous friends, (mostly male friends) asked me how I work with the smell all day? My response was normally – “I don’t really notice it” or “you get used to it”.

Having not been around ammonia for about 5 years now, I can definitely say that when I am exposed to it, it amazes me to be hit (there’s that word again) with that pungent toxic smell, which I didn’t really notice for so many years. (Or more to the point, had to put out of my mind for so many years.)

My research has uncovered, that about 50 to 60% of people that have their hair colored with ammonia based color, suffer some degree of adverse reaction. This has also been confirmed by many other salons that have switched to Organic Color Systems as well. Headaches, feeling ill or nauseous, feeling foggy or the like. I have had some people tell me that they go to bed for 24 hours or so after they have their hair colored with ammonia based products. The price of beauty, as some would refer to it. By the way, I only started to find this out after I started to use Organic Color Systems on people’s hair.

It is a source of interest to me that so many clients that have had Organic Color Systems used on their hair refuse to go back to ammonia based colors. Which I totally understand!

The number of public individuals that have asked me the following question are numerous;
“Why would any hairdresser use that old ammonia stuff when there is an option like Organic Color Systems?”

From a client’s perspective, not having to suffer while having your hair colored is a huge bonus. Salons that have made the switch to Organic Color Systems and have gotten rid of their ammonia based colors, will tell you how much better their clients feel and what positive feedback they get from their clients. I’m sure you can imagine what happens as far as referrals go. That’s just better business to be able to remove something that is not pleasant for the consumer, as part of the experience. From the hair salons perspective to not have the pungent smell floating through the air is equally as positive. The above deals with one primary aspect of the advantages for hair salons using an ammonia free hair color, that being the positive for the client and the salon environment. Both these are very important and bring about a much more pleasant and positive experience for the client in general.

What advantages there are for the hairdresser, both from a health perspective and as an artist or technician is a whole different article. Being able to color hair and maintain the integrity of the hair has numerous advantages both creatively and ethically.

Studio 7 Organic Salon

14170 County Rd 7

Mead, Co 80542

ask for Micah 303-875-1781

studio7organics@hotmail.com