For a period of 10 years, I've dyed my hair the closest colour to my own colour. My issue today is that my hair is getting thinner and very dry. I’ve tried different products on my hair to bring some shine to it with no luck. I’m 44 years-old and need some direction or recommendations on products or steps that I can use on my hair to improve its look.
Amal e-mailed us at expert@sweetspot.ca; and our hair expert, Howard Barr, answered:
It’s without doubt that the consistency of your natural hair now is very different to when you first started colouring your hair. It’s likely to have lost most of its pigment, which will have made it coarser and drier. Many store-bought "colour-in-a-box" products do little to solve this problem. This is often exacerbated by poor application by the consumer, overlapping the colour which leads to dryness and very often breakage, which could explain your loss of hair density or thinning.
The solution of course would be to see a professional colour technician, if possible. If not, then perhaps you need to be more careful or have a friend assist you in applying any colour that you buy. Treatments are a great idea, although many women do not use them correctly or do not leave them on long enough. This is why I like to recommend John Frieda's Overnight Repair Creme. This product can be put on dry hair and is left in the hair overnight. It leaves no residue.
Finally, you may wish to lighten up your hair colour. Your skin tone would be significantly lighter than it would have been 10 years ago, so an adjustment is probably needed. This will also help to disguise any thinning hair, making it contrast less against your scalp.
Howard Barr is a Canadian Creative Consultant for John Frieda. He also owns Howard Barr Studio located at 261A Queen St. West, 416-599-3113, www.johnfrieda.com