Hair Discolouration Or Colour Fade?

Have your clients come to you about their hair extensions changing colour and you are not quite sure if this is due to colour fading or something causing discolouration? We’ll help to explain the difference between the two, and this can then help you determine the cause, how to fix it, and how you can advise your clients to prevent it from happening again in the future.

What is Colour Fade?

It is important to understand that colour fading can, and will happen, the same as your clients own natural hair will if it was coloured. Colour fade is usually gradual and completely natural due to wear and tear throughout the complete life of the hair through washing and styling product usage. However, problems can arise when the colour fades at a quicker rate than it normally would, and this usually occurs when the hair is exposed to certain ingredients or substances, and UV rays.

Tips For Avoiding Colour Fade:

• Make sure your clients are always following our Aftercare Guide and using the Remi Cachet Haircare Products.
• Make sure your clients aren't washing their hair too frequently. We advise that hair extension wearers do not wash their hair more than 3 times a week.
• Advise your clients to reduce the water temperature when washing their hair. Hot water opens up the cuticles of hair allowing more colour to escape, so, lowering the water temperature can to help protect the colour.
• Similarly to water, advise your clients to reduce the temperature of their heated tools when styling their hair.
• In bright sunshine (or when using sunbeds) advise them to wear a sun hat and tie up their hair to keep it protected.

What is Discolouration?

Many recognise discolouration as an instant change in their hair. Maybe it’s when it has been exposed to chlorinated swimming pool water, but actually this can also be a gradual change. Discolouration is also mostly seen in blonde hair as a brassy, pink or peach colour coming through, and sometimes it only shows in patches of hair and not across the full length of the hair.

Discolouration is caused by a chemical reaction from mineral elements in hard water, such as iron, that is reacting with the hair colour. This is often accelerated as a reaction with an ingredient found in sun lotions (and many other products) and the heat from sunshine, so many come across this when on holiday.

If your clients are experience discolouration at home, advise them that it is worth checking with their local water provider if they live in a hard water area.

Tips For Avoiding Discolouration:

• At Remi Cachet, our overall advice is to avoid wearing hair extensions whilst on holiday. If your clients are wearing hair extensions this exposes the hair to a lot of factors that can lead to discolouration. So, it's important to explain our recommendation to those clients who have been talking to you about wearing their hair extensions on holiday. 
• Avoid hard water. Linking back to our advice not to wear hair extensions on holiday (where there is a higher risk of this on holiday locations),"hard water" is to be avoided. As previously mentioned, if your clients live in a hard water area, advise them to speak to their local water provider for advice, e.g the opportunity of having a water softener installed at their home.
• For those clients who think hair extensions are a must for their holiday (even though we really recommend that they don’t wear them) make sure they are always keeping head above water, whether that's on a trip to the beach or if they are having a day at the pool. This also includes when they are showering, so advise them to use bottled water when washing their locks to avoid this risk. They also must tie their hair up to keep it out of the water and away from picking up any sun cream, perfumes, lotions etc which then leads to discolouration.
• Wherever they are, make sure they are always following our Aftercare Guide and use the Remi Cachet Haircare Products.

How To Help Eliminate Discolouration:

If the issue truly is discolouration, then the Malibu C Hard Water Sachets are your clients answer. Use with caution! If the issue isn't discolouration, they may damage the hair or cause the hair to fade. They should always follow the instructions carefully to get the best results. View the video below from our Brand Creator Victoria Lynch who shares her expertise and plenty of bonus tips, on using MalibuC to remove the elements from hardwater in these discoloured hair extensions.

How Do I Tell The Difference?

It can be tricky to spot the difference between colour fade and discolouration, especially with mixed hair colours so check out this IGTV from our founder, Victoria Lynch, as she shares some great examples and tips to help tell the difference.

If you aren't a professional stylist reading this, we would always recommend heading back to your stylist for further assistance on determining colour fade or discolouration and assistance to rectify the problem.

If you have any questions or are after some further advice feel free to contact us.