Metal detox: how metal could be affecting your hair colour services
Published
27th May 2021
by eleanor
This is a sponsored article by L’Oréal Professionnel Paris
Did you know that hair with excess copper can be more prone to breakage during the colour process? Whether you’re conducting a balayage service or wanting your clients’ hair colour to remain as vibrant as possible, removing metal is crucial if you want to achieve optimum results.
What is metal and how does it affect hair colour?
The water we use in the salon can often contain minerals, calcium deposits and chlorine, so we are well aware that water can make our colour fade faster, can cause build up and can make hair look and feel dry. This can also present in dull colour tone, rough cuticles and even a green tinge to the hair. After years of feedback from hairstylists and colourists that colour results were not always optimal, L’Oréal Professionnel Paris decided to investigate if there was something else in the water that was impacting professional hair services.
As well as mineral deposits, water can contain metals, and these metals can get into water due to pipeline erosion, wherever we may live. L’Oréal Professionnel Paris launched a global study and investigated the levels of metal in hair across the globe. The level of metal in hair varies, depending on the water quality where we live and on hair porosity. The above map represents the percentage of people who have excessive levels of copper in their hair.
What are the results from the research?
Once it was understood that metals in hair was a global issue, L’Oréal Professionnel Paris scientists, in collaboration with Ionnania University in Greece, spent seven years researching the topic. Together, they discovered that metal, and more specifically excess copper, can pose a real risk during the colour service. The hair acts like a sponge, so wash after wash, metal particles can accumulate on and inside the hair fibre. What’s more, they found that it is specifically the metal inside the hair fibre that poses the greatest risk, rather than any metals that sit on the fibre surface. When you add an oxidant to the hair during the colour process, the copper that may have accumulated over time inside the hair fibre can interact with it and cause interferences, which can lead to an unreliable colour uptake and breakage.How L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Metal Detox Service improves hair colour
Once it was clear the issue was metals inside the fibre that were the real issue, the research sought to uncover a molecule that could combat this problem. This research led to the discovery of glicoamine, the only molecule small enough to penetrate and neutralise metal inside the hair fibre. Glicoamine is at the heart of L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Metal Detox, a new professional protocol capable of neutralising excess copper in the hair.
How does the Metal Detox work on hair colour?
Metal Detox is a three-step professional protocol capable of neutralising excess copper in the hair. The protocol is in three steps and takes place in professional hair salons to elevate the results colour, balayage and lightening services.
Step 1: Neutralise Metal
A pre-treatment that helps to neutralise excess copper in the hair. Applied before the colour service, simply spray on to dry hair from root to tip in successive separations, letting it dry while preparing your colour service.
Step 2: Gently Remove Metal
A cleansing cream shampoo that detoxes the hair after the service. It can be used once or twice to help cleanse the hair and remove the excess colour and excess copper.
Step 3: Protect The Fibre From Particle Deposits
A protecting care mask that prevents new particles from returning, this is best suited to medium to thick hair which has been sensitised, helping to bring back strength.