Being able to color your Donna Bella extensions opens up a world of new style possibilities. You can achieve mermaid hair, pastel hair, ombres, sombres, rainbows and beyond—and all while saving your natural hair from damage. But as with anything, coloring our hair extensions involves a couple of rules. These are not designed to limit your prospects or make the alteration process difficult; on the contrary, our coloring rules are intended to preserve hair quality, so you can achieve the gorgeous results you deserve. Any and every style and color is still available to you. All it takes is a little bit of preparation work!
So what are our 10 extension color rules to live by? Read on to find out…
- 1 - Use professional (semi or demi permanent) colors, only. Semi or demi permanent color is the least invasive of the color options, requiring no harmful developers so hair can retain its original, healthy shine.
- 2 - Do not lighten or bleach, only darken. Lightening or bleaching the extensions compromises the integrity of the hair, distorting the base color and stripping the cuticle layer.
- 3 - Perform a strand test first. Hair extensions process hair color differently than our natural hair, so test it out!
- 4 - Color extensions before installing them. Otherwise the hair color can compromise extension bonds, causing premature slippage.
- 5 - Stay within 2 shades of the extension base color. This will prevent over-processing. (However, when coloring bright rainbow colors, use our lightest shade available: #60)
- 6 - Pre-wash extensions with sulfate-free shampoo before coloring them. Extensions come pre-conditioned, and this silky coating needs to be removed in order to color the hair and ensure even absorption.
- 7 - Always flip extensions to color both sides. This promises thorough saturation, which is key to achieving vibrant, colorful results.
- 8 - Go with the direction of the hair’s cuticle when brushing color onto hair. Brushing downwards will help avoid matting and tangling of extensions.
- 9 - Remove all Tape from Tape-In extensions before coloring them. When coloring the entire length of Tape-In extensions, remove the tape before you begin, otherwise the chemicals in the dye could break the adhesive down. You will need to apply Replacement Tape after they’ve been colored and processed.
- 10 - Use only sulfate-free, color-safe shampoo and conditioner on colored extensions. Hair products like these will keep the cuticle layer shut and preserve the new color’s shine and vibrancy.
As a bonus, we'll include another fail-safe coloring tip: invest in Hair Insure. Even when you follow every protocol, rule, and step in the book, it's still possible to slip up now and then. Take preemptive action to avoid any potential financial loss or client fallout by investing in Hair Insure before you get to work—all it takes is a 15% premium on the cost of the extensions themselves (10% for Certified Rewards members). In return, you get complete and total coverage for your hair extensions, meaning that, in the event of a mishap, we'll replace the hair at no cost to you.
We’re so inspired by all of the latest color developments in the beauty industry, and by the potential of what can be achieved using hair color and hair extensions. That’s why we’re excited to roll out our Color Takeover initiative—an educational outreach program and resource center for any stylists looking to incorporate custom color into their hair extension services. Our Color Takeover Portal features comprehensive tutorials, color formulas, instructive articles, and more—all available for free for Donna Bella stylists. Visit the Color Takeover Portal today to kickstart your color journey. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create!