There are some cases where you can use the hair dye without a developer, but one thing should be in your mind that the results would not be the same as can be achieved with permanent hair dyes. There are some dyes named direct deposit dyes and these dyes will simply deposit color on your hair. Those dyes are usually rainbow fashion colors. Dyes without the developer are temporary but sometimes can stick to the surface of your hair and it is difficult to remove.
There are lots of brands that are offering colors like blacks and reds, and these colors do not contain any developer and still, they will provide a natural look to your hair. Those dyes are not effective for full coverage of grey hair, but without damaging your hair they will make the Grays look like highlights.
If you are using a hair dye without a developer then you are wasting your money and time. Pigments of the dye will not reach the hair scalp. As a result, you will not be able to get your hair dyed properly. These dyes will be quickly washed out from your hair and you will not even get the desired results. If you have a sensitive scalp and you are worried about your hair health then use a low volume developer or conditioning treatments. When you want to lighten the color of your hair you can select a slower route. You can afford several sessions for lightening and conditioning treatments will help to preserve the hair’s health.
Why developers are used in hair dyes?
Hair dye has the ability to deposit the color molecules to the hair. This color can only be deposited to your hair when the cuticles are open. Here comes the role of peroxide or developers. A developer will help to open up the cuticles and the dye will easily penetrate into strands of hair.
Peroxide and dye both are different things but to provide benefits and desired outcomes both of these need the help of each other. Developers are used in the permanent hair dyes and the color will last for a longer period of time. Color with a developer will last for almost three to four weeks, but it will depend on the hair wash.
What alternatives you can use if you are not willing to use developers?
Developers or peroxides can act as an aggressive element so people who are afraid of using a dye with a developer can try out other options. Dyes that don’t need to act with peroxide are called semi-permanent dyes. These dyes don’t contain developers so the color molecules will not penetrate deep and deposited only to the external surface of the hair. It means that the internal melanin of the hair will not be changed.
Dyes without the developer will not last long. These colors can only last for a maximum of two weeks but again it will depend on how many times a week you wash your hair. Using a dye without a developer the biggest disadvantage is you will never be able to lighten your hair you can only use these to darken your hair. In semi-permanent dyes, the ingredients such as sulfates and parabens are not present that result in the drying of your hair.
Dyes without a developer usually contain ingredients that are enriched in olive oil, collagen, or argan oil. So for those people who are afraid of using developers, a semi-permanent dye can be the best choice. This will also minimize the damage to your hair that a developer or peroxide can do.
What you can do to minimize the damage caused by the developer?
To be honest, whenever you will apply chemicals on your hair or body they will cause some damage. You can minimize it or control it but you cannot completely eliminate the risk. Coloring your hair is a chemical process because the ingredients used in a hair dye are basically to change the internal structure of the hair. You can follow some practices that can help to minimize this damage up to some extent.
Use a homemade mask that will help you to reduce the damage caused by a developer
When you use a developer, the results that you will observe at first sight will be the dryness and loss of moisture. So the best thing you can do to get rid of this problem is to moisturize your hair. Use this natural hair mask once a week and you will notice that it will significantly reduce the damage that was caused by a developer.
Ingredients to be used for the homemade hair mask are
- 1 Banana
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ avocado
How to prepare this natural remedy and apply it?
- Take a bowl and mash up the banana and avocado and keep doing that until there are no lumps left behind.
- Add olive oil in the bowl
- Apply this mixture from roots to the ends
- Allow this mixture to set in hair for at least one
- Try to use cold water and rinse the hair properly and make sure that you are washing your hair with a sulfate-free shampoo.
Conclusion
Developers are basically known as activators and hair dyes without developer might have no effect on your hair. Developers help the color to penetrate deep into the hair and get the desired results. Peroxides are used to lift the cuticles and it depends on the strength of the developer to lift cuticles more or less. Another way to dye your hair without the use of a developer is to use the direct deposit dyes. These dyes will directly deposit the color onto your hair without a developer.
If your skin is sensitive and you don’t want to use dyes that contain developers then you can try semi-permanent dyes. These dyes will have a short stay at your hair and color fades away quickly. So we can simply conclude that when we use a hair dye without a developer it will just coat the hair nothing else it will do.