Colorists? I have a hair coloring question..?

I have been dying my naturaly brown hair black for the past 3 years, and I really do like the color on me. I flat iron regurally (naturally wavy), and try to cut my hair every 2,3 months. My hair is pretty fine, but I have a lot of it. Its pretty healthy, but i do notice a lot of dryness if I go a while without cutting it. I deep condition when I can't get myself to the salon quick enough. I try to color my hair every 2 months, because, even though I use permanant, it does fade over time. I love the intensity of freshly dyed hair. My question is, should I not use a permanant every few months? Should I use demi permanat (clairol makes a demi permanant black)? Then maybe only use a permanant dye a few times a year? Do people do this, and does it work? The reason why I am asking is because I don't want my hair to eventually become brittle from dying it too much. I am trying to keep my hair healty.

Colorists? I have a hair coloring question..?

store bought permanent dye contains much more pigment than salon dye (this is to keep you out of a salon, and keep buying their product, with little regard to the quality of your hair)

pulling this dye through the ends of your hair every time is just depositing more and more pigment on the ends, and it will dry your hair out. the amonia level in store bought dye is ridiculous if you should ever decide to go a bit lighter, it will be a MAJOR pain in the butt.

I would suggest doing your roots with permanent, and every 6-8 weeks, refreshing your ends with a semi-permanent.

Colorists? I have a hair coloring question..?

Demi permanent is for refreshing color. so yes you can use it more often than permanent with minimal damage.

Keep trimming and deepconditioning these are the best ways to prevent dryness. If you flat iron often you should also be protecting your hair before you blow dry with a serum.

Colorists? I have a hair coloring question..?

The flat ironing is probably doing more damage then the colouring (I do it all the time too). You can try the demi but you will find it fades more quickly. If you were lightening your hair it would be a lot more damaging than going darker.

Colorists? I have a hair coloring question..?

Hello, I am a hair dresser. It sounds like you are taking the correct precautions. You aren't coloring you hair all over are you? You should only be coloring the roots (new growth) and you can use a glaze every so often to brighten up your color. Make sure you are using heat protector when you are using your flat iron. Another way to try and keep your color vibrant is to use a shampoo and conditioner for brown colored hair. Pantene makes shampoos for different color ranges and on the more expense side, so does Redken. You are taking great care of your locks and that is awesome! Just remember to only color the roots and you should have no problem. Hope this helps!