Ammonia free hair color has gained popularity over the past few years. L’oreal started the trend with their wildly popular INOA hair color line. Other brands have followed in L’oreal’s footsteps and released their own line of ammonia-free hair color.
As much as we love the endless options that hair color can give us, there are drawbacks. The truth is, hair color just really isn’t all that great for your hair, or your body. That’s why ammonia-free hair color has always caught our attention. But, is it really better for you?
“[Ammonia-free] may not actually be worse, but it is equally as harmful,” says celebrity colorist Shlomi Mor. That’s because it still contains other chemicals, like peroxide, to activate the color when it is mixed together. However, “ammonia-free hair color is usually better for your hair than color with ammonia in it, but it really depends on how much ammonia content the specific color line has in it,” adds Shlomi M.
The pros: According to celebrity hairstylist Shlomi Mor, ammonia-free color is best to use when you are coloring your hair for the first time, you want to cover your first gray, or you just want to add some shine and warmth to your natural color without dealing with the hassle of having to touch up your roots every four weeks. “Most ammonia-free color disappears gradually each time you shampoo,” says Mor. “I personally love working with ammonia-free color because of the shine of the color and the way it makes hair feel.”
The cons: Some stylists aren’t fans of ammonia-free color because they say it’s not strong enough to totally change a person’s shade. “It also won’t cover 100 percent of gray hairs if a person’s hair is coarse in texture. But, it has already changed and improved a lot in the last two years and is becoming better at doing that,” says Mor.
So where can you find it? at flirt beauty boutique we are fans of L’Oréal Professionnel INOA, which debuted in 2010 as the first ammonia-free, permanent in-salon hair color (a major beauty breakthrough). Mor says INOA is his top choice for creating beautiful, shiny, rich hair color. “I love the fact that it has no harsh ammonia (and no odor), and my clients love having their hair colored with it.”
