Can hair really change colour all by itself?
Hair really can change colour seemingly on its own. As your hair grows, it may become lighter in tone or change entirely to a different colour, such as red or golden.
Typically, these colour changes occur at your hair's ends, especially when you have long hair. Colour changes also appear on your hair located on the crown of your head and can involve long sections of hair (not just the tips). We will explain why in more detail below.
Colour changes at the ends of your hair
Colour changes at the ends of your hair mainly occur because the ends of your hair are older. Older sections of hair will have had greater time for your natural colour pigments (eumelanin and pheomelanin) to degrade. The ends of your hair also typically possess the highest porosity (damage specific to your fibres cortex), resulting in lighter colour tones.
What can happen is that the older ends of our hair fibres can possess reduced active melanin either through oxidisation from the sun or other chemical sources such as free chlorine from the swimming pool etc., lightening your hair's colour tone. This reduction in hair active melanin can also make your hair sensitive to metal ions ingress from copper ions and other metals into your hair. Copper ions can change hair to a red or golden colour. Copper and other metals occur in greater concentrations in water piped to our houses and within swimming pools. Some of these colour changes occurred with Olympic swimmers and families living in high water metal-containing areas which on occasion even makes the news.
Colour changes at the top of our hair
The hair found at the top of your head can be susceptible to changes in colour tone. These tone changes happen because the UV (Ultra Violet) light from the sun disrupts the melanin molecules within your hair, making your hair appear lighter in tone. Changes in colour tone are common in summer within the high latitudes or year-round if you live near the equator.
Get Expert Hair Analysis and Help
If you want to discover how well you are looking after your hair, hair type, or porosity, check out one of HairKnowHow's hair analyses below.
Contact the HairKnowHow Team if you have any questions.
Knowing your hair porosity is one of the keys to unlocking your hair's beauty and health - so your hair can look its best.
Healthy, beautiful hair requires using the right products and haircare practices for your hair porosity. Using the right products will save money and significantly improve your hair's texture, bounce, and colour, reducing frizz and split ends.
HairKnowHow's Porosity Test brings porosity measurement directly to your home and is simple to use.
Discover your hair porosity and receive expert advice to help you get the beautiful hair you deserve.
Healthy hair is beautiful hair.
With our Hair Porosity Plus we also include amazing electron microscopy microscopy images of your hair! See your hair in a new way!
We ship worldwide, including the US and UK. You should receive your kit within 3-5 working days, depending on your location.
Knowing your hair type is the key to unlocking your hair's beauty and health.
Getting healthy, beautiful hair requires using the right products and haircare practices. Using the right products will save money and significantly improve your hair's texture, bounce, and colour, reducing frizz and split ends.
Also, if you are looking for specially formulated haircare products, including shampoos and conditioners, then knowing your hair type and fibre diameter is vitally important.
Measuring your hair type is very tricky are requires a lot of guesswork.
HairKnowHow directly measures the texture and thickness of your fibres so you can be sure that your hair type is accurate.
Healthy hair is beautiful hair.
With our Hair Type Plus we also include amazing electron microscopy microscopy images of your hair! See your hair in a new way!
We ship worldwide, including the US and UK. You should receive your kit within 3-5 working days, depending on your location.
Getting The Complete Hair Analysis is the simple way to discover how healthy your hair really is and, importantly, to get the right products and advice for your hair. Only then can you unleash your hair’s full beauty and health potential.
Our tests uncover and quantify hidden heat damage, increasing porosity, cuticle damage, hair abnormalities, and much more. This hidden damage can lead to hair shortening, frizz, and breakage, including dull, hard-to-manage hair.
So before rushing out to buy those products you think you need for your hair, get The Complete Hair Analysis first!
Reveal your hair’s secrets and unleash its full potential. Get the hair you always wanted with the right products and haircare advice from Dr Palmer.
Healthy hair is beautiful hair.
We ship worldwide, including the US and UK. You should receive your kit within 3-5 working days, depending on your location.