We spoke to the experts to get the lowdown on when it's safe to dye your child's hair. "I really don't think it's safe to dye or bleach a child's hair until after puberty, and ideally not until their late teens — at least 16," advises Dr. Sejal Shah, M.D., a New York-based dermatological surgeon.
If done professionally, highlights and coloring can be safe for a 12-year-old. Off the scalp color and highlights with Aveda color is a super safe option. Also, be sure to schedule a patch test prior to your child's appointment to test for any allergic reactions.
Children under the age of 16 should never be offered any hair colour or foils service, including initial allergy testing.
“Permanent hair color and highlights contain ammonia and hydrogen peroxide which can damage hair.” Frank Friscioni of Oscar Blandi Salon in Manhattan and Frank Cassi Beauty in Palm Beach agrees. “I would not want to apply dye to a child's scalp who is under 16 years of age,” says Friscioni.
As long as your parents are ok with it that's all that matters. I got highlights around the same age, but I continued to get them done but I loved it and never had any issues.
After the age of 12, adult hair is present, which can grow five times thicker and seven times longer than baby hair, making it more resilient to breakage and chemical processing. Since kids' hair is not fully developed, it is susceptible to damage if dyed during the ages of 18 months to 12 years old.”
Many recommendations indicate that chemically changing a child's hair prior to puberty age is not ideal. Kid's hair before this time is typically thinner and more fragile and can be easily damaged by even the most gentle hair color formulations.
Salons Should Not Dye Your Child's Hair
According to the Natural Hair Federation's code of practice, hairdressers should not apply any hair colour products to anyone under the age of 16.
No dye products should be used on under-16s, according to manufacturers and the industry's professional body.
As dermatological expert Dr. Sejal Shah explains: "I really don't think it's safe to dye or bleach a child's hair until after puberty, and ideally not until their late teens — at least 16," the chemicals in dye can change the whole texture of your child's hair, not just its colour.
Most of the time, highlights can last between two to three months in average hair. But, this timeframe may vary depending on several factors, such as your hair care routine, how the highlights are done, your hair texture, how healthy or damaged your hair is, etc. What is this?
Highlighting your hair is one of the best ways to change up your look without doing a total hair color overhaul. While it does require some amount of bleach to make the lightening process happen, that doesn't mean you're signing yourself up for stringy hair and split ends.
Highlights are an ideal option if you have a great base hair tone, and don't want to amend your natural hair color too much. Highlights are often the introduction to hair coloring since they enhance your hair by adding streaks that are a shade or two lighter than your natural color.
There's a common opinion that platinum blonde and silver hair dye age you, but we don't believe so. If your hair is healthy, shiny and matches your skin tone, any hair colour will make you look fresh. Just remember to bleach your hair safely and have an appropriate aftercare.
Ideally, *permanent hair colour* would stay vibrant forever, or at least until the roots grow. On most heads of hair, that would mean getting a good 6-8 weeks between touch-ups – but sometimes, even with permanent dye, colour fade can happen within a few weeks.
We spoke to the experts to get the lowdown on when it's safe to dye your child's hair. "I really don't think it's safe to dye or bleach a child's hair until after puberty, and ideally not until their late teens — at least 16," advises Dr. Sejal Shah, M.D., a New York-based dermatological surgeon.
Dr. Ganjian says it's really best to wait until after a child is done with puberty. Sure, plenty of children have used hair dye and been just fine, and if you've dyed your child's hair in the past, you shouldn't panic over it.
Safety Risks when your tween wants hair dye
In fact, most hair dye is not thought to be safe for children. Hair dye manufacturers provide a clear age limit of 16 on their salon products. If you look at home dye kits, they may contain PPD and also have an age 16 limit.
Fresh Monster Hair Chalk is non-toxic and gentle on hair. My only advice is to make sure you only rub in downward motions, because going back and forth on the hair strands creates a rat's nest.
Hair Chalks are made of 100% non-toxic material and safe to use on all hair, whether it is used on be your own, your kids or even the family pet! And hair chalk does zero damage to your hair.
Hair color is one of several physical traits that are genetic, or passed down through an individual's DNA. Human DNA has millions of on and off switches along networks that control how genes function. Genes responsible for hair color come from both parents.
As to answer the question of whether it's safe to dye a child's hair, the simple answer would be no. According to Dr. Sejal Shah, MD., a dermatological surgeon based in New York, hair dyeing should be done by kids at least 16 years of age. This is because children have thinner locks than adults.