What is the difference between permanent and semi-permanent colour?

Is it possible to ask John Clark in London a question?

Hi John! I have naturally very dark brown hair, almost black. I have noticed recently a few greys appearing at the front of my hair which I colour with a semi-permanent colour as I'm a bit dubious about using a permanent. Anyway I find that the semi-permanent colour doesn't cover the grey that well, it almost looks a lighter brown at the front of my hair. Should I now be using a permanent colour to really hide the grey or will I get the same light effect?

Also is there a huge difference between a permanent colour and a semi-permanent colour?

Thank you John,

Hope to hear from you soon,

Effie, Somerset

If you are finding that the shade you are using in the semi-permanent colour range is not giving you the coverage then it should be perfectly fine to use a permanent one. Always be sure not to go too dark and if you are undecided between colours as to which matches your natural tone, then go with the lighter one.

Semi-permanent dyes work by using the hairs natural colour to add tone on tone, so if some hairs are lighter, then the colour result on those particular strands will come out lighter. A permanent colour creates a slightly more uniform shade by making all the hair the same colour, the upside to this is they cover white hair more intensively.

If you are concerned about hair condition there is a fantastic product that contains no ammonia but is permanent - INOA by L'Oreal and it's available in salons.

John Clark, Head of Colour at Brooks+Brooks, London