Depending on what you’re hoping to achieve with your beard dye, there are a few things you should consider when you’re choosing the right one for you.
Format: Dyes come in a variety of forms from the classic creams you mix yourself to gels and foams which usually come out of the bottle ready to use. Most of them are easy to use, though you may want to look for a format that says “no drip” if you’re concerned about messiness (letting it drip onto your skin or clothes can cause staining). Personally, we find that gels and foams are the easiest to use if you’ve never used hair dye before, but the traditional cream format sometimes offers more full coverage.
Mix or N0-Mix: Usually to use a hair dye, you need to mix the color into what’s called a developer, which is the base of the formula but also activates the color so it can penetrate your hair. Dyes that you mix yourself will come with instructions and it’s a pretty simple process, but if you’ve never used a hair dye before, you may want to cut out the possibility of human error by choosing a no-mix formula. This means that the developer and color have already been mixed and don’t require you to do it yourself, so it comes out of the bottle ready to use right away.
Multiple Uses: Naturally, when you buy a product like this you want to get your money’s worth. Most beard dye products will be able to be used multiple times, though ones you need to mix yourself can have fewer uses per package. Multiple uses is especially important when using a semi-permanent or buildable product, since you’ll have to use it more frequently to maintain results than a permanent color.
Permanence: Speaking of permanence, that’s an important factor to consider as well. Using permanent color means that it will stay that color until your hair grows out (which is why you get roots). This is great for people that want darker, fuller coverage or don’t want to dye their beard very often. There is also semi-permanent color, which will typically last around six weeks and will fade each time you wash your beard. The benefit of a semi-permanent color is that they are often more buildable (meaning you can customize the coverage) and if you dye your hair too dark, they will fade quickly.
Coverage: Some guys want some subtle gray coverage and some guys want a more complete, usually darker, color. What we’re talking about here is coverage. Full coverage is more like the kind of color you get in the hair salon – it covers all your hair and dyes it all the same color. Buildable coverage is a bit more transparent and is great for covering grays and blending them into your natural color. We also call it buildable because you can add more (like layering it) to achieve a darker look if you want.
Read the full article here
