Post by mkatsi on Aug 3, 2014 8:30:07 GMT -6
One of the big pains of dying our hair bright colours, is fading! Wouldn't it be awesome if the only time you had to refresh your colour, was when you did your roots?
Follow these tips to prolong your dye's longevity. These tips are for vegetable, bright coloured hair dyes.
The first thing we should note when trying to make your dye last a long time, is that some dyes just DO last longer, and some wash out very quickly. This can be dependant on the dye itself, or often on your hair. A dye that works amazingly for your friend might fade quickly on you.
Colours of dye's that typically last a long time are - Orange, dark purple, some blues.
Colours that typically fade quickly are - Pastel shades, bright reds, silver, turquoise and lighter blue tones
Pastel shades will always fade more quickly than other dyes because they are essentially very diluted versions of bright colours. When dying your hair pastel colours, its always best to buy a strong pot of dye and dilute it yourself with white conditioner. This will save you money and not affect how long the dye lasts.
To Make your dye last longer
Follow these tips to prolong your dye's longevity. These tips are for vegetable, bright coloured hair dyes.
The first thing we should note when trying to make your dye last a long time, is that some dyes just DO last longer, and some wash out very quickly. This can be dependant on the dye itself, or often on your hair. A dye that works amazingly for your friend might fade quickly on you.
Colours of dye's that typically last a long time are - Orange, dark purple, some blues.
Colours that typically fade quickly are - Pastel shades, bright reds, silver, turquoise and lighter blue tones
Pastel shades will always fade more quickly than other dyes because they are essentially very diluted versions of bright colours. When dying your hair pastel colours, its always best to buy a strong pot of dye and dilute it yourself with white conditioner. This will save you money and not affect how long the dye lasts.
To Make your dye last longer
- When rinsing out your dye, never expect it to run clear. Since vegetable dyes do not have developers (which shrink the dye molecules temporarily so that they can become 'trapped' in the hair) then there will always be a tinge to your water until the dye is completely gone from your hair. Rinse until the colour is no longer washing out very strongly.
- After rinsing out your dye, you could do an apple/cider vinegar rinse. Mix water and vinegar and rinse (or lemon juice, but this can lighten hair/dye). Vegetable dyes are alkaline solutions which cause the cuticles of the hair to open and stick up, acid will return the PH of the hair to normal, smooth and flatten the cuticle and and lock the colour in.
- Wash your hair in COLD water so far as you can stand, and always blast with cold water after washing/conditioning. This shocks cuticles shut and locks in colour.
- Don't wash your hair more than twice a week! NO, its not 'gross'. Hair shouldn't be washed too often as it strips the natural oils away from your locks and can leave it looking dull and lifeless. (Not to mention the more we wash, the more we style with heat). Washing your hair is obviously the biggest way that we lose dye from the hair. Your hair shouldn't look unwashed. If you're a big hair-washer then it may take a week or two for your locks to balance out and get used to not being constantly over cleaned, but it should adjust quickly.
- Avoid heat styling! Heat fades colour, its true for almost anything. When we straighten or blow dry our hair we're exposing it to intense heat. Heat protection spray's will protect the hair from damage, but not the dye from fading.
- Sun and Sea and the Pool! Ever leave something in the window and notice it gets really faded? UV rays and the heat of the sun can fade and lighten dye very quickly (just as most people get lighter hair in summer). Salt water and chlorine also really fade dye. The more chemicals, unbalanced PH and 'roughing up' you expose your hair to, the more it will fade.
- Beware of products. Some hair products can fade colour, and in the cases they don't, using lots of gels, mouses and hairspray causes a build up the hair which we then have to work hard to wash out, and dye will go with it.
- Put some colour in your conditioner! Keep a separate bottle of conditioner with a small amount of dye in it (you'll get a very pale pastel shade) using this once a week can help top up your colour. Leave for five mins and rinse away. Be careful doing this if you have more than one colour dye in your hair as you don't want to muddy your tones!