How Long Does It Take To Dye Hair? Here’s What You Want To Know

How long does it take to dye your hair, whether you have it done professionally or at home with some box dye?

There isn’t a universally applicable answer to this question because it depends on the type of treatment you’re receiving and whether you’re receiving it at home or from a professional.

• Regardless of the type of treatment you’re getting, you can anticipate to spend anywhere between two and four hours at the salon.
• While applying box dyes to your hair at home usually doesn’t take more than an hour and a half, there is a higher risk involved.

For in-depth responses to the question of how long the procedure will take, continue reading. There are a few reasons why a professional dye takes longer than a box dye, despite the fact that this may seem strange.

For more specific information, keep reading.

Dye Hair On Your Own: How Long Does It Take?

While dying your hair at home may seem difficult, it is not impossible.

To achieve the best results consistently, the product must be applied. Additionally, doing it yourself will cost much less than visiting a salon.

Depending on the product you use, dying your hair on your own can take a while. Most do it yourself home kits suggest that you put the product on your hair for 20 to 45 minutes, depending on how light you want the color to be.

You’ll need to apply the product to your hair for longer if you want it to be lighter.

To dye your own hair, here is a general step by step guide:

Combine The Oxidizer And Hair Color

It is necessary to combine the oxidizer and hair color in a glass or plastic bowl as the first step in self-dying your hair.

Use a wooden stick or a hair-coloring brush to stir the product. A metal bowl or stirrer should not be used as it may interfere with the product.

Additionally, there is a high probability that using metal utensils will harm your hair.

Avoid Mess

If you skip this step when coloring your hair on your own, the process will be messy and take longer.

Apply a greasy cream to your neck, ears, and skin around your ears. This will stop the dye from later penetrating your skin.

Additionally, be sure to cover your clothing with an old towel or disposable cloth so that the dye won’t harm it. Additionally, put on gloves to keep your hands and fingernails from becoming stained.

Apply The Product

For ease of evenly applying hair products, divide your hair into four sections. Clips or hair ties can be used for this. Work on the front section first, then gradually work on the back.

Start at the tip of your hair when applying the product for the most natural-looking outcome.

If you begin with your roots, the result will be very light, unnatural-looking roots. Due to its proximity to the body and higher temperatures, the roots of your hair color more quickly.

Once more, apply the product evenly for best results. To avoid having a patchy appearance, ask for assistance when applying the product to the back of your hair.

Wait Then Rinse

Wait the amount of time recommended on your hair dye kit, then thoroughly rinse the product.

If a hair strand hasn’t turned the color you want it to, you can also check to see if it has by checking whether or not you should rinse it.

Apply The Conditioner Balm

It is normal for your hair to appear dry after rinsing the hair dye product out of it.

This is the reason why you need to use its conditioner balm right away. This will assist in replenishing the moisture your hair lost as a result of the harsh chemicals you used on it.

Dye Your Hair At A Salon: How Long Does It Take?

Discussion With The Stylist

Although you won’t need to do this at home, the stylist themselves can add on a few extra minutes for salon dyes. Even if you schedule an appointment in advance, you might still have to wait when you arrive.

Before anything else happens, you’ll probably need to discuss with the stylist the kind of treatment and color you’d like. It’s still a good idea to allot at least four hours for a trip to the salon.

You can always request an estimate from the stylist though. The appointment might only last two hours, for example, if you’re getting a root touch-up. However, full-head dyes can utilize the entire four hours.

Bleaching Before Dye

Although you won’t have to do this with every color, depending on the existing color, bleaching can take a while. In addition to the 10 or 20 minute application time, bleach processing time may only take twenty minutes if you are already blonde.

However, if you have darker hair, you might only have thirty minutes. Some stylists may even divide the bleaching procedure into multiple sessions if they’re removing another color from your hair; as a result, you may need to schedule several appointments before you can even touch the hair dye.

Application Time

Your stylist will need to apply the new color once your hair is prepared to accept it; this procedure can take anywhere between 45 and an hour.

Application time might be a little bit shorter if your hair is very short or if the stylist is only applying foils to specific areas of it, but you should still plan on it taking at least twenty to thirty minutes.

Processing Time

While home dyes might take thirty minutes or less to process, salon hair color is professional-grade, so it takes a little longer. Professional-grade dyes typically process in at least 45 minutes, but some can take up to an hour.

Dye Your Hair At Home: How Long Does It Take?

Although working with a professional will always result in the best results, these appointments can be pricey; as a result, some people prefer to take a chance and dye their hair at home.

Even though boxed dyes typically don’t require as much processing or application time, there may be a learning curve if you’ve never used them before. To conclude, the majority of boxed dyes don’t require more than an hour and a half for full-head dyes.

Preparation Time

Even though you won’t have to deal with waiting areas or stylist conversations at home, you’ll still need to give yourself some preparation time. This entails reading the directions on the packaging, gathering the necessary materials, verifying that the hair dye is in the application tube, and fastening your gloves.

Bleaching

Bleaching may not be required if you’re changing from a lighter color to a darker one, but it is almost always necessary if you need to take the old color out of your hair.

The good news is that applying boxed bleach typically takes no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes, and processing time is typically between twenty and thirty minutes.

Remember that the bleaching procedure might involve two steps: for some types of hair, you might also need to apply a toner after bleaching, which gets rid of any brassiness that may have remained and guarantees that your hair is a sleek platinum.

Application Time

You still need to dye your hair with the new color after bleaching (and toning). The majority of boxed dyes don’t require you to insert foils, but you should still plan on spending at least fifteen minutes or more applying them, especially if you have longer hair.

Processing Time

You can reduce that hour-long processing time to twenty to thirty minutes by using boxed dyes instead of professional-grade dyes. Most box dyes include a conditioner to wash the dye out after it has processed.

Which Is Better, Salon Dye Or Home Dye? 

What you’re looking for will ultimately determine whether you let a professional dye your hair or do it yourself. The knowledge of a stylist can make a significant difference if you don’t mind setting aside up to four hours for the appointment (or even scheduling multiple sessions).

A stylist will not only ensure that your hair looks fantastic when they are finished, but many of the professional-grade products they use will also guarantee that your hair sustains the least amount of damage.

While there are some risks associated with at-home dye jobs, they are significantly less expensive (and take less time) than going to a professional salon. If you’re inexperienced, you run the risk of damaging your hair or getting a bad dye job.

Why Your Hair May Take More Time To Dye?

Whether you dye your hair at home or in a salon, a number of different factors affect how long the process takes. Here are some of the most important ones.

Virgin Hair

Virgin hair will require more time to color than hair that has previously been colored. Even after applying the products for a long time, the final result may occasionally fall short of your expectations, especially if your hair is on the darker side.

If you choose to have your hair bleached, the procedure can be accelerated. Nevertheless, because you’ll be using harsh chemicals, your hair may experience quite a bit of stress.

Hair Length

The length of your hair will also have an impact on how long the hair dying process takes. Longer hair requires you to cover more surface area when applying the product evenly.

Style

Another element that significantly influences the length of the process is the hair color and style you want to achieve. The process will go more quickly if you want a single color style, but if you want highlights, plan on it taking longer.

Dye Hair Blonde: How Long Does It Take?

When you want to dye your hair blonde, expect around two hours as a minimum.

Because the lightening agents in the product need time to completely remove your natural pigment from your hair, this process takes much longer than dying your hair any other color.

Expect this process to take about an hour and a half if you only need to lighten your strands by a few shades rather than bleaching them completely.

Dye Hair Brown: How Much Time Does It Take?

Actually, dying your hair brown takes less time than dying it blonde.

This is because the color doesn’t have to completely remove your pigment, requiring less effort and less waiting for the strand to become light enough to accept any color.

Brown dyes are usually just one hour because you don’t need bleach but if you want lighter strands then expect around two hours.

Dye Hair Red: How Long Does It Take?

Red hair dyeing is among the quickest procedures because it doesn’t require removing your natural pigment like other colors do.

Red dyes only take one hour to fully coat your strands and they usually come pre-mixed so no extra time is necessary to spend mixing up different shades and tones.

The Average Time To Dye Hair Black

Dyeing hair black can also take anywhere up to two hours depending on what tone you’re going for and how dark your natural colour is in the first place.

If bleach is used in this process, allow at least three hours if you want a jet-black shade.

If you want to achieve a darker brown tone, plan on spending about two hours if bleaching is not involved.

Can I Leave The Dye In My Hair For 15 Minutes?

Although the majority of dyes can be left in for as little as 15 minutes, it is advised that you leave the dye in for at least 30 minutes.

It could take up to two hours to achieve the desired shade, though, if your strands are particularly color-resistant.

Due to the fact that these products are pre-mixed and don’t need to be developed or dyed into the solution, they typically only take 30 minutes or less to produce.

You must leave the hair dye in for a longer period of time at the roots if you dye your hair first.

Then you massage it through the rest of your hair for the last 10-15 minutes to even up the colour through the rest of your strands

How Soon Does Hair Dye Start To Fade?

Depending on the brand you use, fading of your hair color takes a different amount of time.

While some dyes can last up to six weeks, others only last three! In general, dyes last longer the more expensive they are.

Black hair dye is one of the most persistent colors there is, and it can take up to 12 shampoos before this shade finally fades away.

Unless you frequently wash your hair or expose it to chlorine or salt water, red hair dye only requires about 7–10 washes and typically lasts about 3 weeks.

Blondes only require 5-7 washes before their color begins to fade, but with the right toners, it can be preserved and made to last longer.

After Dying Your Hair, When Can You Wash It?

It’s best to wait at least 24 hours before washing your hair.

This is due to the fact that these products’ chemicals work best when they are fresh before being washed away.

To remove any dye residue and lock in the color, some hairstylists will wash and condition your hair right away.

What’s best for you really depends on the state of your hair and the hair dye you’ve used.

Read about Can You Dye Your Hair After A Perm?

Final Words

How long does it take to dye your hair? That question has a wide range of solutions.

But we do hope that this article has helped to clarify a few things and that you now have the knowledge needed to make an informed choice about the best time to schedule having your locks done.

Take our quiz if you need assistance picking colors! We’ll tell you the colors that are best for you after you quickly respond to a few questions. Simply click the picture below!

Many thanks for reading.