How Long Should You Wait Before Coloring Your Hair Again? – The Ultimate Gude

How long should you wait before coloring your hair again? Depending on what you just had done, whether you got the outcome you wanted or not, and how much maintenance you need, you can choose how long to wait.

You recently had professional hair coloring done. Either you found the lovely shade you desired or you didn’t. The first thing that runs through your mind, maybe even while you’re still in the chair, is ‘how long before I can come back?‘. There isn’t really just one right response to that query.

Table of Contents

The Perfect Hair Color

Your stylist and you worked in unison, and your beautiful locks need to stay that way. Standard time in between appointments is 4-6 weeks, since your hair grows on average 1/2″ a month. If you don’t mind the roots, you can extend this to 6–8 weeks. Being able to stretch it out usually depends on what your natural hair color looks like compared to your artificially “sweetened” hair color. For instance, if your natural hair color is a medium ash brown and you’re addicted to platinum blonde, you’ll probably need to wait closer to 4-6 weeks since the roots will have a lot more contrast when they first appear. Since the roots won’t be as obvious, if you’re a medium ash brown and you’re addicted to a warm, chestnut brown, you can probably wait a little longer between colorings.

The Wrong Hair Color

Sound the alarm!! If you and your stylist weren’t on the same page and your locks are left a different shade than expected you have to ask yourself a couple questions.

#1: “is what I desired to accomplish in a single appointment.” We are stylists, not magicians, so we are constrained by the rules governing color and what it can achieve. Please be patient. Prior to applying ANY color, your stylist should always make sure you are comfortable with this schedule by informing you if your desired end result will require multiple appointments. Before you leave, your stylist will inform you of the time that you should return for round 2. Sometimes multiple appointments are also best to maintain the health of your hair. Going slowly is advised because significant color changes can be very harmful.

#2: “I didn’t get what I wanted, and I don’t think my stylist understood what I wanted“. At this point, it might be necessary to call the salon and request that your stylist give it another look. If it is almost there but not quite, it might be something simple, and the salon might have a policy to correct it gratis within 24 hours. Your satisfaction is their top priority, and a good stylist will be open with you about how to make you happy. The salon you visited should have a policy on this as well, but it’s best to check before returning. If you are completely uncomfortable with the stylist, request an alternative stylist. I can speak from personal experience when I say that I’ve had clients tell me they didn’t love what we did, and I’ve always offered to try again for free. Because of this, my client is still coming to me today and was kept content.! It happens more than you think, don’t be afraid to speak up!

How Soon Can I Dye My Hair Again to Fix It?

When you can safely dye your hair again depends on a few factors. The type and color of dye you used, as well as the developer volume, will determine how quickly you can re-dye your hair. Since every person’s hair is unique, this is a factor to consider.

Is your hair damaged? You should wait at least 2 weeks, but preferably closer to 4 weeks, before attempting to re-dye your hair if it was already damaged before you dyed it. Wait at least two weeks before coloring your hair again if it was previously healthy but now appears or feels damaged after coloring it.
How did you color your hair? A permanent, demi-permanent, or semi-permanent hair dye was used? Permanent hair dye should not be used again for at least two weeks because it further damages the hair.
You used what developer volume?The developer cream that typically comes with box dyes has a volume of 20 (which lifts or darkens hair by 1-2 shades), but yours may have had 10 or 30 or 40. Because they are less harmful to your hair, 10 or 20 volume developers will allow you to dye your hair again sooner.

No matter how it was damaged, damaged hair requires a long break between chemical processing sessions in order to heal. The top layer of your hair is lost when you dye it, chemically straighten it, bleach it, heat style it, or even just rough comb it.

When damage gets bad, it can result in undesirable changes to your hair’s structure and appearance. You’ll notice that your hair has some of the following symptoms if it’s severely damaged:

Frizzy
Breaking off
Falling out
Dull or waxy
Chronically dry
Brittle and straw-like
Oily or limp

Read about

Why Should You Wait Between Coloring Hair?

You likely realize that coloring your hair, like any chemical process, has a negative impact on it. That is the main reason you shouldn’t re-dye your hair right away; exposing your hair to harsh chemicals on a regular basis is not something you want to do.

Now, there is unquestionably a distinction between those who have strong hair and those who do not. People who are blessed with really strong and healthy hair can be a little more careless than others but their hair is still not immune to the negative effects of hair dye chemicals.

If your hair is not that strong and prone to damage then you should definitely wait before coloring it again.

The two most prevalent and upsetting effects of overdoing the coloring are split ends and hair breakage. Each time you dye your hair, you inadvertently damage the hair shaft and sort of rip off the top layer of it. Your hair suffers as a result, losing its smoothness and shine and turning dry and brittle.

How Long Should You Wait Before Coloring Your Hair Again - The Ultimate Gude — How Long Should You Wait Before Coloring Your Hair Again? – The Ultimate Gude

How Often Can You Dye Hair?

It is advisable to wait at least 4-6 weeks before getting another color treatment after giving your hair the ideal color. Based on three primary characteristics, here are explicit instructions for how long to wait:

HAIR COLOR & GROWTH

The most important factors to consider when deciding how often to color your hair are your natural hair type, the color you want, and how quickly your hair typically grows (about a half-inch per month is typical). A person with naturally dark hair that grows quickly, for instance, might need to think about getting another coloring procedure sooner if they chose a lighter shade because the darker hair roots will show through more quickly.

Product Type

To keep a consistent color, permanent hair color requires more frequent touch-ups than semi-permanent or temporary coloring. As a result, choosing how often to color your hair requires careful balancing. Wait at least four and preferably six weeks before beginning a new treatment, as a general rule.

If desired, semi-permanent tints may be applied more frequently than permanent ones. Since it is intended to fade, more frequent treatment is required.

Your Preferences

Your personal preferences affect how frequently you color your hair. Think about whether you prefer no regrowth or are the kind of person who is fine with their natural roots showing for a short period of time. You could increase the interval between color appointments to a few months if it’s the former.

Consider What You Want

The shade you select and the frequency of tinting your hair will determine how long the color lasts and how it appears.

Temporary

The shortest-lasting hair dye typically wears off after five to ten shampoos.

Semi-permanent

For four to twelve washes, choose this option. You can use it every week because it won’t saturate your hair.

Demi-permanent

Up to 20 washes are possible with the semi-permanent color.

Permanent

The longest-lasting dye is permanent, and it’s safe to reapply it every 6 to 8 weeks. The hair is colored and lighter thanks to permanent hair coloring.

What Happens If You Dye Your Hair Again Too Soon

You might be considering re-dying your hair right away if 2+ weeks seems like a long time to wait. Yes, it’s not unusual for someone to dye their hair twice in one day or to wait just a day or two before applying a new color.

But it would be terrible to die it again so soon. You’ll first notice a sudden, observable increase in breakage if you dye your hair again too soon. Anywhere along the hair shaft—high up, close to the roots, midway down, or at the ends—can experience hair shaft separation.

You’ll consequently begin to notice a ton of annoying flyaways where your hair has fallen out. Your hair’s texture and appearance may also have changed. In addition to appearing full and shiny, healthy hair also feels soft and manageable (easily combed/brushed).

You might notice that your hair suddenly feels dry, brittle, and straw-like if you’ve had two dye jobs in a row. Or the opposite might occur, leaving you with limp, oily hair that lacks volume. But if you dye your hair again too soon, will these consequences really affect you? Almost certainly yes.

Just the fact that hair dye is an extremely alkaline substance will harm hair strands to some extent, so keep that in mind. Developer, which aids in lifting the outermost cuticle layer to let the dye molecules inside, should be added to the mix to avoid serious breakage.

The harm will be even greater if you used permanent hair color, which contains harsh ammonia or ethanolamine. Fortunately, you can prevent this from happening to your hair by waiting the advised amount of time—at least 2 weeks—before dying it again.

Lower Maintenance Hair Color Options

During your consultation, let your stylist know if you’d like to spend as little time as possible in the salon so they can apply the right hair color for you. Ask if a semi- or demi-permanent color can be used in place of a permanent color, regardless of how much gray there is.

It will keep your hair in excellent condition and hide overgrowth. A permanent hair color might be necessary if you have a lot of gray hair. How much upkeep you require will depend on how much you can put up with the silver particles reappearing.

So, is It Too Soon to Dye My Hair Again?

Has it been at least two weeks since you last bleached or dyed your hair permanently? Otherwise, it’s too soon to dye your hair again.

More damaging chemicals, such as bleach, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide, should not be used on your hair. This may cause hair to become weak and brittle, to break off noticeably, and to frizz and flyaways that are challenging to control.

Consider the options we’ve provided if you simply can’t stand the way your color turned out.

You don’t need to wait two weeks to reapply dye or bleach to spots you missed the first time. Just be careful not to overdye or overbleach the previously treated areas.
You’ll need to visit a salon to have the color professionally removed or corrected if you used black box dye and don’t like it.
If your color turned out too dark, you can lighten your hair without re-dying it or bleaching it by using products and ingredients found in most homes, such as baking soda and dandruff shampoo.
Use a toning shampoo to neutralize brassy tones until it’s safe to chemically tone or recolor your hair if your color has good coverage but looks brassy or came out warmer than you wanted.
Use a good damage-repair hair mask, such as Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 1, and don’t skip this step. 3. This will lessen any harm that premature coloring, bleaching, or dying may have done to your hair.

Even though it may seem catastrophic at the time, a bad dye job is not the end of the world. Even though you won’t be able to dye your hair again right away, you can still correct the color for the time being by taking some action.

Keep your cool and make the best decision for the health of your hair; if all else fails, find some adorable hats and pass the two-week waiting period in style.

Don't forget to share this post.

InDye, Hair