If you have jumped on the trend of bleaching and dying your hair to achieve the beachy blonde waves but are now living to regret your choice, never fear. There is a way for you to get your natural hair color back after putting it through harsh bleaching.
Whether you are a natural blonde or have jet-black hair that you have bleached multiple times, you can eventually get back to the beloved hair color by following this simple guide on getting your natural hair color back.
To learn more about the options for getting natural hair color back after bleaching, continue reading below.
How to Figure Out Your Natural Hair Color
Several uncontrollable factors determine your natural hair color. These multiple varying factors include:
- The hair colors of your parents and grandparents
- The climate of the place where you were born
- Your ethnicity or familial heritage
- Your genes that include the activation of melanin in your skin and hair
- Your lifestyle and amount of stress experienced from birth through adulthood
- Your diet and overall health condition
If you are intent on getting your natural hair color back from a total bleach blonde color, it’s important first to understand what your natural hair color is.
Many people began dying their hair and altering their appearance through beauty enhancements and hair color changes with age during the teenage years of their life, and have continued ever since.
If you find yourself in this predicament and are not exactly sure of your true original natural hair color, consider the following ways to figure it out:
- You might want to look at photographs from birth or childhood
- Ask your parents what your natural hair color was when you were young and if it ever changed naturally without the assistance of dyes from infancy through adolescence
- Take a peek at your roots and what color they are growing as
- Check your driver’s license to see what your hair color listing is
- Think back to how your hair looked before you began bleaching it
- Consider which colors look best with your facial complexion and make an estimated guess
Understanding the Effect of Bleach on Your Hair
Bleach is a very potent agent that is not only used to dye and lighten hair but can also be used to kill bacteria and clean and sanitize a variety of surfaces in both commercial businesses and residences.
Bleach works on your hair by breaking down your hair’s molecules and forcing them to react with pigment molecules. This makes bleach powder for lightening hair and priming hair excellent to be dyed in different vibrant colors.
When you wash the bleach from your hair during the dying process, the fatty acids that naturally occur as part of your hair’s composition also break down, making it difficult to return the color to normal.
While bleach does not cause permanent damage to everyone’s hair, multiple uses of bleach over prolonged periods in combination with hair dyes, styling products, and heat can result in severe drying and breakage.
You must apply bleach with intensive conditioning, oiling, and reparative treatments. It should never be used on fine, damaged, or porous hair.
How to Strip Bleach From Your Hair and Get Back Natural Hair Color
Now that you have a clearer understanding of how to determine your natural hair color and the effects that bleach has on your hair, it is time to consider removing the bleach by stripping it to begin the bleach reversal process.
Ingredients Needed
The best way to get bleach out of your hair is to go to a professional hair salon or visit a hair care professional for expert bleach removing practices. If you are planning on strip your hair by yourself in the comfort of your own home, you should consider having these items on hand:
- A sink, large bowl, or bucket
- A clean shower
- Hairbrush and comb
- Deep conditioner
- Gentle shampoo cleanser
- Hot water
- Keratin serum
- Eggs and mayonnaise
- A whisk
- At least one towel that can get damaged
- Hair scissors
A Step By Step Guide
The most important thing to understand about getting your natural hair color back after bleaching is that it will take time. It is imperative to wait at least two months before even attempting to reverse the bleach and dye. Otherwise, you run the risk of having your hair fall out.
After two months or longer have passed and you want to begin the bleach removal process, follow these ten steps:
Step 1: Do a preparation mask by whisking eggs and mayonnaise together and rubbing the mixture thoroughly through your hair. Let sit for at least an hour before washing out with very hot water.
Step 2: Take a bowl of extra hot water and soak your hair for 30 minutes. Then, repeat the egg and mayonnaise hair mask and rinse a second time.
Step 3: After your hair is rinsed off again, cut anywhere from half an inch to four inches of hair off the ends of your wet hair. This might sound daunting, but it is essential to stimulate hair growth by cutting it when attempting to regain your natural hair color.
Step 4: Deep condition your hair for at least one hour before rinsing with hot water again.
Step 5: Soak hair in a bowl of hot water again.
Step 6: Get in the shower and wash your hair with shampoo two to three times. Use hot water.
Step 7: Repeat the deep conditioning process and rinse again.
Step 8: Soak the hair in hot water a third time.
Step 9: Use your brush to detangle and then brush keratin serum throughout your hair gently.
Step 10: Allow your hair to air dry and repeat this process every few days or at least once per week until you notice the bleach beginning to fade.
Patience is Key
The process of getting your natural hair color back after bleaching will take some time depending on the quality of your hair, whether it has dye in addition to bleach in it, and how much bleach solution was originally used to bleach your hair.
If your hair begins to dry out, consider adding extra oil treatments and nourishing hair wrap to add moisture in between rinses. If you are uninterested in this thorough hair rinsing, you can always wait for it to grow back by simply leaving your hair alone.
Get regular haircuts to encourage hair growth or even consider shaving your head to start fresh with the color that grows in.