Dyeing your hair can be a big commitment, often involving bleach and significant changes to your hair health. While a new hair color can be fun, you may want to return to your natural look later on.
With that in mind, you may ask, does dyed hair go back to its natural color? Read on to learn more about transitioning from dyed hair to your natural hue.
Does Dyed Hair Go Back to Natural Color?
Yes! If you have dyed hair and are longing for your natural locks, never fear—your natural hair color will eventually return.
Dyed hair will not naturally return to its original color on its own. The dye penetrates the hair shaft and alters the hair’s natural pigment, resulting in a new color. The only ways to remove the dye and return to your natural color are to either grow out your hair and gradually cut off the dyed portion or use a color-removal process, such as color stripping or bleach.
As your hair grows, the new growth will be your natural color, while the dyed portion will remain the same. Over time, you can trim the dyed hair as the natural hair grows longer, eventually returning to your natural hair color.
Letting your roots grow out is the obvious way to get your natural hair color back. Although your hair dye will gradually fade, the only way to have your pure, original hair color return is to allow your undyed hair to grow.
Growing out your roots is a slow process that requires a lot of patience—after all, most hair only grows about half an inch every month.
As your natural hair grows out, you may want to get highlights to make the transition more attractive. A balayage or ombre look, for example, may be preferable to having a thick chunk of differently-colored roots.
You can also speed up the process of your hair dye fading by using a good clarifying shampoo. Regularly using a cleansing shampoo will help to lift color and fade your dyed color more quickly.
Will My Natural Hair Color Return After Using Semi-Permanent Dye?
Semi-permanent dye permeates your hair less than permanent dye, and thus fades relatively quickly. Between your hair growing out and the semi-permanent dye fading, you can expect your natural hair color to start to return in at least two months.
As a less aggressive form of hair dye, semi-permanent hair dyes begin to deteriorate as soon as you start washing your hair. Whenever you wash your hair, the shampoo lifts some of the pigment that the semi-permanent hair dye deposited into your hair shaft.
After several weeks of washing your hair, your semi-permanent hair dye will have significantly faded in its shade.
Keep in mind that if you bleached your hair before applying the semi-permanent dye, the faded dye will reveal your bleached hair, not your natural hair color.
The only way to go back to your natural hair color after bleaching your hair is to dye your hair a hue that is similar to your natural color or wait for your roots to grow out.
However, since semi-permanent dye causes far less damage than permanent dye, you could safely dye your hair a more natural color as you wait for your hair to grow.
Does Permanent Dyed Hair Return to Normal Naturally?
Transitioning from permanent dye to your natural hair color is a little more complicated than dealing with semi-permanent dye. When you use permanent dye on your hair, the dye chemically alters your hair to deposit the dye.
Thus, the only real way to regain your natural color is to let your hair grow out. If you want to dye your hair with a new color that matches your natural tone, you should work with a professional colorist.
Adding additional dye on top of your permanent dye can cause serious damage to your hair, and a trained hair colorist will know how to devise a safe plan for transitioning your hair back to a natural shade.
What Is the Quickest Way To Restore Natural Hair Color?
There is no quick way to truly get back your natural hair color. If you need to quickly change your hair back to a natural shade, you will need to either dye your hair a matching color or cut your hair short so your roots have less length they need to grow.
If you opt to dye your hair a similar color to your natural hair, be prepared for a gradual dyeing process to avoid damaging your hair with excessive chemical treatments.
On the other hand, if you don’t mind losing some length, cutting your hair into a shorter style is a great way to speed up the transition process. When you cut your hair, you remove a large portion of the dyed hair and won’t have to wait as long for your roots to grow out.
So, Can You Get Your Hair Back to Its Natural Color After Dyeing?
In short, your dyed hair will grow out and go back to its natural color. If you want to quicken the process, you can cut your hair short or use dye to match your natural hue.
Otherwise, you can patiently wait for your roots to grow out and use clarifying shampoo and highlights to allow for a smoother transition process.