When you choose to dye your hair, the process of ensuring the color’s longevity begins right from the rinse-out stage. Otherwise, your hair will lose its desirable coloring, and you will need to dye it again.
After applying hair dye and allowing it to sit on your hair for the recommended duration, it’s necessary to wash off the excess dye with water. But should you use hot or cold water for this?
A similar question arises when you wash your dyed hair as part of your regular hair care routine. Read this article to clear up any confusion regarding the use of warm or cold water for your dyed hair.
Do You Wash Leftover Hair Dye With Hot Or Cold Water?
When washing out leftover hair dye, use lukewarm water rather than hot or cold water. Lukewarm water is effective at rinsing out the dye while being gentle on your scalp and hair.
Hot water can strip away natural oils and potentially cause your hair color to fade faster, while cold water might not be as effective in removing the excess dye.
Some experts recommend removing the leftover dye with conditioner while most experts recommend washing it with shampoo and then using conditioner.
If you choose to shampoo after dying, wash your hair with cold water first to rinse out the dye because shampoo will effectively remove the dye so you don’t have to worry about staining from the hair.
You should avoid hot water altogether because it can cause damage to your newly dyed or bleached hair. The reason for this is hot water causes hair to oxidize and wash out easily.
Additionally, hot water can cause damage to your hair cuticles. As a result, they will turn your hair porous which allows hair pigments to escape through your pores.
How to Wash Dyed Hair?
When it comes to washing dyed hair as your regular hair care routine, use cold water to avoid fading your hair color quickly.
Hot water opens up the cuticles on your hair shaft. While this can be beneficial for allowing conditioner and hair treatments to penetrate deeply, it can also lead to color fading more quickly.
Since the hair cuticle is open, color molecules can escape more easily, leading to faster fading of your dyed hair.
Regular use of hot water can strip natural oils from your scalp and hair, leading to dryness and potential damage.
Cold water helps to close the hair cuticles. This helps lock in moisture and, importantly for dyed hair, seal in color, making it last longer.
By sealing the cuticles, cold water prevents color molecules from washing out, thus maintaining your color’s vibrancy for a longer period.
You can follow this technique for washing your dyed hair:
Use lukewarm water when shampooing. This temperature is gentle enough to cleanse without stripping color and natural oils.
Finish with a cold water rinse after conditioning to seal the cuticles and lock in color.
Things To Avoid After Dying Your Hair
After dying your hair, you are at risk of damaging the dye and affecting the color. So, you must be careful to ensure you are not stuck with hair dyed the wrong color for months.
UV Exposure
Notably, you should avoid UV rays after dying your hair. Unfortunately, the Sun naturally lightens hair whether it is dyed or not.
For that reason, many people have lighter hair in the summer. If you want to avoid damaging your hair dye, wear a hat when you are out in the Sun.
Heat
Another reason to avoid being out in the Sun is the heat can damage your hair dye. It is not only hot water that can damage your hair; Hot air can do damage too.
Once your hair dye has had time to settle, it is less likely to be damaged by the heat, so we recommend avoiding dying your hair during the middle of the summer.
Chlorine
Finally, you should avoid exposing your hair to chlorine.
Chlorine is found in most swimming pools and can dry out your hair and dull its colors. It can even turn blonde hair green, which would be a disaster.
Rather than taking the risk, avoid putting your hair in a pool while it is dyed.
Over-Shampooing
A big mistake many people make is maintaining their hair-washing routine after dying their hair. You still must wash your hair, but you should tone down the amount of shampoo you use.
Washing it every day can cause it to dry out and become brittle. As a result, most industry experts recommend washing dyed hair two or three times a week.
Using too much shampoo can cause your hair to lose its natural oils. Your hair needs to stay hydrated so your dye does not wash out or become dull.
Another option is to use dry shampoo if you are worried about your hair getting greasy throughout the week.
So, wash your dyed hair with lukewarm and cold water and follow these tips to keep your dye hair vibrant for a long period.
FAQs
Here we will answer a few final questions you might have.
After you dye your hair and wash it to remove the leftover dye, it is recommended to wait at least 72 hours before using shampoo on it. It takes roughly three days for the cuticles in your hair to close, locking in the color.
If you do everything to take care of your hair after dying it, the coloring should last six to eight weeks. However, hair dye can last different amounts of time depending on the type.
Although it depends on the type of hair dye, dark brown hair color typically lasts the longest.