Do Highlights Get Lighter After a Few Washes? In some cases, highlights can get lighter after a few washes and fade over time.
It does fade out as time goes by and even will become similar to your natural hair color, which means that people won't be able to see the highlights anymore. More importantly, it will fade faster if you don't take care of your highlights the right way. Especially, the more you wash your hair, the faster it will fade.
“The color will slowly start to fade with each wash.” Using a gloss or toner is definitely something that you'll need to maintain if you don't want the highlights to return to their brighter state.
If highlights get too brassy or dark, use a clarifying shampoo to strip color, then apply bleach for 5-10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and deep condition to avoid damage.
Too hot of water can cause the cuticle to open further, allowing for some of the color to rinse out during your shampoo process. ORGANIC TIP: When clients wash their hair at home, they should also only use lukewarm water. Scalding hot water will only cause their hair color to fade prematurely.
Since highlights are created by lifting or bleaching the natural pigments in your hair, which permanently alters the color, the lightened hair won't return to its natural color. Instead, the highlights may become dull, brassy, or a lighter version of the treated color.
Hair dye can lighten after a few days as it oxidizes and gets exposed to daily washing and sunlight.
Darken your highlights by applying toner and developer. For a quick fix, try using a colored dry shampoo or color-depositing shampoo to even out the tone. A gloss treatment, semi-permanent, or permanent hair color gives more drastic, longer-lasting results.
Not lifting the highlight retouch light enough. When touching up highlights it's crucial to lift the color perfectly so that it blends. If you don't lift the color enough you'll be left with dark roots after a highlight appointment.
Stay Away From Heat
Heat-based styling tools won't do anything good to your color, especially when you couple it with products. “Try to avoid using volumizers, mousse, hairsprays, and even gels with high heat for long periods of time. The hair is too vulnerable and easily damaged,” says Dorram.
Hair color can fade due to a variety of factors, including frequent washing and styling, using products containing sulfates, added salts, and even alcohols, exposure to sunlight, UVA and UVB rays, and even minerals in your water, chlorine and other chemicals.
In a few months, your highlights will gradually grow out and you will be left with a much healthier mane in your natural hue. Easy, right? If your highlights start at the top of your scalp or you simply don't have the patience to grow them out, you do have another option.
It doesn't completely alter your hair colour, but it helps you subtly manipulate the shade of brassy hair. Hair toners neutralise unwanted warm or brassy tones to help you achieve a shinier, healthier, more natural-looking shade.
2. **Stylist Preference**: Stylists prefer working with clean hair because it allows them to better assess the natural color and condition of your hair. Clean hair also falls in the natural growth pattern. This can be particularly important for coloring techniques like balayage or highlights, where placement is key.
UV exposure, frequent washing, and hard water are some of the biggest culprits behind fading. Internally, hair porosity plays a role—damaged or porous hair struggles to hold onto color molecules. Add heat styling and chemical treatments to the mix, and your highlights could lose their luster faster than you'd like.
The hair of surfers is often damaged and bleached, brought about by frequent exposure to sunlight, humidity and salty water. Blonder or red headed individuals tend to be more affected, given that their pheomelanin is more sensitive.
In comparison to other dyes, hair bleaching is a permanent process which cannot be washed away over time. This is because the melanin, which gives your hair its colour, is stripped away from the hair during the bleaching process.
Sun exposure causes the outer layer of the hair cuticle to break down, leading to loss of moisture and proteins. For colored hair, this can result in significant color fading, especially for vibrant or artificially enhanced shades.
If your highlights are too dark, the toner you used may have darkened them past your desired color. Don't panic—just reach for clarifying shampoo to help fade some of the darkness from the toner. These shampoos are meant to strip product (and in this case, color) out of your hair, and they can be drying.
“If you don't like your color, just say you don't like it,” advises Hazan. “If you start crying or get aggressive, it makes the colorist not really want to help. It's best if you simply state, 'I wanted it a little lighter—would you mind making it a little lighter?
The brightness of your hair color is directly affected by how often you wash it. If you use shampoo too frequently, your dye might fade faster — so it's best to wash only two or three times per week and use dry shampoo in between washes.
Doing so can cause the color to fade prematurely as the cuticles may not have fully closed yet. It's best to wait at least 48 hours.