Shampoos, particularly those with harsh sulfates, can strip away the hair's natural oils and colour molecules, leading to dullness. Furthermore, hot water can open the hair cuticles, allowing the colour to escape. Heat styling tools can also contribute to losing vibrancy in hair colour.
There are some sulfates included in shampoos that can be quite strong and inadvertently cause your color to fade. They do this by penetrating the hair's cuticle, which strips natural oils and dries out your hair.
Ammonia lifts the cuticles and the peroxide breaks down the natural hair pigment. This reaction lets the colour in. The peroxide has a strong dying agent which causes the hair to feel dry and straw-like.
Comparing Permanent, Semi-Permanent, and Demi-Permanent Hair Dyes. Permanent hair color has the greatest potential for hair damage due to the chemistry involved and should be done most cautiously.
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.
Vinegar rinse
The acetic acid in vinegar helps to break down the dye, making it easier to wash out. To use, mix one part vinegar with two parts water. After shampooing, pour the mixture over your hair and let it sit for a few minutes.
What ingredients should you avoid if you have color-treated hair? The most important part of caring for color-treated hair involves avoiding the following ingredients, as shared by pro colorist Richy Kandasamy: sulfates (SLS or SLES), parabens, sodium chloride, and petrochemicals.
Baking Soda Paste
Baking soda can be an effective way to remove permanent hair dye naturally because of its lightening properties. Try mixing baking soda with lemon juice, which is acidic, to create a paste. Then, work the paste through your hair, allow it to sit for five minutes, and rinse thoroughly.
Using a clarifying shampoo not only strips the hair dye ready for a new colour but gives it a fresh start – almost like a detox for your hair! Clarifying shampoo strippers work by taking away excess product from your hair and scalp while the ingredients work to help break down the dye attached to your hair.
You can make a comeback from color-treated damage if you incorporate protein, water-based products, deep conditioning, and steam treatments into your natural hair routine.
Opposite colors, or complementary colors, have the power to cancel each other out. This principle is the cornerstone of effective color correction in hair coloring.
Baking Soda Paste
Baking soda can be an effective way to remove permanent hair dye naturally because of its lightening properties. Try mixing baking soda with lemon juice, which is acidic, to create a paste. Then, work the paste through your hair, allow it to sit for five minutes, and rinse thoroughly.
Shampoo Color-Treated Hair Less Frequently
To prevent water from washing away your vibrant color, the answer is simple: Wash your hair less often. To retain those natural oils that help condition your color-treated hair, shampoo just two or three times per week, and never more than every other day.
Red hair is notoriously difficult when it comes to upkeep. While it's the hardest color to fully strip from your hair, it's also the first to fade, often lightening drastically within the first few washes. So unless you're wanting to touch-up your own color at home, it would be wise to skip the scarlet shades.
Sulphates: These harsh detergents have a stripping effect on hair, damaging hydration and colour. Oxidising Agents: Hydrogen Peroxide, bromates, and persulfates can break down natural and chemically processed colour. Nitrogen Compounds: These compounds darken when exposed to air and light, which can stain your hair.
The dye, that is the pigments, do not damage the hair. Damage is caused by either bleach or the developer or both. Pigment only dyes, called semi-permanent or temporary; do not use bleach or developer and can actually condition your hair. Always use the lowest developer possible for the task.
And always wait at least 24 hours before washing your hair after you've had it coloured, to let the dye settle in. Water fades hair colour. In fact, up to 80% of colour fade is due to water alone. Your hair absorbs water, and as your hair dries, the dye drains out with the water.
Dish Soap
Fortunately, if you go through the effort of using this drying soap on your dyed hair, it can help remove unwanted color. You'll need to do many washes to fade it out, but it is a step in the right direction if you want to remove a color.
Another reason could be that your hair has already been sensitised by products which are too harsh for your locks or the heat from a heating device. If the cuticles are damaged, logically colour will not hold as well. As a result, it is very important to revive your locks with targeted treatments before colouring.
Ways to Fade Hair Color
Wash your hair with clarifying shampoo as soon as possible after dyeing it, then rinse with hot water to strip away the color. Try exposing your hair to the elements as well, like the sun, salt water, and chlorinated water. As a last resort, apply a chemical color remover to strip the dye.
As relaxing as it is to shower with hot water, if you wash your hair with lukewarm water, the hair cuticles will be stronger and will keep the colored hair dye vibrant for longer. Remember that to remove residue from hair or coloring from the scalp, it is always advisable to use warmer water.
Sulfate in shampoo can cause hair color to fade. You will find many well-known brand shampoos that contain sulfates. The purpose of adding sulfate as an ingredient in the shampoo is for deep cleansing your hair.