During the first 48 hours after a color service, the pigments of the salon color are still settling—meaning if you shampoo your hair too soon after an appointment, it can cause your hue to fade quicker.
"After having your hair colored, wait a full 72 hours before shampooing," says Eva Scrivo, a hairstylist in New York City. "It takes up to three days for the cuticle layer to fully close, which traps the color molecule, allowing for longer lasting hair color."
This can cause the highlight to fade faster. Washing highlights the day after only strips the hair, meaning all the beautiful colours will go down the drain (literally). By waiting for up to 72 hours before washing, you will give the hair cuticles time to close.
To Prepare Your Hair for the Next Treatment
Whether you're getting a haircut, keratin treatment, or blowout, washing your hair prepares it for the rest of your salon services. Most styling services are best performed on clean hair, so washing your hair helps your stylist do your next service or treatment the right way.
Don't Wash Your Hair (At First)
Izquierdo says to wait three days. “This gives time for the cuticle to close and the color to set,” he says. That's why you might want to skip a workout or two so you don't have to wet it or wash it—if you do, you're lifting the color right out of your hair.
"After you dye your hair, don't wash it for at least two days because the hair is still sensitive and therefore will be more like to fade faster," says Sergio Pattirane, a hairstylist at Rob Peetoom in New York City. "We recommend waiting to wash it so that the color stay fresh and longer."
Yes, even getting your hair wet is sabotaging your shade.
“If the hair is dry, all the color can soak easily into the strands and not wash off or out in the first shampoo.” That said, if you want a more subtle color to your hair, coloring your hair while it is wet isn't a bad idea. It will just result in a sheer or more transparent appearance of the color.
Lou Birkett, a hair salon co-founder, also told the outlet that although peeing in the shower would save water, it's best to err on the side of caution. You won't create mustard gas, but you could harm your skin with bleach, which is an irritant. Just rinse your hair out in the sink.
It's better to go between clean and dirty if you're going to color your hair. Too clean hair can be drying and too dirty can cause a sloppy hair color.
#2 Shampooing helps to open up the cuticle, which allows the color to penetrate the hair shaft more easily. #3 Washing your hair after coloring also helps to seal in the color and prevent it from fading too quickly. #4 It gives your stylist one final chance to check the color and make any necessary adjustments.
"After you dye your hair, don't wash it for at least two days because the hair is still sensitive and therefore will be more like to fade faster," says Sergio Pattirane, a hairstylist at Rob Peetoom in New York City. "We recommend waiting to wash it so that the color stay fresh and longer."
“I generally tell my clients to wait 48 hours before they wash their hair,” VanDyke says. During the first 48 hours after a color service, the pigments of the salon color are still settling—meaning if you shampoo your hair too soon after an appointment, it can cause your hue to fade quicker.
Avoid washing your hair for the first 48-72 hours after bleaching it. Give your hair ample time to seal in its new color. Because bleaching is such a volatile process, your cuticles remain open for longer immediately following a bleaching session.
“Unlike single- or double-process color, highlights aren't applied directly to the scalp, so it's OK to wash your hair the morning of your color appointment,” says Hazelton, adding that she actually prefers that her highlight clients come in with clean, detangled hair rather than hair that hasn't been washed in ...
When wet it's likely to feel elastic and saggy and when it's dry it could feel and look dry and straw like. You will also experience more hair breakage as well as more split ends after you have bleached your hair. “Don't wash your hair for the next few days after bleaching,” Joie advises.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends leaving the color in for about 20 minutes before you rinse it off. At 20 minutes, your hair dye won't cause damage to your hair. It won't also irritate your scalp.
It features crushed violet pigments that neutralize style-ruining brassy and yellow tones. Hair stylists often tone bleached or blonde hair to neutralize brassy yellow and orange tones on bleached hair with a purple color. Purple shampoo is a great at-home solution for toning hair and preventing brassiness.
How Much Should You Wash? For the average person, every other day, or every 2 to 3 days, without washing is generally fine. “There is no blanket recommendation. If hair is visibly oily, scalp is itching, or there's flaking due to dirt,” those are signs it's time to shampoo, Goh says.
Even if the hair does not feel oily, frequent shampooing is still essential to keep the scalp environment clean and healthy, so we wouldn't recommend going any longer than three to four days without shampooing.
Yellow and violet are opposites on the color wheel, so purple is used to cancel out overly warm, brassy tones. Invest in a purple shampoo to help crush brassy tones for a cooler, brighter blonde.
If you leave purple shampoo on for too long, you may find yourself with a little lilac hue. This color is not permanent and is more likely to happen if you have very light blonde hair or if your hair is dry and damaged. To remove the purple hue, switch to regular shampoo for your next few washes.
2/ At Home Toning Products
Secondly, you can find toner in some haircare products like a purple shampoo, that will help you maintain your colour between treatments at the salon. A salon toner is more pigmented and the results will last longer than an at-home toning product like a purple shampoo.
"If you leave your color on for too long, there is potential for extra deposit of pigment to occur. You can't make your hair too light by leaving a tint color on too long (unless you're bleaching), but it can make your hair darker than intended," says Tardo.