Oftentimes, returning to your natural color takes several sessions with a colorist unless you're planning to let your hair grow out. However, hair growth happens at about a half-inch per month, so growing out your hair could take a long time, especially if you don't have short hair.
Yes. Once your hair starts growing, you will again have your natural color at your roots. Using a permanent hair color does not change the color of the hair growing out of your scalp.
After five months, the dye will not wash out completely, but it will fade over time due to factors like washing, sun exposure, and hair care products. Your natural hair color may become more visible at the roots as your hair grows, but the dyed parts will still retain some color.
Whether you're looking for a lower maintenance color fix, need to repair your hair, or just want to get in touch with your roots, going back to your natural hue is totally doable—but is safely and most successfully accomplished with a little help from your (Society) friends.
After you've tinted your hair, you need to let it grow. Remember to treat it like colored hair: just because it's your natural color doesn't mean it isn't chemically treated. Hair usually grows roughly one-half-inch per month. If you keep your hair long, it will likely take years before it is truly "natural" again.
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.
Generally speaking, though, you can expect permanent hair dye to last anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. If you have any concerns about using permanent hair dye on your hair, be sure to speak with a professional stylist before making the commitment.
When growing out colored hair, consider opting for low-maintenance hair color techniques such as balayage or ombre. These techniques involve painting highlights or color onto the surface of the hair, allowing for a more natural-looking grow-out process.
As a general rule of thumb, darker colors tend to stay on the hair for longer. So, if you're adding lowlights, a root shadow or all-over depth, the shade will offer more mileage than, for example, light blondes, light browns or light reds. The same goes for pastel colors versus rainbow colors.
And your hair might feel healthier
While hair dyes and techniques have come a long way since their follicle-frying beginnings, they do still leave some damage. Taking a hiatus from color will help your hair return to its previous state--especially as dyed ends get chopped off.
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.
If you're naturally a brunette, there are a few different ways to get back to your natural look, depending on whether you've dyed your hair lighter or darker than your natural shade of brown. The key is to not only get most of the outer pigment removed from your hair, but also to restore its underlying pigments.
If the cause of greying is genetic, it is not possible to reverse the process, no matter what some marketers on the internet claim. In case of nutritional deficiencies and underlying medical conditions, you can gradually slow down or even reverse the process.
If you're not against extreme measures, you can cut your hair off to get back to your natural color. If you'd rather leave your locks intact while you get back to where you started, it's important not to touch your root, says Mazzei. "Or it will be back to square one."
Stay patient. The biggest challenge when growing out your natural hair coloris patience. Depending on the length of your hair, it could take a year, two, or even longer for your color-treated hair to fully grow out.
An ammonia-free formula that contains plant-derived pigments and oils like jojoba and coconut oil, Phyto was the winner of the GH Beauty Lab's most recent at-home hair color test. It provided the richest, most uniform and truest color, and users found that it lasted longer than all others tested.
The fastest way to remove hair dye is typically by using a clarifying shampoo or anti-dandruff shampoo. These shampoos contain strong cleansing agents that can effectively strip color from the hair. It's important to follow up with a deep conditioning treatment, as these shampoos can be harsh and drying on the hair.
These are all harsh chemicals that can be extremely damaging to the hair as well as cause reactions to sensitive skin and allergies. When you put box dye on your hair, it is permanent and these chemicals do not come out until the hair is cut off.
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.
"Baking soda works as a scrubbing agent," Bergamy explains. "[It will] gently strip off the color from the surface of the hair without damaging the quality of your strands." This option is best for fresh hair color that's only one to four days old, so consider it a method for when you're having immediate regret.
Sulphate-rich shampoos are ideal for stripping hair since they help to release the colour - especially with dark or vibrant colours. These include clarifying or deep cleansing shampoo or anti-dandruff shampoo.