Can I color my hair two days in a row? Or two days in a week?

I can’t sleep a wink.

It’s two in the morning, and I can’t get to sleep.

I’m watching the movie Troy for the fourth time, and not even the naked torso of Brad Pitt can get me out of my thoughts.

 

When Micaela, one of my teenage clients, walked into the salon today with the Disaster, yes, with a capital D, that she brought with her hair, I knew something had happened.

She looked at me and said, “I thought I could dye my hair two days in a row.”

 

If you still have doubts, the answer is NO; you should not dye your hair two days in a row.

Not even two days in the same week.

Your hair can’t handle it.

 

How many days in a row can you go out to parties?

If you are young, surely you can go out one or two days in a row maximum. After that, your body says enough. It needs to sleep.

If you aren’t young, like me, after just one night of partying, I need at least a week to recover.

For your hair and coloring, the same thing happens.

 

 Your hair after coloring it needs a couple of days, if not weeks, to get over the shock that comes with dyeing your hair.  

 

It doesn’t matter what happens.

Maybe you used a color, and it isn’t what you were looking for.

Or maybe you want to do something new to the first color by putting in some Californian highlights.

Or you want a lighter touch than what you have with the new color, just barely, so you apply a new tone in just a few minutes.

 

 

Whatever the reason, my answer will always be the same: “Never dye your hair two days in a row.”

You will go from “I don’t like it” to “I want to kill myself,” within a half-hour.

 

And I say the same thing when they ask me if they can dye their hair every three or four days.

The answer is no.

It’s ideal for letting at least four weeks pass from one color to the next. But of course, this depends a lot on the characteristics of your hair. It’s always best to color hair that is in healthy condition.

 

Micaela’s problem had a solution, but I don’t think it was what she was hoping.

But it was the healthiest solution for her hair.

But I’ll tell you about that a little later.

 

Now, I want to concentrate on saving your hair and that you don’t make the mistake of coloring your hair with little time in between.

 

Why shouldn’t you color your hair so often?

I know what you feel when you go to color your hair.

Emotion. Intrigue. Suspense. A whole world of questions that hides between your hairs.

And when things don’t go as planned, hell opens its doors.

 

I understand you.

 

I have seen it millions of times, and I can feel the disappointment of those women in my skin.

But it’s important to understand that any chemical process affects your hair, and of course, coloring your hair is no exception.

 

It doesn’t matter if you are lucky enough to have strong, healthy hair; your hair is not immune to chemical products.

Split ends and weak hair are two of the most common consequences of frequently coloring your hair.

 Every time you dye your hair, you alter the external layer, damaging the shaft of the hair. And that’s why your hair loses its shine and smoothness.  

 

Also, you run the risk of burning your scalp, injuring it, and disrupting the growth phases.

If you are trying to correct the color yourself, you’re doing more work for the stylist to repair your hair to get it to the color you want.

As you can see, chemical on top of chemical is not the solution.

At least, not one that I would recommend to you.

 

How long should I wait before dyeing my hair again?

And this is probably one of the hardest questions to ask because there are an infinite amount of factors involved.

For example, the overall health of your hair.

 

Also, if you went from a dark color to a light one or vice versa.

Also, the type of product that you used on the first coloring plays a part. The dye that comes in a box is not the same as henna or the kind that a colorist uses.

Everything plays a part.

And we only have one head of hair.

 

  

 

You may say to me, “But Carina, my hair is a disaster, and it’s not what I want. Waiting four weeks is an eternity…”

I understand your desperation, but I don’t sell rotten fish.

That is the minimum amount of time to wait if you want your hair to stay as healthy as possible.

 

Also, your hair will be better prepared to receive a second coloring.

But there are always tricks so that this new color that you don’t like fades more easily from your hair.

That’s how it is.

I’m not going to leave you completely disappointed.

There are things that can alleviate those moments of tension while you wait to dye your hair for a second time.

 

What can we do between colorings when we don’t like our color?

First thing is first, don’t get desperate.

With time, that color that you hate in your hair will fade. Age and experience have taught me that the zen philosophy is the best in these cases.

 

If you want to wash the color, it’s best to use cream baths. That way, you’ll not only be getting rid of that unwanted color, but you’ll also be nourishing your hair and preparing it in the best way to face the damaging effects of coloring.

Come closer.

I’m going to tell you a secret.

 

Once a week, do an olive oil or coconut oil hair mask on your hair at room temperature. Cover your head in a shower cap for thirty minutes. Those oils can open the cuticle of the hair so that the color will wash out much quicker.

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Consult with a colorist. It seems obvious, but they have the most knowledge about hair color and tonality.

Maybe it’s not necessary to get a whole new color. Perhaps they can give you other possible alternatives that alleviate the result you got, like, for example, not dyeing your hair from the root.

This is what I call collateral damage control.

 

In what conditions do you find your hair?

It looked terrible after the first coloring, or it got worse?

If it got worse, give it a rest from the chemicals, especially if you want a total change in the color that you got.

 

Also, if the dye that you applied is permanent, you know that the cuticles will be more sensitive.

 

But the good news is, yes, there is always good news, that if you used a semi-permanent dye, this type of dye doesn’t go down to the cuticle, but simply into the shaft of the hair. Because of that you can wait less time, two weeks, before doing the second coloring.

 

Conclusions

Do you want to know what happened with Micaela?

 

Well, I armed myself with patience.

Have you ever felt that you were swimming in rough waters?

This was my first time.

 

I knew she wanted an immediate answer.

Teenagers and other people that are so teenagery are like that.

Everything should be here and now, without worrying about the consequences.

 

But, it’s been a while since I grew out of adolescence. Alright, not that long.

I explained to her the damage that it does to her hair if she were to apply more chemicals to get the color that she wanted.

She tried to convince me, but I didn’t budge. After all, I’m a mother. I know the importance of a timely “No.”

And I negotiated.

I gave her a deep-nourishing treatment to revitalize the color and improve the look of her hair. I promised her that in four months, we would get the color that she wanted.

I can assure you that she left happy.

 

Sometimes, experiments in unskilled hands have their costs.

And sometimes they are too high.

 

Now, I’d like to know a little more about you.

 

How often do you color your hair?