- If nothing happened when you dyed your hair, the hair fiber may be saturated with pigment. So, you will need to do a little bleaching. Here’s how to do it.
- You may also have chosen a dye that is very similar to the one you had been applying to your hair. Also, the dye may have expired.
- In either case, you will have to choose a new color and recolor your hair.
You dyed your hair and nothing happened? The dye didn’t change the color of your hair?
These results can be very disappointing. However, cheer up, all is not lost.
If you have applied a hair color and you don’t notice any difference in the color of your hair, it can be due to 3 reasons:
- Your hair is saturated with dye
- You applied a very similar color
- The dye had already expired
All these reasons have solutions, some simpler and some more complicated. My advice?
If you have no experience in coloring or at least some minimal knowledge, go to the salon.
Many times, by trying easy solutions, the problem becomes even worse, and the consequences are irreversible. Besides, each hair is special and reacts differently.
That’s why we must analyze each case in particular so that you can choose the solution that’s best for you.
Do you want that color you’ve been looking forward to, to finally stay in your hair?
Then, read on, because I’ll tell you:
- Creating New Color in Color-Saturated Hair
- How to re-color hair and have it absorb the new shade
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Creating New Color in Color-Saturated Hair
Have you dyed your hair brown, but is it as if you had never applied a dye before?
Does it look the same color as it did before you applied the new dye?
Believe it or not, this happens very often, especially in dark or very dark colors. Do you know why?
Dark shades have a lot of pigment, and they are very persistent. If you add the fact that you apply a dye every three weeks, your hair will reach its maximum absorption in a few months. Because of this, your hair becomes saturated with dye.
If this happens, no dye will work, because you must first remove the excess pigment, and then apply the new color.
How can you remove the excess pigment, so that your hair fiber absorbs the new dye?
You have two alternatives:
- Use clarifying shampoo
- Lightly bleach your hair
Which of the two alternatives is better?
Without a doubt, gentle bleaching, it will be more effective. If you apply the clarifying shampoo to remove the dye, you won’t be able to tell what hair color you will eventually have.
Perhaps the clarifying shampoo will leave your hair in orange, red, or yellow shade, which are already more difficult shades to remove. They require more than just a dye.
Instead, if you choose to bleach, as you remove the dye, you’ll be able to see what color your hair reaches during the process.
This way, you can stop the bleaching process 5 or 10 minutes after it has started, which you cannot do if you use the clarifying shampoo.
Is there a way to do gentle bleaching?
Yes, there is, and it’s called a bleach bath.
Step by step, how to make a bleach bath so that the new color penetrates the hair fiber
- Take an empty shampoo bottle. Mix your regular shampoo with 20 volume developer. If you want, you can choose an extra moisturizing shampoo with keratin to protect your hair during the process.
- Do not use developer of more than 20 volumes, because what you want to achieve is slight bleaching, so that your hair can absorb the new color. Also, avoid using the bleach bath while showering.
- Wet your hair and apply the bleach bath in a strong lather, leaving it on for up to 20 minutes.
- Pay attention, and check the color you’re achieving every 5 minutes. When your hair reaches the shade you want, rinse thoroughly.
If you want, you can apply your new dye immediately. Just dry your hair completely.
Now, what if after applying the color, you notice that your hair is the same shade? Or worse, your hair has not changed color and, when you check the expiration date of the color, you realize that it is expired?
I’ll talk about these two situations below.
How to re-color hair that didn’t absorb the previous dye
Not all that glitters is gold, and this is especially true of the photos in the coloring kits.
All brands use models or celebrities with hair that they can’t help but envy. And not exactly the healthy kind. Beautiful, long, and shiny hair that shows even more heavenly colors.
But, you must go beyond the first impression. Most of those photos are retouched by professional photographers. Then, there’s an even more revealing truth: the tone that those photos show would be achieved on hair without prior coloring.
What do I mean by this?
If you want the color from the dye kit photo, your hair should be completely white.
That’s why you must choose the right hair color. To show the difference with your previous color, it should always be two or three shades lighter or darker.
- For example, if you apply a dark brown 3 over a brown 2, nothing will happen. Now, if you apply a brown 4 over a brown 2, you’ll notice the change.
The same goes for blondes.
- If your hair is light blonde 8 and you apply a very light blonde 9, you won’t notice the difference. You should apply a platinum-blonde 10 on your blonde 8, so that the color penetrates the hair fiber and you will notice the difference.
This solution for your hair to accept the dye is very simple: you must apply 1 or 2 more shades than the one you used.
It is also important that you always use the same brand of dye so that you know the application instructions.
If you dyed your hair and it didn’t change color, the dye may have expired
It’s just that women have this habit of keeping things, “just in case”, “in case I need it later”, “in case I lose weight in a month”, and countless “in case…” more.
The same thing happens to us with the dye. If there is a little leftover, we save it for future applications.
But what happens when you’ve been saving your dye for a long time?
It may have expired and its functioning may be altered. After all, dyes last approximately 3 to 5 years, provided you store them correctly.
That’s why it’s very important that before you dye, and if the dye has been “sleeping” at the bottom of your bathroom cabinet for a long time, you check the expiration date.
Now that you know why your color didn’t change, the solution is more than simple: buy a new dye!
And don’t forget to check the expiration date, just in case.
Conclusions
As long as you apply a dye and the color doesn’t change, you can find a solution. If you’ve been coloring your hair for a long time, chances are your hair fibers are saturated.
In that case, you’ll need to take a bleach bath, and then apply the dye you want.
Also, remember that it’s important to always choose a color that is two or three shades different from the color you want to cover. Finally, always check the expiration date of the dye.
Now, no dye can resist changing your hair color!
