Why does my hair color fade after a week or two at most?

If your dye fades quickly, the first thing you need to do is evaluate the kind of dye you’re using.

Have you used a fantasy or semi-permanent dye?

 

As you can see, when you color your hair, it’s not an exact equation. How long dyes last depends on multiple factors, such as the tone you choose, the type of dye, your hair care routine, and even the brand.

Why does the type of dye influence how long it lasts?

 

 As you’ll see, fantasy colors such as fuchsia, turquoise, or gray don’t contain ammonia, nor are they applied with peroxide. 

This is why they last for such a short time in your hair.

 

On the other hand, semi-permanent dyes using conventional colors don’t contain ammonia, but are applied with 9 volume peroxide developer.

Even if they last longer than fantasy dyes, there’s not a huge difference.

 

If you want to use a dye that lasts longer, choose permanent dyes that last four to six weeks. However, these contain ammonia and are applied with 20 or 30 volume peroxide developer, which can cause extra damage in your hair – more if it was already damaged.

Do you know what function ammonia and peroxide have?

 

 Ammonia is responsible for inserting the pigment in the hair fiber, and peroxide breaks the hair cuticle so that the dye penetrates it. 

That way, when you apply dye with ammonia and peroxide, this permanent color will last longer because the hair fiber will have absorbed it.

 

This doesn’t happen with fantasy dyes because they don’t have ammonia or peroxide, nor with semi-permanent dyes because the reaction is minimal, as it uses 9 volume peroxide.

Do you want to know how to extend your color depending on the type of dye you use?

 

Then stay with me, because I’ll tell you:

 

Today we’ll stop the hands of the clock together so you can find a better option for dyeing your hair and making the color stay in more time.

 

How to maintain fantasy color for more than a week

As I explained to you earlier, fantasy dyes don’t contain peroxide or ammonia, which is why the color vanishes a little with each wash.

If you’re looking to change your hair color frequently, fantasy colors are ideal since you don’t have to do aggressive chemical processes such as bleaching.

But what happens when you found a tone you love and you want it to last longer?

 

In order for fantasy dye to last longer than a week, you must:

For example:

CELEB LUXURY VIRAL COLORWASH: It contains powerful pigmentation and essential oils to protect your hair, and is available in 12 different colors.

PUNKY COLORS 3 IN 1: This product is shampoo, conditioner, and color depositing. It has a wide range of colors and you can easily find it in any store.

 

 

Do you use a semi-permanent dye? Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you.

 

How to extend the life of your semi-permanent hair color for more than two weeks

If you want to maintain your semi-permanent dye color for longer, you should limit how many times you wash your hair per week.

Besides, you don’t need to wash your colored hair daily. You can do it every 48 or 72 hours.

 

I also recommend that you don’t go overboard with hydrating masks, as these products can quickly get rid of the dye.

You can replace the masks with argan or almond oil, applying a few drops to the middle and ends of your hair to nourish your hair.

 

You can also choose your shampoo according to your hair color, for example:

If your hair is a light color, you can use a blond color depositing shampoo.

If your hair color is dark, you can use a color depositing shampoo for dark hair.

 

Applying these specific color depositing shampoos, you’ll be adding pigmentation with each wash, allowing your hair to retain the color for longer.

 

Even if your color lasts more time, you should always re-dye it every 3 to 5 weeks, because as it doesn’t contain ammonia, the color won’t attach to the hair fiber like it does with permanent dye.

 

And now you might be asking what type of dye you should use. And that, my friend, only you can know. Let’s see why.

 

What kind of dye is better for your hair: fantasy, semi-permanent, or permanent dye?

I told you only you can know because it all depends on the result you’re looking for.

 

 If you want exotic, original, striking colors, fantasy dye is definitely for you, as you can easily change the color as many times as you want. 

Then when you get tired of it, you can use a permanent or semi-permanent dye straight away without having to do any other procedures first.

 

But with semi-permanent or permanent dyes, the story is totally different.

Even if semi-permanent dyes don’t contain ammonia, the damage they generate in the hair is very similar to that of permanent dye, sometimes more.

Do you know why?

 

Let’s suppose that you applied a medium brown 5 semi-permanent dye in your hair. After two weeks you need to renew it.

With each application of semi-permanent dye, you use 9 or 10 volume developer.

That way, with two applications per month, your hair will receive:

The result will be that you’ll be applying 20 volume developer monthly with an excessive amount of pigments.

 With a surplus of pigments, your hair can become saturated, which means that it can no longer absorb more color. 

So then wouldn’t it be easier for you to apply a permanent dye?

 

Of course! Because permanent dye is applied with 20 volume developer every 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the growth of your roots and the tone you chose.

On top of that, if you chose dark tones, you can wait even longer to re-dye your hair, up to 6 to 9 weeks.

 

So, if you’ve been applying semi-permanent dye in your hair, you can apply a permanent dye without problems, since you won’t need any type of special procedure, technique, or bleaching.

 

Conclusions

As you can see, how long dye lasts is directly related to the type of dye you use, how you take care of your hair, the color result you are looking for.

What type of dye do you use and how long does the color last? One week? Two weeks? Share your experience!