Can I Color My Hair After a Keratin Treatment? How long should I wait?

Andrea is my cousin.

We are the same age.

We basically grew up together.

 

My cousin has been dyeing her hair for years and doing keratin treatments.

She is a specialist, which is why every time I have a doubt, I run to her.

 

Do you want to know what she told me when I asked if I could dye my hair after keratin?

She told me that it wasn’t a good idea to color my hair after a keratin treatment.

She told me it was best to wait two weeks.

 

I’m not going to trick you.

My world fell apart.

I did a keratin treatment because I wanted to get back the shine and moisture in my hair.

And so that it would look impeccable.

 

But by doing this, to get my hair to look impeccable, I needed to color my roots, which started to show my natural brown hair.

And I wanted perfect hair colored blonde and neat and moisturized thanks to the keratin treatment.

 

And I wanted it all on the same day.

But not everything can be achieved.

 

 Do you know what would have happened if I had dyed my hair on the same day that I had done my keratin treatment?  

Some horrible streaks of undefined color would have appeared in my hair!

This brings us to the second question.

 

How much time should you wait to color your hair if you have done a keratin treatment?

According to the professionals, you should always wait two weeks.

 

So there was nothing left but to play by the rules if I didn’t want my hair to end up a disaster.

And that my keratin treatment would be completely ruined.

 

I’m sure that you are like me.

You don’t like to waste your money.

And I assure you that if you do the keratin and after you dye it, you won’t just be throwing your money in the trash, but you’ll possibly end up with ruined or bleached hair.

 

So, if you want to avoid that something like that happens, pay a lot of attention to what’s coming.

 

 

Why can’t you dye your hair immediately after doing a keratin treatment

To respond to this question, it’s necessary to know how color acts in our hair.

 2 key ingredients facilitate that process:

 

To obtain the best dyeing treatment of your hair, your hair should absorb the pigments.

This means that there shouldn’t be obstructions that prevent the color molecules from penetrating the hair.

What happens when you color your hair after keratin?

 

A recently done treatment will leave a thin layer of keratin on your hair which needs time.

It needs a minimum of two weeks to united and deeply penetrate your hair.

The keratin wraps around your hair to strengthen each fiber down to the nucleus.

 Therefore, the first 2 weeks is a very critical moment because it defines how much time your keratin will last. 

 

Before this time, if you apply dye to your hair, you will get:

 

That’s why it’s fundamental to wait two weeks and let the keratin do its work.

That’s why stylists also recommend not washing your hair for the first forty-eight hours.

Don’t pull it up in a ponytail.

Don’t use clips.

And use a sulfate-free shampoo without salt after the first two days.

If you have done a keratin treatment, you must change your shampoo for one without sulfates (check it on Amazon)

 

This type of shampoo is less abrasive.

Also, it won’t dissolve or interfere with the penetration process of the keratin.

And it won’t leave build-up nor residue in your hair.

 

Anything you do to your hair after applying the keratin will affect what you get with your treatment.

 

 I’m almost sure that if you apply color after doing a keratin treatment, you won’t get the results you want because the pigments will be deposited on the external part of the hair. 

So, it will practically fade in the first washes.

Also, because it is an absolute waste of money and in these times, nobody has the luxury of going through life wasting money.

And…

 

In case you are thinking about it…

Just in case, in your little brain, you are thinking of the idea of bleaching your hair after keratin…

Stop yourself right there!

 

That is even worse.

 

It’s practically the Kiss of death.

The bleaching mixture is enemy number one of a recently done keratin treatment.

It’s something like Superman and Lex Luthor.

Incompatible.

 

Because the bleaching will cause the cuticles to be inflamed, leaving them more vulnerable to chemical damage, and also, it will damage the protein structure of your hair.

 

To dye your hair after a keratin treatment, there is only one option.

Have patience and wait.

Trust me; it’s worth the extra effort.

 

How to achieve enviable hair by mixing the best of both worlds: keratin and color

We already saw that coloring your hair after a keratin treatment is not a good idea.

But what if we do it the other way around?

 

What would happen if first, we do the color and after we do keratin?

I’ll explain why right now.

 

During a hair color treatment, the ammonia opens the hair’s cuticles to inject color into the cortex.

It activates an oxidation process that elevates the ph of the hair to 10.

As a result, the hair becomes more alkaline, degrading its structural integrity to make it weaker, broken, and dry.

 

 Doing a keratin treatment after applying the color to your hair provides fundamental benefits: 

 

Keratin treatment covers your hair with a strong protective layer, which prevents the color pigments from escaping when you wash it or expose it to the sun.

 

Conclusions

So, now you know.

This time, if you have done a keratin treatment, the best you can do for the health and look of your hair is wait at least two weeks to dye it.

 

The next time you need to do both things, invert the process.

First, do the coloring and, after, the keratin.

This way, you will get hair that I assure you will be all your friends and enemies’ envy.