How Long Does it Take for Permanent Hair Dye to Wash Out Completely?

woman puts her finger to her head thinking

Permanent hair dye never completely washes out.
The only way to wash out permanent hair dye is to use a color remover or apply bleach. However, these processes will damage your hair.
If you don’t want to apply a chemical process to your hair to get rid of the permanent dye, you should trim the ends every month. This way, you’ll gradually eliminate the colored hair.

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If you dye your hair, will it go back to normal?

Maybe that’s not the answer you were hoping for, but unfortunately, it’s the only one I can give you.

Permanent dye, as the name suggests, never completely disappears from your hair because it permanently changes its color.

Let’s see how it works.
Permanent hair dye changes hair color because it generates a chemical reaction with two powerful chemicals: developer and ammonia.

The developer opens the hair cuticles for the color to penetrate the hair and settle in the core.

Ammonia, in turn, binds to your hair’s natural melanin which colors and transforms the hair color.

Of course, the developer has lightening properties. It changes your hair color and lightens one or two tones.

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That change is permanent.

When you dye your hair, you can no longer go back to your natural color.

Let’s say you apply a dark blonde 6 to your brown hair 4. After several washes, the color will start to lighten.

After four or five weeks, your roots will show, and the rest of your hair will have a faded color, which has nothing to do with the dark blonde 6 you applied.

Why?

The color of the dye has washed out, but has not completely disappeared. Your hair won’t be the same color as before you applied the dye because the developer will have lightened it.

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What can you do?

You have two options. Let’s start with the first one.

If you want to completely remove the permanent dye, you can apply a color remover or bleach it

remove permanent dye by bleaching
But I have to be completely honest. Your hair will never be the same again.

The remover will remove the dye, but your hair will not go back to its natural color because the developer lightened it.

If you bleach it, you’ll remove both the dye and the natural color.

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Also, these options will weaken your hair.

Both the remover and bleaching break the molecular bonds of the hair color to remove the pigments.

However, they also strip the hair of moisture and nutrients. As a result, your hair will be weaker and more brittle.

Apart from that, unwanted undertones will appear, and you’ll have to neutralize them with a toner or shampoo.

In the end, if you don’t want to expose your hair to chemical processes nor deal with brassy tones, the best option to make the dye disappear completely is to wait for your hair to grow out and trim the ends.

That way, you can make the permanent dye wash out completely gradually and without exposing your hair to chemicals.

Do you want to know how you can make this process more bearable? I’ll tell you about it below.

How to remove permanent hair dye gradually and not despair

remove dye with end trimming
First, I want to give you some real facts.

Hair grows up to three centimeters every 4 to 5 weeks. There are no magic tricks to grow your hair ten centimeters in a month.

But you can use a few tricks to strengthen and stimulate hair growth.

You can ask your dermatologist to prescribe amino acids and special vitamins for hair, such as folic acid, biotin, or iron.
Also, you should be hydrated. Drink two liters of water per day, as 65% of each strand of your hair is made up of water.
Trim your ends regularly.

This is where I want to stop.

You should trim your ends two centimeters per month. This way, you’ll get rid of the colored part of the hair and strengthen it.

If the ends are dry, open, or damaged, the nutrients that carry the hair fiber are lost and your hair weakens.

So:

If your hair grows one centimeter per month, trim one centimeter
If your hair grows two centimeters per month, trim two centimeters

You can also use rosemary water, masks to promote hair growth. They contain vitamins A, B, and C, and minerals such as iron and magnesium.

How to use it?

Apply rosemary water on your scalp.
Leave it on your hair for 20 minutes and cover your hair with a towel.
Rinse your hair with lukewarm water and remove the mask residue with your usual shampoo.

You can use rosemary water once a week.

Conclusions

Now you know that permanent hair dye won’t completely disappear from your hair. If you don’t want to apply chemical processes such as bleaching, you can remove it gradually by trimming your ends every month.

This way, you’ll safely get rid of the colored parts.