- After dyeing your hair brown, you should wait three days to wash your hair.
- If you don’t wait three days, i.e. 72 hours to wash your hair after dyeing it brown, some of the dye will fade and you’ll have to renew the color sooner. In addition, unwanted colors such as orange and reddish tones will appear.
- Apart from waiting three days to wash your hair after dyeing it brown, it’s ideal to use sulfate-free shampoo and use your straightener and hair dryer less frequently.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Can you wash your hair the same day you dye it?
How Long to Wait to Wash Hair After Coloring (top tips from a pro hair colorist)
Why is it necessary to wait three days to wash your hair after dyeing it brown?
Basically for two reasons.
- The settling of the color.
- The composition of the brown dye.
Let’s look at each reason.
What is the color settling?
This is the time it takes for the dye to settle in your hair. And that time doesn’t end when you rinse the dye out.
After rinsing the dye out, the hair cuticles remain open for 72 hours, trapping the color molecules.
If you dye your hair brown and don’t wait 72 hours to wash it , your hair won’t retain the color properly. Some of the dye will fade through the open cuticles.
Therefore, if you don’t respect the settling time of the dye, the color of your freshly colored hair will become faded and dull.
And you’ll have to apply a new brown dye in a few days, which will further dry out your hair. Because you don’t want to dye your hair twice in less than two or five or even ten days.
But there’s another problem. If you don’t wait 72 hours to wash your hair after dyeing it brown, and some of the dye has faded, some unwanted tones will appear.
That is, other more lurid colors will appear. What colors might you see? It all depends on the shade of brown you chose.
- If you dyed your hair dark brown 3 , you’ll start to see red tones.
- If you dyed your hair brown 4 , orange will emerge.
- If you dyed your hair light brown 5 , yellow or orange will appear.
And then, to eliminate these strident colors, you will have two options: dye your hair again or use a toning shampoo.
- If you want to re-color your hair, you will have to wait three weeks.
- If you choose to use a toning shampoo, you will have to invest more time in your beauty routine and spend more money. Because in addition to using sulfate-free products, you will need to incorporate the toning shampoo into your hair care routine.
So, the simplest thing you can do to make your dyed brown hair look amazing is to wait 72 hours to wash your hair after dyeing it.
But it’s also important to wash your hair properly. And that’s what I’ll talk about next.
How to wash your hair 72 hours after dyeing it brown
It’s time to wash your hair. And congratulations are in order! You’ve waited long enough for the color molecules from the dye to settle into your hair properly.
Now, even though you can’t wait to jump in the shower, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Ideally, you should use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner, which are less damaging to dyes. But if you don’t have sulfate-free hair products, what you can do is wash your hair less often.
- And that means not washing your hair every day. I recommend you wash your hair every 48 hours , so the dye lasts longer.
- Don’t overuse heat tools because blow dryers, straighteners, and curlers take away your hair’s moisture and color. It’s also important to apply a heat protectant to your hair before using any of these styling tools.
Want to wash your brown hair like a real PRO? Take note!
- Wet your hair with lukewarm water. Make sure you can feel the cold water on your scalp.
- First, apply the shampoo to the lengths and ends.
- Gently massage your hair, while slowly working your way up to the roots.
- Massage throughout your hair and scalp.
- Rinse and squeeze out excess water from your hair.
- Apply the conditioner to the lengths and ends only, and leave it on for three to five minutes, massaging your hair.
- Rinse with plenty of warm to cold water to close the cuticles and retain the color.
This is the correct way to wash your hair for the first time after dyeing it brown. Now, I suggest that in subsequent washes, you also avoid washing your hair with hot water or too often.
This way, you’ll make the dye last longer.
Conclusion
You should always wait 72 hours to wash your hair after dyeing it brown. If you don’t, the dye will last for less time and strident colors such as reddish or orange will appear.
It’s also necessary to use sulfate-free shampoo and wash your hair less frequently in subsequent washes.
