- Generally, you should wait four to five weeks to dye your hair black again, which is the logical renewal time for any dye. However, there are some exceptions.
- You should wait two weeks to dye your hair black again if the color has faded or looks faded after just a few washes. But below, I’ll tell you what you should consider before doing so.
- You should wait three weeks to dye your hair black again if your gray roots are very noticeable. But if you don’t want to wait three weeks, you can use a black semi-permanent hair dye.
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I can assure you, based on my professional experience and what I see daily in my salon. Most who dye their hair black always end up with the same concern running around in their head: “how long do I have to wait to dye my hair black again?”
And I’m not surprised. Because even though black dye is one of the most persistent and easy-to-maintain colors, it fades easily.
What do I mean when I say it fades easily?
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It means that after a few washes, black dyed hair looks worn, dull, and less intense.
So although you should generally wait four to five weeks to renew any hair color to give the hair time to recover from the chemical process, dyed black hair is the exception to the rule.
And that’s what I’ll talk about next.
You can dye your hair black again after two weeks if the color is faded or worn out
But in this case, I recommend that you check the health of your hair’s ends before you dye your hair black again.
Why is the health of your ends so important in this case?
- First, the ends are the oldest part of your hair, so to speak, and have gone through several chemical processes. Therefore, they are the most fragile, weak, and dry out of all your hair.
- Second, because if the ends are very weak, even if you dye your hair black again, the color will quickly fade again. The open cuticles can’t retain color when the ends are fragile.
How can you tell if your ends are weak?
Look at the ends when you wash your hair and remove excess water with a towel. If they look completely dry already, your ends are damaged. And the only solution is to cut them off.
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Once you cut the ends, dye your hair black again, and you’ll notice the color lasts longer.
If gray roots appear, wait three weeks to dye your hair black again or apply a semi-permanent hair color
Unfortunately, gray hair is the sworn enemy of dark hair because it stands out so much more. And it stands out even more against black hair.
And as if this weren’t enough, gray hair doesn’t retain color, even if you dye it with the best permanent black dye.
That’s why gray hair reappears after two weeks. Each wash expels the color it absorbed while applying the black dye.
In this case, you have two alternatives:
- You can wait three weeks to dye your hair black again, but do a root touch-up. In other words, you apply the dye only to the gray roots. As a colorist, I don’t recommend it because gray hair is already weak.
- You can apply a semi-permanent black dye immediately all over your hair, which will cover the gray roots and revive the color of the rest of your hair. Semi-permanent hair color doesn’t contain ammonia, and you don’t apply it with developer. So it’s less aggressive than permanent hair color.
Ideally, you should alternate between these two options. I.e., renew your color with permanent black hair dye every four to five weeks, and touch up your gray roots with semi-permanent hair dye when they become visible.
Conclusion
As a colorist, I recommend you wait at least two weeks to dye your hair black again. But remember, you can always alternate with a semi-permanent black dye, which is less aggressive than permanent dye, to touch up your roots or to revive a faded color.
