- The soonest you can color your hair after a perm is 15 days, as long as you do it at a salon.
- Alternatively, if you color your hair at home, I recommend waiting a month to apply the hair color after the perm. I’ll tell you why later.
- If you need to color your hair urgently after a perm, the soonest you could do it is three days, but you’ll need to use a semi-permanent hair color.
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Unbelievably, when one of my clients comes to the salon to get a perm, one of the first things I tell her about is the times and deadlines she’ll have to wait to do certain things to her hair.
Why?
After a perm, many things will change in her hair beauty routine, and she needs to be aware of that if she wants to keep her hair healthy and the perm longer.
Coloring is one of the most frequent concerns of clients who come to the salon for a perm. Yes, many of my clients are anxious to know how soon they will be able to color their hair after the perm.
Honestly, I don’t quite understand this anxiety regarding coloring hair after perming when they haven’t even started to enjoy their new curls.
I think this anxiety comes from not knowing what it means to perm hair. As people aren’t aware, they believe their hair will be the same, and they’ll do the same things they did before the perm.
But the reality is very different. I’ll tell you why.
But right now, I want to make something very important clear to you:
The soonest you’ll be able to color your hair after perming is one month if you do it at home. Alternatively, you can color your hair fifteen days after the perm but only at a salon.
And here’s why it’s important to respect these time frames.
Why it’s not a good idea to color your hair immediately after a perm
When you perm your hair, you break the natural structure and molecular bonds of your hair to get a new shape: curls.
- A perm liquid is used to give your hair that new curly shape. It opens the hair cuticles and penetrates inside the hair to modify its structure.
- The shape is fixed with a blow dryer or infrared ring. Finally, the neutralizing liquid is applied. It contains a developer and seals the action of the perm liquid.
After rinsing the perm liquid, you can’t wash your hair for at least 72 hours. Otherwise, the perm won’t set in the hair.
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Molecular changes in the hair take more time than you spend in the salon for perming or straightening because the products continue to work inside the hair to modify the structure.
Therefore, I recommend that you wait at least fifteen days to color your hair after the perm, and that you do it in a salon.
Otherwise, if you color your hair a week or ten days after perming, you’ll remove the effect of the perm and damage your hair.
After perming, your hair is saturated with chemicals, and the inner layer continues processing them.
Want one more tip?
Get an appointment at a salon to color your hair after perming. You won’t need to wait a month. A colorist can color your hair a fortnight after perming.
Why is it important to do it at a salon?
Because your colorist will evaluate your hair’s health. They’ll see how your hair reacted to the perm and choose the best brand of hair color to perm your hair. They’ll also give you tips on how to care for both the color and the perm.
Alternatively, if you can’t afford to color your hair after perming at a salon, wait a month to apply the dye. I advise you to choose a dye that offers post-coloring treatments. During that month, moisturize your hair with specially designed products for curly hair.
Now, let’s say that before you permed your hair, you colored it frequently. When you went to the salon to curl your hair, you didn’t consider the touch-up times.
Five days go by and you notice that your roots need a touch-up. Should you wait a month to touch up your roots? No, there’s another alternative that will brighten up your life.
You can color your hair with semi-permanent hair color three days after your perm
Semi-permanent hair coloring settles on the outermost part of your hair, called the cuticles. This means that the color gradually fades with washes.
Some brands of semi-permanent hair dye last up to 20 washes, while others last 12 washes. This duration will also depend on your hair care routine.
Truthfully, as a colorist, I only recommend a semi-permanent hair dye three days after perming if you really need to do a root touch-up. Otherwise, forget about coloring for at least a month.
Conclusions
As a hairdresser, I recommend waiting at least fifteen days to color your hair. Also, do it in a salon. Your hair underwent a chemical process that modified its structure and needs time to adapt and recover.
It’s not worth ruining the perm because you can’t wait a few more weeks to color your hair.
