If you leave hair dye on for less time, will it be lighter? No, and you’ll ruin your color

 

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When I receive these queries in my mailbox, I’m flabbergasted.

I ask myself,   “why do you want to leave the dye on for less time to make it lighter?”  

 

Let’s see. Let’s try to break it down to understand. Let’s talk about how the dye works once you apply it to your hair.

Then, we’ll talk about the “assumptions” of why you want to leave the dye in your hair for less time.

 

Two important elements are included in a dye kit: the peroxide and the dye.

These two elements are blended to achieve an even mixture. When you mix the two ingredients, apply the mixture to your hair.

Virtually, ALL hair color manufacturers recommend leaving it on for 45 minutes.

 

There’s a reason for that.

So, now we’ll continue to break it down with one of the first assumptions about why you want to leave the dye on for less time.

 

The color won’t get lighter regardless of how long you leave the dye on

  You have to respect the exposure time of the dye for the chemical reaction to change your hair color.  

 

You must respect the exposure time so that the color molecules of the dye can settle and fix an even color.

  However, the exposure time of the dye doesn’t indicate the intensity of the color.  

 

So, we’ve already blown away the first assumption that you would want to leave the dye in your hair for less time.

If you leave the dye on for less time, your hair won’t get lighter. Conversely, if you leave it on longer, the color won’t get darker.

 

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If you use hair dye that you have saved and leave it on for less time, the color won’t get lighter

In this case, you probably misunderstood some ideas.

You may think that, as the dye has been stored for some time, the color has lost its strength. So, you conclude that   if you apply that dye that lost strength, and leave it on for less time, the color will be lighter.  

 

But be careful! If you don’t store the leftover dye away from heat and light, it could be expired.

Hair dyes include chemicals. If they expire, the dye could damage your hair and scalp.

 

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If you have doubts about the expiration of the dye, my advice is to discard it.

As we said before, the resulting color after applying the dye has nothing to do with the exposure time of the dye.

 

Therefore, we can put assumptions aside and come to a scientific certainty.

 

If you leave the dye on for less time, the color will be uneven and faded, but never lighter

What’s more, after rinsing out the dye,   there may be no trace that you ever colored your hair. .

Even worse, some sections of your hair may be colored and others stained.

For example, the ends or the roots, which are virgin hair, take color more quickly.

 

According to science, if you leave the dye on for 20 minutes instead of 45, the developer will open the cuticles.

Remember that the developer has a lightening action, so some sections of your mane will be lighter. Also, as you interrupted the coloring process, the dye pigments won’t settle in your hair.

 

Therefore,   if you leave the dye on for less time, the resulting color won’t be lighter but patchy. 

 

If you are looking for a lighter color, buy a lighter color. There are plenty of colors on the hair color market.

The range goes from black 1 to extra light blondes 12, all along reds like 6.66 or deep orange 6.44.

You can choose the color you’re looking for without having to experiment with your hair.

 

Conclusions

Even if you leave the dye on for a shorter time, the color won’t get lighter. But you also run the risk of getting uneven results.

If you want to lighten your hair, you can choose a lighter hair dye than your base color. Remember that hair dyes can lighten hair up to two levels.

Now, if your hair is dark brown, you can’t lighten it by applying an extra light blonde 10. In any case, you can apply a light brown 5.