Why is My Black Hair Turning Brown? What Can I Do?

Black haired woman covers her face

If you have naturally black hair, there are 2 reasons why it may be turning brown:

Reason 1: Sun exposure, chlorine from the pool, and heat may lighten your black hair to brown.
Reason 2: Your black hair lacks moisture.

On the other hand, if your black hair is colored, there are 5 reasons why it’s turning brown:

Reason 1: The dye you used may not be good quality. So, that may be why your black hair turned brown in a few washes.
Reason 2: You used a semi-permanent dye.
Reason 3: You use a blow dryer or flat iron too much (both dehydrate and lighten your hair)
Reason 4: You do water sports or get too much sun exposure.
Reason 5: You don’t use products according to your hair’s needs.

If you want to find out the solutions to stop your black hair from turning brown, click here

Is your black hair turning brown?

Let me tell you that it’s a frequent problem in my salon. We’ll take an in-depth look at the reasons why your colored or natural black hair is turning brown and what you can do to prevent it in the future.

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2 reasons why your virgin black hair is turning brown

Assess hair condition before remover
If you’ve never colored your hair or had keratin or straightening treatments that could change your hair color, it’s hard to believe that it could change color on its own.

However, these things do happen.

Reason 1: Sun exposure is one of the main factors why natural hair tends to lighten. Although very dark hair is more resistant than lighter hair, when the cortex dries out, there’s no way to prevent the color change. That’s why your black hair turns brown.

Reason 2: Another reason why your dark or black hair is turning brown is the lack of moisture. Dehydrated hair tends to thin and “wear out.” Even if your hair is free of chemicals, it could still become dehydrated. How is this possible?

Did you know that your hair is protected by a natural barrier of oil and water?

It’s called hydrolipidic barrier. It protects and insulates the hair from external aggressions such as sun, water, and wind.

When this barrier fails or is altered, the hair is unprotected. It could be another reason why your black hair is turning brown.

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5 reasons why your color-treated black hair is turning brown

Color-treated hair tends to oxidize.

The reason is that hair dye lasts for approximately 23 washes.

It’s almost impossible to imagine that dark-dyed hair could wash out and turn brown. However, it does happen and it can be due to any of these 5 reasons.

Reason 1: You used poor-quality hair dyes

dye application on dry hair

The quality of the hair dye is related to the duration of the color. I recommend that you buy a professional well-known hair dye.

Also, if you don’t have the necessary elements to measure the exact proportions of the products, I recommend you buy a professional dye kit. That way, you’ll make sure you get the correct proportions. If the dye is not prepared properly, your black hair will turn brown very soon.

Reason 2: You used a tone-on-tone or semi-permanent dye

If your black hair is turning brown, one of the possible causes is the type of dye you’re using.

Semi-permanent hair dye tends to wash out over time unlike permanent hair dye. If you want to keep your hair black without fading and turning brown, choose a permanent dye.

Reason 3: You do water sports or expose your hair to the sun

Woman smile with headphones on sunny day

Your black hair is likely to turn brown because the sun exposure damages, oxidizes, and lightens all hair.

Reason 4: You abuse the hair dryer or flat iron

The heat from these tools dries out and thins the hair. In other words, exposure to heat oxidizes the hair and washes out the color. Therefore, if you use a flat iron or blow dryer, your black hair is likely to turn brown soon.

Reason 5: You don’t use products according to your black hair care needs

first wash after hair dye

Your color-treated hair needs special care. You should use shampoo and conditioner for color-treated hair to prevent your black hair color from turning brown. Include a weekly hair mask to prevent your hair from drying out, oxidizing, and turning brown.

I also want to tell you the solution to get your black hair back and prevent it from turning brown again.

Solutions to stop your black hair from turning brown

If you have natural black hair, this is for you

Hairdresser with her client
The only solution to get your brown hair back to that natural black hair is to use tone-on-tone coloring.

You don’t need to dye your hair with chemicals.

I advise you visit your stylist and ask for an ammonia-free color to restore the black shade to your hair. From then on, you should take care of it with the right products for your hair type.

I advise you to use moisturizing products. Also, use a weekly hair mask. It could be a moisturizing mask if you have normal or mixed hair and a nourishing mask if you have dry hair.

If you have color-treated black hair, do this

When you dye your roots black, massage your hair with a mixture of shampoo and dye for 10 minutes before rinsing it. Apply it and massage it all over the rest of the hair.

That will be enough to bring color back to your black hair. That way, you won’t dry it out as if you colored it again.
You should take care of your black hair as follows:

If you use a blow dryer or flat iron, use a heat protectant.
If you’ll expose your hair to the sun, wear a hair protector or a hat.
If you go to the pool, use oil to protect your hair from the water.
Use products for color-treated hair in your daily wash.

Conclusion: if your black hair turns brown, you should moisturize it. Also, protect it from the sun, the pool, the heat, and use hair masks.

Whether your hair is colored or naturally black, the reasons it turns brown is due to the sun, chlorine, heat, or styling tools.

Also, you probably haven’t been moisturizing or taking care of your hair with the right products. That’s why it has been getting lighter and lighter.

I recommend you follow the solutions for each case and be consistent with the care of your beautiful black hair so you can show it off in all its glory. Good luck!

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