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How To Keep Your Hair Dye From Fading (Updated 2020)

Edited By Vaishali Bhatt, Reviewed By Deeksha

What is holding you back from dyeing your hair? The fear of it fading?

Are you sick of dyeing your hair because the colour does not stay? Colouring the hair is one of the most common things people do in order to change their look.

It is one of the best ways to add a little spark to your appearance, a little style to your mien and a little youth to your age.

However, enjoy your hair colour while it lasts, because the colours you choose to add to your hair starts fading away quickly, leaving to you spending big bucks on your hair.

While this can be a big problem and discourage you from dyeing your hair, there are several ways in which you can keep your hair colour intact for a longer duration.

There are several ways in which your hair dye loses its shade and goes awry, especially during summers. With frequent colouring, your hair might also get affected by too many chemicals.

How To Keep Your Hair Dye From Fading

Thus, the secret to dyeing your hair is letting your dye last as long as it can. While reading this article, not only will you explore how you can make your hair dye last longer but also discover how important it is to have healthy hair & how to maintain hair color at home.

Here are the 8 Best Ways to Prolong Your Hair Color

1. Colour Your Hair Healthy

Before you actually decide a colour for your hair, make sure that your hair is healthy. Aura Friedman, a hair colourist, recommends healthy hair for the colours to be more vibrant. Your hair will be able to hold the colour for long when it is nourished and healthy.

It is best to use products that ensure the safety of your hair along with the lasting of the colour.

  • The use of bond-builders can be especially helpful to keep your hair strong and can be used with dyes as well.
  • Use masks for your hair, at least twice a week, to replenish and nourish your hair. Masks are efficient in repairing the damages of the hair. Hair masks can be easily made at home. Here is a simple tutorial for a variety of hair masks that you can make suiting yourself and your hair type.
  • Condition your hair frequently to keep them hydrated. The use of oils and butters form protective layers that do not allow the colour to fade easily.

DIY Hair Masks You Need to Try

2. Follow the 72 hour rule

If you are new to dyeing your hair, then you must get accustomed to the 72-hour rule. It is a big no-no to shampoo your within the first 72 hours of dyeing your hair. Within the first 72 hours, the colour actually takes its hold on your hair and acquires it proper shade and look.

While colouring, the cuticles of the hair open up for the swift penetration of the colour into the roots of your strands. These cuticles remain open for some days even after the colouring, so immediate shampooing the hair might lead to the quick exit of the colour.

Thus, a minimum of three days wait is the standard time you can allow for your hair colour to settle in.

3. Hate the Heat

Coloured hair is always sensitive to heat. You should always make sure that your hair is not exposed to excessive heat, specially during the summer times. Heat can easily strip away the colour. There are few points related to how to keep hair color from fading in the sun

  • Make sure to turn down the water temperatures while washing your head. In fact, the best way to retain the hair colour, use warm water while applying the shampoo- that allows the product to penetrate and use cold water to rinse that locks the moisture from your conditioner.
  • While hitting the sun on a bright day, use coconut oil as a sunscreen for the hair. It will both nourish your hair and contain the required SPF (about 6) to keep the heat from stripping away the colour.
  • Before styling your hair, make sure to apply protective sprays and products. Heating appliances can be harsh on the dye and using a layer of heat protectant sprays will help you in the long run.

4. Stay Away from Chlorine

The summers are tempting enough to drive you towards the swimming pools and water parks. But these pools contain heavy amounts of chlorine, a big threat to your hair dye. While chlorine is essentially used to keep swimming pools clean, it is a natural bleach that can affect your hair colour badly.

When your hair comes in contact with chlorine, blonde hair might get greenish while darker hair shades lose the original shade and may even dry up. However, you don’t need to take an anti-swimming oath while dyeing your hair. Your hair colour can last longer by a few simple preventive measures:

  • Make sure to take a shower and leave your hair wet before entering the pool.
  • You can also apply conditioner on your hair. But don't rinse the conditioner. This will create a protective layer over your coloured hair.

5. Shampoo less, condition more

The mantra to keep your hair dye from fading is shampoo less, condition more. Shampooing often adds volume to your hair, but volume allows the colour to escape quickly. Thus, a simple way to keep your colour longer is shampooing as less as possible.

This might sound difficult to follow through. Here’s how you can work your hair with less shampooing:

  • The best way to avoid frequent shampooing is to substitute regular shampoo with dry shampoo whenever possible.
  • If frequent shampoo is an extreme necessity during some time, then make sure to use a colour safe shampoo that will protect your hair colour.

This brings us to frequent conditioning. Conditioning can both nourish your hair and protect the colour. So even if you are shampooing your hair, make sure to never miss conditioning it. In fact, you can directly condition your hair on some days without shampooing it.

6. Dye your conditioner


When conditioning is such an important aspect of your hair care routine, dyeing the conditioner is an easy trick for keeping your hair dye from fading. In your day-to-day conditioning, on some days, you can add a little bit of the hair dye and then apply it.

This small little step can let you recolor your hair without actually going through the hassles of doing it. If you are a creative person and want cost-effective ways to create an overtone conditioner here is a link that you can look into for a DIY overtone conditioner:

DIY Overtone Colored Conditioner

7. Schedule your dyes

When you take long gaps between dyeing your hair, it may lead to something called banding. Once your roots grow out, and you end up colouring the entire hair, the results will be that the shade of the new roots will be slightly lighter than the rest of the hair.

This is because of the previously existing colour of the hair, while your new roots are colourless, appearing like a band of lighter colour on your roots. Thus, it is important to figure out the frequency in which you need to color your hair.

Wait for your roots to grow at least an inch before you colour them. If you do not colour your own hair, make sure you make timely appointments with your salon.


8. Befriend leave-in products

Leave-in products, especially conditioners, are an extra step to protect your hair till the next washing. It does not only add additional moisture to your hair but also acts as a protective layer for your dyed hair. While you can choose products in different forms like liquid, creams or sprays.

An important consideration for choosing the right leave-in product for colored hair is that it should absorb UV-rays. Sun rays cannot be avoided and thus before stepping out, make sure to nourish your hair with a leave-in conditioner to avoid the colour from fading.

Gone are the days when people had to worry about dyeing their hair often, or it seemed like a big chore. By using the right product, you can protect your hair. It is necessary to be aware of  the best products that can minimize damages on your hair and keep it as healthy as possible.

With these simple steps and tricks down your sleeve, you can enjoy your dyed hair more than you want. These steps are also very easy to follow up. Not only will it take away your stress of fast fading dyes, but also ensure that you have a vibrant shade for as long as possible.

Vaishali

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About the Author

She is a budding copy editor as well as a freelance content writer. So far, she has proofread around 500+ articles, indicating her stronghold on the profession. If she's not in front of her laptop, you'll probably find her watching Netflix. She has a very keen interest in beauty and personal care products. She likes to stay updated about the latest beauty products in the market. Know More About Vaishali


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