Colorful hair can be exhilarating, but after the blue begins to fade to a murky green, or you’ve become tired of scrubbing your shower to try to clean up what looks like a massacre of unicorns each time you wash your hair, you may be ready for a change.
Bleaching
When you don’t like your hair colour it’s tempting to reach straight for the bleach. Bleach is probably the most powerful colour removal method but it can be harsh on your hair. In many cases bleaching is overkill.
So when should you use bleach? In my opinion, you should only opt for bleach after you’ve tried several other suitable colour removal methods. You probably know that bleaching your hair is damaging so unnecessary bleaching should be avoided. Bleaching already lightened hair risks severe damage so it should be your last resort.
Washing your hair too often.
“Color’s worst enemy is water,” colorist Ruth Roche tells Good Housekeeping. The chemicals in hair dye make your hair more vulnerable to water’s effects. This doesn’t mean you need to stop taking showers — just make simple tweaks to your routine, like avoiding excessive rinsing: “Once you’ve shampooed and conditioned, tilt your head back and let the water just run over it for several minutes,” says Teca Gillespie, a scientist with P&G. Instead of shampooing your hair every day, try using a dry shampoo like Dove Refresh + Care Dry Shampoo ($6, ulta.com) at the roots to soak up oil.
Stop washing your hair in hot water
If you love nothing better than a hot bath or shower, then you’re not doing your colour any good. Hot water will lift the outer cuticle layer, and since this is the layer that holds your colour in, your hair is then defenceless against losing the colour you paid big bucks to have put in there. The hotter the water, and the more often you rinse with hot water, the faster your colour will fade. Instead, wash in warm water and rinse in cold. The cold water will actually seal the cuticle and leave your hair looking extra glossy.
VITAMIN C
Chances are, you already know about this vitamin’s bountiful health benefits about the numerous studies celebrating vitamin C as a defender against everything from high blood pressure to heart disease.But it turns out vitamin C also packs the power you need to strip away unwanted treated color!
Lemon juice and sun exposure
Lemon juice is a natural bleaching agent which helps fade hair color and lighten hair. Mix the juice of 2-3 lemons with some water and spray the mixture all over the color treated hair. Sit outside in the sun for at least30 minutes or up to an hour. Next, wash off your hair with a strong shampoo and follow up with a conditioner. This is a natural method of fading hair color and especially a wonderful way of lightening dark brown hair. Avoid using lemon juice for prolonged periods on hair as it is very acidic.
Bath Salts
No, I don’t mean the party drug – I’m talking about the stuff your granny uses to relieve her aches and pains. Bath salts are a mixture of soluble minerals that are added to bath water and usually include Epsom salts and sodium bicarbonate. To use, just run a bath, sprinkle in some bath salts and soak your hair for as long as possible. Colour is drawn out of your hair, and if there’s a lot of pigment in your hair, you’ll see a pool of colour where you’ve been soaking
!“You’ve trusted your body to the power of vitamin C for years…now it’s time to give your hair that same tender loving vitamin C care!”Here’s how it works:Most hair coloring treatments change your hue by a process called oxidative dyeing.That means when the dye hits a hair strand, it penetrates the shaft and transforms into larger molecular structures.These structures wedge themselves between your cuticles, locking inthe new color…and making them hard to get rid of!But vitamin C is an acid, which gives it the scouring strength to work its way into those dye molecules.loosening their hold, and freeing that unattractive color from its vise grip on your hair.And the best part is, it does this without harming the vitality of your hair’s natural shade!
Baking Soda
If you’re familiar with baking soda, then you know it has many stain-removing powers. Besides removing stains from teeth, household items, and clothing, it can also be used to safely strip dye from hair, especially when used with an anti-dandruff or clarifying shampoo.
1. Combine 2 tbsp. of shampoo and 1 tbsp. of baking soda in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.
2. Cut a fresh lemon in half, and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the mixture, and stir.
3. Dampen your hair with warm water, then apply the mixture to your hair until it’s completely saturated.
4. Cover your hair with a plastic bag or shower cap, and allow the mixture to penetrate your hair for about 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Rinse your hair thoroughly to remove the mixture.
