And your hair might feel healthier While hair dyes and techniques have come a long way since their follicle-frying beginnings, they do still leave some damage. Taking a hiatus from color will help your hair return to its previous state--especially as dyed ends get chopped off.
Not only can hair dye potentially cause allergic reactions and hair loss (because it aids in weakening your hair shaft and, if you lighten your locks, that can result in dry brittle tresses”>, but it's linked to breast cancer risk—especially among Black women—too.
Conclusion. It's not impossible to have a healthy head of dyed hair. Even though dyeing does do damage to your hair, there are plenty of tips and tricks that can mitigate the damage and return your hair back to its natural, healthy state as much as possible.
"When you've gone lighter and lighter to camouflage your silver roots, so that you're almost white, that's a sign," says Nitz. "If you're going so light with your hair color that it only slightly differs from what's growing in, it makes sense to stop coloring."
Secondly, hair dye creates the illusion of depth and light in hair, making it look like it has more body. So when you stop coloring your hair, you may see a decrease both in actual volume, and in the appearance of body and thickness.
The reality is, the more often you color your hair, the greater the potential for hair shedding. Hair dye does not stop or even slow down hair growth, but it can cause hair loss by damaging the color-treated hair. The chemicals in hair dye can cause some of the damage.
Dying your hair will not affect new hair growth or cause permanent thinning, but damage to the color-treated hair may increase shedding and breakage. People who frequently color their hair often experience thinning hair or hair loss due to breakage and increased shedding instead of permanent hair loss.
When should I go gray? That's a question a lot of us ask ourselves as we start getting older. Cosmetologists and colorists, as a general rule of thumb, advise going gray when 80% of your hair is white or gray, or when your hair starts feeling increasingly dry and brittle.
If you're really itching to have any dye gone, you can replace highlights with lowlights in a shade close to your natural color every six to 12 weeks until the highlights have disappeared. Alternately, you can slowly transition your hair by glossing it to replicate the color of your roots.
Don't assume that grey hair makes you look older
Hair naturally loses pigment as we age, but stylist Paul Falltrick points out that the notion that grey hair makes you look older is increasingly becoming a misnomer: "Grey shades can be stereotyped as ageing, but a clean-looking grey is stunning" he says.
Over time with repeated coloring sessions, the structure of your hair changes. It will become weaker and more prone to breakage. The more damage your hair incurs, the less color it will hold. That's why it's so important to prioritize repair if you color your hair.
Semi-permanent hair color is "deposit only,” which means that it won't chemically change the hair shaft and it contains no ammonia or peroxide.
As long as the dye is not doing any damage to or beneath your scalp, new hair will be able to continually grow back. If you start to notice any damage, the most important fix is to condition your hair regularly. Conditioner replenishes moisture and puts a protective layer over the hair cortex.
Some women may begin going gray in their 30s or 40s. But for others, the process may begin as early as when they're 20 years old. For some women, hair can be a form of self expression. When it begins to turn gray, some women think nothing of it or even realize that they love their new silvery strands.
If you're confident you don't like the color you can reverse that process, washing the color you don't love within 48 hours in order to start the fading. “All things that have color eventually fade, from paint on a wall, to the dye on your clothing, so the color on your hair will fade as well,” Shelley continues.
Your scalp health will improve.
"Letting your hair go gray is an effective way to avoid exposing your scalp to toxic ingredients of hair dyes," says Monica Davis, a professional hairstylist and founder of Hair Scream. Instead, your scalp will be calm and free of any rouge dye stains.
“The best way to start the process is to partner with your stylist and ask about adding lowlights to your hair or using a toner with more depth,” Stenson says. “This is also a great time to talk to your stylist about ways to soften the “line” and continue the grow-out a little more subtly.”
Moisture, moisture, moisture
The number one rule to remember when you're trying to get your curls back is that moisture is your best friend. Hydrating shampoos, conditioners, leave-in treatments, and deep conditioning hair masks will give your hair a boost.
There are three main ways of transitioning to gray hair from dyed hair: the cold turkey method (letting the dye grow out or cutting it out), the salon transition (having a stylist blend your dyed hair to match your natural gray), or the dye-strip technique (a combination of various methods).
Permanent hair dye typically lasts for between four to eight weeks before it grows out or fades (more on that below).
Darker colours tend to add more depth and dimension to the hair, which can make it look fuller and thicker. If you have very fair skin, you may want to avoid going too dark, as it can make you look washed out. Some of the best hair colours for thin hair include chocolate brown, auburn, mahogany, and black.
Highlights also are more likely to damage your hair. Many of the formulas for highlights contain bleach, which dries out your hair.