Do you love the idea of having a fun hair makeover? If you use permanent hair dye to achieve results, you’re stuck with the look or the cost of having it re-done to something else.
You don’t need to be committed to the style when you have semi-permanent hair dye available. If you aren’t falling in love with the new highlights or colors, just wait until it washes out of your locks to try something new.
If you’ve ever wondered what you would look like with red hair, dark locks, or something outside of your comfort zone, semi-permanent hair dye is the answer to your potential concerns with this update.
How Long Does Semi-Permanent Hair Dye Last?
Semi-permanent hair dye lasts about four weeks for everyone. Its lifespan can extend to 6-8 weeks with proper care and occasional touch-ups, including the use of color-safe shampoos and conditioners. That makes it the perfect way to experiment with a new look without committing to it.
When using semi-permanent hair dye, you’ll find that several benefits are possible when using a high-quality product to change your look.
| Benefit: | Why This Feature is a Benefit of Semi-Permanent Hair Dye: |
| Cream Base | When applying a semi-permanent hair dye with a cream base, the product works with your hair like a mask. That means you can condition your follicles as the color changes, giving you two advantages for the price of one. |
| Long-Lasting Results | Most semi-permanent hair dye products stay in your hair for about six weeks or less. Some brands can last up to eight weeks, but anything beyond that time frame puts you more in the permanent look category. That’s enough time to try a new look without many consequences to manage. |
| Vibrant Color | You can mix your own shades when using semi-permanent hair dye, allowing for a custom look. Although you’d want to stick with the same brand to ensure the formulations are compatible, this option isn’t available for at-home permanent changes. |
| Better Ingredients | When you work with a semi-permanent hair dye, you won’t be putting ammonia or peroxide on your hair. That means there is minimal (almost zero) risk of damage to your hair. Some brands include ingredients like sunflower extract to help your follicles get some extra vitamins. |
| Cruelty-Free Brands | You’ll find several brands in this space providing a cruelty-free product that was never tested on animals. Look for third-party certification on the label to ensure this result is possible. |
| Timing | Most semi-permanent hair dye products only need to sit on your hair for about 30 minutes after application to achieve results. If you want a brighter shade, you can add more color to it after the first session to double up the benefits. |
| Product Compatibility | When using semi-permanent hair dye, you can work with color-protecting shampoos and conditioners. If you want to refresh the look after you’ve tried it, try adding a few drops of the dye to the conditioner you like and let it sit on dry hair for about ten minutes each week. |
If you’ve achieved a look that you love with your semi-permanent hair dye, please remember to use a color-protecting primer after washing or styling with heat.
This final step will give you an extra level of hue stability, even with UV exposure that would try to cause your new look to fade prematurely.
FAQ About Semi-Permanent Hair Dye
It’s only natural to have some questions about semi-permanent hair dye if you’ve never used this kind of product before. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions about this product to help you decide if using it is suitable for your needs.
What Is Semi-Permanent Hair Dye?
Semi-permanent hair dye is a product that coats your hair shaft’s surface instead of placing color in the inner cuticle of each follicle. That’s why it’s easy to apply or change if you’re unhappy with the results.
Because it is semi-permanent, you’ll get a few washes with the hair in the color you want without it being a full-time change. If you’re going to try something new, you can do it at any time with this option.
How Long Does Semi-Permanent Hair Dye Last?
Most semi-permanent hair dye products last between four to six weeks. If you choose a green or blue tint for your new look, it often extends to eight weeks with proper care because of molecular size changes between it and other hues.
Although every semi-permanent hair dye starts fading with each wash, this process is also part of the fun of changing your color this way.
How Can I Make My Hair Color Last Longer?
If you’ve found a look that you love with a new color using semi-permanent hair dye, the best way to care for your hair is to wash it sparsely. Instead of a daily routine, consider dropping to only once or twice per week.
When you do wash your hair, only use cold water while using a color-protecting shampoo and conditioner.
Matrix Biolage shampoo does an excellent job under these conditions, providing a silicone- and paraben-free product that also rates as being vegan-friendly.
If your color starts fading early, try adding a few drops of the semi-permanent hair dye to your conditioner and apply it to dry hair for ten minutes once per week.
Your hair color can fade from sun and precipitation exposure outside. Although the goal is to show off the new look, you might consider avoiding mid-afternoon sunlight since that’s when it tends to be at its highest intensity.
What Is the Difference Between Semi-Permanent and Permanent Hair Dye?
Permanent hair dyes use a different chemical composition to open the follicle to create a long-term change to its tone. It’s a fundamental alteration at the core level. That’s why you see a hard color line at the roots as your hair grows when using those products.
Since semi-permanent hair dye doesn’t contain peroxide or ammonia, it doesn’t create a fundamental color change. Instead, it coats the shaft, creating a simplified solution that delivers reversible, short-term outcomes.
Does Semi-Permanent Hair Dye Damage a Person’s Hair?
Since semi-permanent hair dye doesn’t change the fundamental hue of your hair, it will revert to its original color after a few weeks. You’ll notice that the color fades before it eventually returns to the original color.
Semi-permanent hair dye washes out completely. Most brands will let you know how often you can use shampoo and conditioner before seeing the color fade away.
If you don’t want to lose the color change, you’ll want to apply touch-up color every other week to keep it looking fresh.
Do I Have to Buy a Bright Semi-Permanent Hair Dye?
One of the best reasons to give semi-permanent hair dye a try is that the product gives you plenty of freedom to try new things. You can select a vibrant color, something understated, or anything you’ve wanted to try. If you add a fader to your favorite brand, you can create something closer to a pastel shade for something fun.
Since you can mix different shades with semi-permanent hair dye, there’s almost no combination that’s off-limits.
The only restriction is your current hair color. Most brands work great for those with naturally lighter tones, but they aren’t capable of making significant changes to brown or black. You’d need to bleach and tone your hair first before applying a vibrant shade.
Is It Bad for My Hair to Apply Semi-Permanent Hair Dye?
Semi-permanent hair dye can add shine and vividness to follicles that would look listless or dull. It naturally lifts over-styling while washing out quickly. Since you don’t have to worry about formaldehyde, ammonia, or peroxide, you’ll keep a healthy look while trying a new look.
You won’t feel any burning or stinging when applying your preferred product unless you have an allergy to one of the ingredients.
Brands like Arctic Fox provide semi-permanent hair color dyes rated as cruelty-free and vegan to maximize your investment.
It doesn’t even contain ethyl alcohol, allowing you to dilute the color to any extend for the perfect shade.
It does work with pre-lightened hair better than natural tones, but you’ll get a great result either way.
Do I Need Any Tools to Apply Semi-Permanent Hair Dye?
You don’t need any professional tools or skills to apply semi-permanent hair dye to your hair. They’re meant to be used by anyone, even if you’re purchasing a brand that markets itself as a salon-quality item.
It does help to use a hair dye kit when applying the semi-permanent product. It can leave stains on your counters and sinks if it makes contact, and you can also cause your skin to take on the color for a few days without protection.
Items like the Tbestmax Hair Dye Kit give you mixing bowls, coloring brushes, capes, ear covers, clips, and more to ensure that you can limit the mess.
It will work with semi-permanent or permanent hair dye, including bleaching, to maximize your options at home whenever you want to update your look.
How to Apply Semi-Permanent Hair Color at Home
A semi-permanent product does a great job when you want to create a temporary change to your hair color. You’ll want to make sure that you’re buying it and not a demi-permanent item. The latter creates a more permanent solution, but it isn’t considered a 100% permanent change.
You’d want a demi-permanent item when you know for sure that you want a specific shade to stay without the commitment of a permanent alteration.
After you’ve selected the semi-permanent hair dye for your appearance update, you’ll want to follow the steps below to create a successful experience.
Step #1: Prepare Your Hair
You don’t want to add semi-permanent hair dye to freshly washed hair, but those locks shouldn’t be dirty or covered in natural skin oils either.
A day before you decide to color your hair, consider cleaning it with your preferred conditioning shampoo. You’ll want to remove and product buildup, dirt, and other contaminants.
Follow up the shampoo with your preferred sulfate-free detoxifying conditioner to create soft strands ready for the semi-permanent hair dye.
Step #2: Apply the Dye
Put on the safety materials found in the Tbestmax Hair Dye Kit. You’ll want to protect your hands, clothing, and surfaces.
Apply your semi-permanent hair dye to the desired areas as directed by your instruction sheet or bottle label.
Most products need to sit on your hair for at least 15 minutes, but it could take up to 30 minutes to achieve the color you want.
Once you’ve passed the time limit, rinse out your hair. You can now style it as you usually do. Please remember to follow all the instructions offered by the manufacturer to ensure you achieve the results you want.
Step #3: Ongoing Care
Depending on your hair’s porosity, your semi-permanent hair dye could last for ten shampoos or more.
Each time you wash your hair, the fading or tone shifting might occur, so it sometimes helps to think about what shade you’ll want to try next.
It also helps to have a proper hair care routine that extends the lifespan of your semi-permanent hair dye as much as possible.
The best products replenish your strands with the moisture they need without stripping the color away that you worked so hard to get in there.
Does semi-permanent hair dye wash out completely? It will – once you’ve gone through the entire wash cycle or exposed it to enough UV light.
Is It Worth Buying Semi-Permanent Hair Dye?
Anyone unsure of what they want to sport with their hair can benefit from trying semi-permanent hair dye. At-home products are significantly cheaper than a salon visit, allowing for experimentation on a budget. Once satisfied with a specific look, a more permanent solution can be applied.
I use pink semi-permanent hair dye about once a year to switch up my look. My mother does the same because she’s got naturally darker hair, but the dye latches onto the gray hair to give her a highlighted look that gives her a classy, modern look without being overdone.
Since I’ve been graced with many shades of brown for my natural color, I like to use a complete course that gives me a brilliant shade.
People’s reactions when I come into work with the updated look are always fantastic!
My favorite time is about a week after I’ve applied my preferred semi-permanent hair dye. It has the right amount of fade at that time, giving me a “worn-in” appearance that feels natural.
Once I get to that tone, I’ll add a couple of drops of the hair dye to my conditioner to extend its lifespan.
I’ve always found semi-permanent hair dye to be a great value purchase. It only takes a few minutes at home, but the results deliver more confidence – and I always feel happier when I update it.