Have you ever dyed your hair black and regretted it? Going black can be beautiful, but it is a big change. You may think it will be fun for something like Halloween, but if you have light-colored hair, it could lead to some problems.
Dyeing your hair black is a huge commitment. Heck, dyeing it ANY color that is different from your natural hue is. Before you jump into it, I recommend wigs. Wigs are so much fun because you can change your hair in an instant without the damage.
You can see when you wear wigs how you’ll look with a certain color or style to your hair. It’s more than just dress-up. Perhaps you don’t want to wear the pink with sparkles wig that you got for your Halloween costume to work or on a daily basis.
Wigs cost much less than going to the salon and getting your hair changed to a totally different color. They cost less than the color correction you’re going to need if you dye your hair black without knowing how it will look after a wash or two on your previously blonde hair (think light gray).
In other words, buy some wigs. There are quality ones that look real. I once complimented a woman I saw in the store on her hair. It was beautiful! She started laughing and thanked me, and told me it was a wig. I was shocked since it looked so natural; I’d never have known it was a wig if she didn’t tell me.
What to Do if You Regret Dying Your Hair Black?
Clarify your hair to remove most of the color using clarifying shampoo. Apply Color remover to lighten up dark hair, then use bleach or toner depending on how much lift you want. Apply an ashy brown dye after toning your hair if you like to keep your hair dark and make conditioning a priority in every step.
Clarify your hair to remove the excess color
So, you’re still here, and that’s because you’ve dyed your hair black and now deeply regret it. The first step is to clarify your hair to get rid of the excess color. A clarifying shampoo is a great start. You can also do a Malibu treatment which will slowly make it look lighter.
Ideally, you should meet with your colorist for a shaming session, and advice on how to correct it. That’s because lightening is unique for every head of hair.
But if you must get this taken care of fast, choose Head & Shoulders for an affordable clarifying experience. You can also buy a strong clarifying shampoo to use each time you wash your hair. It will take a few washes, but it will be much lighter.
Yeah, the results won’t be instant, but it’s better to be safe. These strong shampoos can really take away that excess color. And while they’re not good for your hair on the regular and for prolonged periods, it’s a less harmful option compared to color removers or bleach.
And just so you know, you can carry on with clarifying shampoo even if you’ll be using color remover in the not too distant future. This will help that black dye fade a little bit.
Yes, clarifying shampoos really work. They’re designed to remove all kinds of stuff from your hair. That’s dirt, minerals from the water, hard water residue, chemicals, and excess oil. But these shampoos can also remove hair dye chemicals, making them ideal to prep for lightening or color removal when doing it yourself.
Lighten up dark hair using color remover
The difference with black hair dye compared to other colors is that it is deeper and darker than any of them, making the pigmentation the strongest. It takes a hold in the hair like nothing else. Of course, this also means that lifting it from your locks will cause mega-damage.
To lift the color, you have to open up the cuticle. This dries out hair and makes it feel brittle. Still, color removers are a gentler option compared to bleach. I know you probably want this color gone like yesterday, but you have to be patient, or you’re going to ruin your hair texture and feel.
With this lifting process, you have to prep the hair with nourishing conditioning treatments throughout. This will help prevent harming the integrity of your hair. You can try using Color Oops Hair Color Remover, a tried and true color remover. Or you can bleach it to remove the black and lift your color. Likely, you’re going to need both.
But I must caution here…this is difficult to navigate on your own. You may think you’re saving yourself money by doing it yourself, but you could really damage your hair. That will look worse than dyeing it black and regretting it. In the meantime, get a wig or two to help until you can get professional color care.
A trip to the salon will help take care of this in a controlled way. Lifting tends to bring out the brassiness. And that’s something a pro knows how to manage like the back of their hand.
Color removers like the one I mentioned above destroy hair dye molecules and hence aren’t quite as harmful as bleach. Most contain a tiny bit of bleach, making them powerful enough to get rid of permanent black hair dye. But they do cause damage, so you must use them sparingly.
Perhaps most important of all, you should know that color remover isn’t going to magically put your hair back to the tone it was. It will probably come out light orange. Your goal in this step is to get the black dye out of your hair.
This will allow you to color your hair to a tone you’d rather have. For hair that is weak and damaged, you should wait at least a few weeks before coloring again, and keep up the conditioning.
- Extra Conditioning Hair Color Remover
- Wash Away Difficult Colors
- Ammonia & Bleach Free
Use bleach or toner depending on the level of lift you want to achieve
For hair that has been dyed black, your colorist can help by using a color remover to get rid of that dye. It will get that pigment out of there but make your hair brassier, perhaps more orange or yellow in tone. You need to know this, so you don’t panic.
But doing it yourself is a difficult task when you’re inexperienced. Even for those who have colored their hair countless times before, you don’t want to mess this up.
A professional colorist can take that unwanted brassy look and further bleach it or use a toner to correct the shade into something you’re not embarrassed to be seen with.
Apply an ashy brown dye shade
Pigment from the black dye is very stubborn to remove. It’s best to choose hair dye remover as that first step to get as much of those pigments out.
You want your hair to look healthy and even, don’t you? The process for using brown hair dye will be different in this situation compared to other times you’ve dyed it. Unless, of course, the previous dye has already grown out.
The condition of your hair is something you really can’t ignore here. Don’t just do these things to get the unwanted color out. Feel your hair. Be honest with it. If it feels fragile or has damage, you need to take care of that first before doing anything else. That’s why conditioning throughout all this is so important.
Because if you only correct the color and do nothing about the condition of your hair, it’s going to feel like hay on your head. You want it to look and feel healthy, so take care of it through conditioning.
Condition your hair every step of the way
Since it’s so important, I’m making it a step of its own here. Lightening black hair is doable, but it will damage hair, so condition it properly.
I recommend a leave-in conditioner in addition to a deep conditioner. You should use as many hydrating hair products as you can to keep your hair feeling soft and healthy.
Without conditioning, your hair will look fried, and it will feel horrible to the touch. Again, if you’re not sure what to do yet, just get a wig until you can go get help from a professional.
Be patient
This is probably the hardest step of all when you’ve dyed your hair black and regret it deeply. It is so hard to watch your hair go from dark to light because it’s a process of stages.
Color changes as it is lifting, so it will go red to orange and then yellow. If your color was light or dark before it was dyed black, that would also play a role in how quickly it will lift.
For most of you, buckle up for the wild ride ahead.
Thankfully, toner is a blessing here. When lifting black color, the toning part is urgently needed to neutralize any unwanted shades in your hair.
If you’re serious about dyeing your hair black and haven’t yet, a better way to go is to try going darker in a lighter way. A dark brown gloss will work great in this situation because you can make it deeper if you wish, while it won’t deposit all that much.
That means it fades easier and will be easier to change if you want to, even if you want to do it within the same month.
A former teacher of mine always told us that haste makes waste. I think that really applies here because removal of black hair dye needs to go at a slow pace.
You might not be happy with your hair, but to remove the dye without taking care will destroy your hair health. And that will make your hair look even worse than a color you don’t want.
Keep up hair health with conditioning and getting it healthy as you work to correct the color. Again, a visit to your colorist is going to be the best way to keep hair healthy and get a color you want to see on your head.
Until then, there are always wigs that can change your look in an instant!
Conclusion
Whether you looked at the Kardashians and decided you wanted black hair, or you thought it would look cool for Halloween, and you regret it now, you can fix it. However, removing black hair dye can be extremely damaging to your hair. You will need to protect it with conditioning every step of the way.
Nurturing your hair as you work through this process will give you the best results in hair health. As for color, your colorist will be able to fix the mess you’ve created. It may cost a bit, but that’s less expensive than the cost of correcting another mess to fix the first mess.
Wigs are a great way to transition into a new color or style before going through with it. They’re also helpful when you’ve made a hair mistake like this until you can get to the salon.