If you’ve ever had a bad reaction to hair dye or bleached your hair too frequently, you will know how permanent hair dye can really stick in your locks. With many of us embracing bolder and brighter hairstyles, it’s no surprise that permanent hair dye remains one of the most popular beauty products on the market. But what if it goes wrong? What if you don’t like it after the first time, but it’s too permanent to cover up with bleach again? What exactly can we do with all our stubbornly red locks? We have some tips on how to remove permanent hair dye with olive oil.
How To Remove Permanent Hair Dye With Olive Oil?
Overnight Soak
This is the easiest, most basic, and foolproof way to get rid of all kinds of hair dyes. Just take a cup of olive oil, dip your hair into it and cover your head with a shower cap. Keep it like that overnight and wash your hair the next morning with a clarifying shampoo. The pigment will come off with the excess oil and the color will fade away naturally.
Shampoo and Conditioner Treatment
If you are in a hurry and want your hair to be dye-free immediately, shampooing with a shampoo that contains a color remover is a good option for you. Colored hair can be stripped of its color and faded with a shampoo that contains a color remover. It is important to use a shampoo for colored hair and not a regular one. Apply a conditioner after and leave it for at least 5 minutes. Wash your hair thoroughly with warm water. This will help remove the excess color from your hair. Follow up with regular shampoo and conditioner the next day.
Mix with Shoe Polish
Shoe polish is one of the oldest and tried and tested ways of removing unwanted hair dye. Just mix the desired amount of hair dye remover with a little amount of shoe polish and apply it to the stained area. Leave it on for a few minutes and then wash it off with cold water. It is quick and easy, but it may leave your hair a little bit sticky.
Boiling Water
This may sound a little bit strange and unusual, but it is one of the best ways to remove unwanted permanent hair dye. Take a bowl of water and put your hair inside it. Make sure that your hair is completely submerged in the water. Boil the water and keep your hair in the bowl for about 10 to 15 minutes. This method is excellent for those who have stubborn hair dyes that cannot be washed away with any other method.
Dried Apricot Scrub
Fresh apricots are full of vitamin C and have amazing properties that help remove the color from hair. Cut a dried apricot into two halves, rub it on your hair and leave it for 5 minutes. Squeeze the excess oil out of the hair and wash it with shampoo. The pigment from the hair will get collected in the dried apricot.
How Does Permanent Hair Dye Work?
- Most permanent hair colors don’t actually dye the hair itself, which would leave it damaged. Instead, they “lift” the color of the hair by oxidizing the melanin in your hair.
- This is why many hairdressers use bleach to lift the color of the hair before applying your chosen color. When you choose the color you want to be applied to your hair, the hairdresser will then apply the oxidizing agent to cancel out the color they lifted from your hair with the bleach.
- This is why it is crucial to choose a dye that works with your natural hair color. If you choose the wrong color, you will lift the melanin but not cancel it out.
Tips To Remove Permanent Hair Dye With Olive Oil
Assess The Damage
The first thing to do if you’ve dyed your hair the wrong color is to assess the damage. You should assess how permanent the color is. If you have only just applied the dye, it will most likely be a semi-permanent dye that can be relatively easily removed with the right ingredients. If the color has set in for a few days, it will be a permanent dye and will be harder to remove. There is also the matter of how your hair has reacted to the color. Has it lost its shine? Has it become brittle and damaged? If so, you’ll need to address this as well.
Use Shower Shampoos
If you’ve just dyed your hair, wait a few days and then use a good-quality shower shampoo to try and remove the color. Ideally, this would be the same brand that you used to dye your hair. If you colored your hair a few days ago, wait until the hair has grown out a little bit so that you have a larger surface area on which to distribute the shampoo. Shampoos are designed to remove dirt and impurities from your hair, so they’ll definitely have a go at removing your unwanted color. If you have dyed your hair over a long period of time, it is possible that the color has built up and has become oxidized, making it harder to remove. In these situations, a shower shampoo may not be powerful enough to lift the color.
Try A Bleach Combination
If you have dyed your hair with a permanent hair dye, you may be able to remove the color with a bleach combination. You can find pre-mixed bleaches in most beauty stores and online. Using a bleach combination will depend on your hair type and how much damage it has incurred from the dye. If your hair is healthy, you may be able to use a 20-volume cream bleach. However, if your hair is damaged, you may need to use a 30-volume bleach. If your hair is really damaged, you may need to give it a break from the bleaching process. Try using the shampoo and conditioner from the same brand as your hair dye. If you are still not happy with the results, there is another thing you can try.
Try A Depicting Shampoo
If you have dyed your hair with a permanent dye, there is a chance it might be causing damage to your hair. In this instance, you could try a depicting shampoo. If you have damaged hair, then a depicting shampoo will help to repair it. This is because the shampoo is designed to remove any impurities and chemicals from your hair. It will also leave your hair feeling softer and more manageable.
Attempt To Lighten With Olive Oil
If you have dyed your hair with purple or green hair dye, you may be able to remove the color with olive oil. If your hair is very damaged, olive oil won’t be as effective as you may need something stronger. However, if your hair is relatively healthy, you may be able to lighten the color with a few drops of olive oil. If you do want to try this method, make sure you leave the oil in your hair for between 30 minutes and an hour. You can leave the oil in your hair while you are in the shower or while you are sleeping. When you wash your hair, you’ll need to shampoo it twice to remove all of the oil. If your hair is very damaged, this may not work. However, if it is relatively healthy, olive oil is a gentle yet effective hair cleansing product.
Final Words
As well as being damaging to your hair and skin, the chemicals in permanent hair dye can also be very harmful to aquatic wildlife. If you want to dye your hair but don’t want to commit to the color, you can use semi-permanent dye, which lasts longer than hair creams and gives a more subtle color. You can also cover up a bad hair dye job by dying your hair in a color that contrasts with your natural hair color. If you want to remove permanent hair dye, it is best to do so before it has oxidized. The best way to do this is to use a strong shampoo that is designed to break down dyes.
