Can I Use Shampoo After Dying My Hair?
Your hair color is never as bright and bold as when you walk right out of the salon. You turn heads in the street with your eye-catching color, take a few cute selfies, and get compliments on your fresh shade left and right. But when you get home and jump in the shower, ready to call it a day, that’s when the question pops into your head—can I use shampoo after dying my hair?
It’s scary to think about one quick wash ruining your dream hair color. But what are the rules for shampooing right after a coloring job? In this guide, we’ll answer this burning question and share tips about how to shampoo the right way now that you flaunt beautifully colored tresses. Let’s jump right in!
Let’s Cut to the Chase—Can I Use Shampoo After Dying My Hair?
The short answer is no, you can’t wash your hair immediately after you have it dyed. Your color is still fresh, and your hair cuticles might not be completely closed yet. Scrubbing your porous strands with shampoo could wash out the color and have it swirl down the drain.
Wait at least 24-48 hours before shampooing your hair after getting it colored. If you’re feeling extra patient, you can even wait 72 hours to make sure that color is really locked in. The longer you wait, the more you can help extend the lifespan of your brilliant, vivid hair color. But if you fall into the temptation of washing it way too soon, you could see noticeable fading as soon as you step out of the shower. Yikes!
More Tips for Shampooing Your Colored Hair
Knowing when to wash your hair after having it dyed is one thing. But doing it properly when you finally can shampoo your locks is a completely different art to master.
The way you shampoo your colored tresses has a massive impact on how vibrant your color stays, and how long you get to sport your electrifying color. Here are some tips to follow for shampooing your colored hair to keep it looking bold, bright, and salon-fresh.
Use a Sulfate-Free, Color-Enhancing Shampoo
This one’s more of a non-negotiable than it is a mere “tip.” Don’t just grab any shampoo from the drugstore and use it on your delicate, colored hair. From now on, you should only wash your locks with a sulfate-free shampoo.
Sulfates are very harsh surfactants that can pry open your hair cuticles and wash the dye out, leading to premature fading. So, go for a color-safe shampoo that has no sulfates and instead has gentler, more natural surfactants to clean your hair deeply without ruining your color.
If you can, go for a sulfate-free shampoo that also has color-enhancing benefits. One that we highly recommend is the COLORLOMO Ultra Color Safe Shampoo, a sulfate-free shampoo made to preserve your vibrant color for up to 50 washes. Enriched with sweet almond oil, amino acids, and lotus flower extracts, it also softens and adds shine to the hair, making your color look ten times more fabulous!
Our color-safe shampoo collection has tons of shades to choose from. Whether your hair is blue, red, purple, pink, copper, silver, or anything in between, we’ve got a color maintenance shampoo for you.
Don’t Shampoo Too Often
Every time you shampoo your hair, you wash a tiny amount of your gorgeous color away. It’s just how things go when you dye your hair. And the more frequent your wash days, the sooner your color will fade. So, if you want longevity for your striking color, don’t wash your hair often.
Instead of shampooing every day, do it every two or three days. Not only does this buy time to maintain your color for longer, but it also helps keep your hair hydrated since washing too often also dries out the hair.
Condition Your Hair Every Time You Wash It
Shampooing alone tends to dry out hair. So, every time you wash your locks, replenish the moisture they lost by following up with a conditioner. Use a hydrating conditioner on most days and a nourishing deep conditioner once a week. For these products, look for moisturizing ingredients, like the ever-popular coconut oil or argan oil, touted as “liquid gold” in the hair care world.
Don’t Rinse with Hot Water
Some people love ending their day with a scalding hot shower. But if you have colored hair, these showers are a huge no-no. Hot water opens your hair cuticles, giving color molecules an opportunity to leak out. The result? Color fading that leaves your hair looking patchy and uneven.
When you rinse your hair, use lukewarm water. Cold water is even better because it seals your hair cuticles shut, preventing color pigments from escaping. Plus, it does wonders for retaining moisture and adding shine to your mane!
Can I Use Shampoo After Dying My Hair to Remove Excess Color?
Yes, if you think your color is too rich and you want a more toned-down version of it, you can shampoo your hair a bit to fade it out to your liking. But we still recommend waiting at least a day to do it so that your hair cuticles are more sealed. That way, your hair can still retain most of the color, and it won’t look dull even after washing out some of the pigments.
Wash Smart to Keep Your Hair Color Bold and Vibrant
If you want to keep your colored hair as fresh and vivid as the day you had it dyed, the ultimate secret is shampooing smart. No more racking your brain, asking yourself, “Can I use shampoo after dying my hair?” Wait a few days to seal that color in before you wash with a sulfate-free shampoo, then follow all our shampooing tips above to retain your dazzling color.
Want to give your colored hair even more TLC? Check out the COLORLOMO collection. Our products are catered to anyone rocking colored tresses and want to keep their shade looking crisp, clean, and vibrant for as long as possible. Protect your color with COLORLOMO today!
