Q: I love to try funky colours on my hair, and my mother has always advised me against washing it beforehand. She says the oils
on my head after not washing will hold the colour better. So, rather than reading the instructions, I would just go without washing my
hair for a day or two, apply the dye like it was shampoo, leave it for a certain amount of time, and then rinse until the water was
clear, shampoo, add the tube of conditioner if needed, and go on about my day.
Of course, these were all semi-permanent dyes anyway, so it didn't matter if it didn't last as long
as necessary anyway.
Now, I am doing this on my own. When I bought the dye, I actually took the time to look at the
instructions and discovered that step one is to shampoo (no conditioner) and dry my hair. Make sure it's clean and all that. My
question to you is this: Does it really affect the dye job if my hair is clean?
A: Actually, it does have an effect. In most cases, color application or other chemical services need to be performed on clean hair.
With color, it needs to be clean and dry hair. The presence of too much natural oil on the hair can inhibit the penetration of the
coloring agents. The end result is a lessening of the color intensity and/or a shorter-lasting color.
On the plus side, even with semi-permanent dyes, applying the color with a couple of days’ worth
of natural oils in place has likely helped to protect your hair from potential damage due to repetitive processing. It isn’t necessary
to wait more than a day, however. You can simply wash the hair one day and do the color the next and get reasonable results with
adequate protection from damage. The biggest reason for the recommendation to wash and dry the hair before coloring is to make sure
you don’t have any styling product in your hair.
Having styling product in your hair can cause uneven color results, and for women who use such
products daily, you have to make sure to clear away the residue of these products to make sure they don’t interfere with the color
process. Having clean hair can give you not only even color results, but can help the color to last longer.
