Q: Can I shampoo my hair as soon as I wash out my hair color when dying my hair?
A: If you’re talking about dying your hair with a permanent hair color, then yes. In fact, most hair color formulas are designed
expecting the hair to be shampooed after the coloring process. Shampooing helps to remove any staining of the skin surrounding the
hairline and remove any excess color from the hair to prevent bleeding and staining of clothing and bedding.
In some cases, shampooing the hair as soon as the color is rinsed out during a hair color
application is part of the directions the manufacturer indicates. Permanent hair color formulas inject color into the hair shaft as
well as leaving color on the hair’s surface, but it is the color in the hair shaft that matters most, so shampooing the hair to remove
the surface tint will give you a truer color.
However, the answer is different when you’re talking about semi-permanent or temporary haircolors.
With semi-permanent color, you generally want to give the hair a little time for the color to fully absorb before shampooing, since the
color will only last 8-12 shampoos. Of course, if you find that your semi-permanent hair color is too bold or too dark, you can soften
the color by shampooing the hair.
With temporary color, you can’t shampoo the hair after applying the color because the color only
lasts until your next shampoo and would be washed away by shampooing immediately after the color is applied.
