Shampoo Hair After Dyeing

Woman washing her newly dyed hair
Photo: Anetlanda/Shutterstock
Q: Can I shampoo my hair as soon as I wash out my hair color when dyeing my hair?
 
A: If you're talking about dyeing 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 hair colors.
 
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.
 
©Hairfinder.com
 
See also:
 
Hair dying
 
Temporary, semi-permanent and permanent hair dyes
 
My hair dye came out when I washed my hair. Is this normal?
 
Does it really affect the dye job if my hair isn't clean?
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