How To Remove Permanent Hair Dye From Grey Hair
How to remove permanent hair dye from grey hair? This question is not easy to answer. While some women and men have opted to grow their grey, others have decided to change their greys into various colors. Regardless of the reason behind it, we can all agree that removing permanent hair dye from grey hair can be a frustrating and challenging process.
You might not be aware of it, but hair can also turn grey due to certain medical conditions such as anemia. In some cases, health-related issues such as poor nutrition or thyroid diseases may cause your hair to start turning grey. In other situations, it can simply be due to genetics and the natural process of aging. Regardless of the reason, here are some home remedies for getting rid of gray hair, including some natural products that you can find in your kitchen and a more permanent solution for those with white hair that needs a color change.
Some women and men have a particular fondness for untamed curls and colors. This makes them color their hair not once but twice a year. But the problem arises when they dye their hair in such a way that it makes those colored areas difficult to do without. If you have grey strands, you surely don’t want them to go bald, do you? This guide is all about taking care of grey hair and keeping them from becoming bald. Yep, we’ll show you how to remove permanent hair dye from grey hair.
What causes grey hair?
Hair begins to turn gray when a pigment called melanin is no longer produced in the hair follicle, according to Harvard Health. The absence of melanin causes the strand of hair to turn white, but because many strands are affected at once—it’s often the case that entire sections of hair become gray rather than just a single strand here and there.
In most cases, grey hairs appear as part of the natural aging process; however, they can also be an indication of certain health problems such as malnutrition or thyroid issues. While age-related greying is inevitable, it’s possible to reverse grey hairs caused by other factors by taking special care with your diet and lifestyle.
Your hair turns gray when your melanocytes (skin cells that produce melanin) slow down the production of melanin. This can happen gradually, which is why hair turns gray slowly.
Factors that can cause this slowdown to include:
Heredity. With a genetic predisposition for gray hair, you can go gray as early as in your teens or as late as in your 50s. The specific genes involved haven’t been identified yet, but experts believe they may be linked to the same genes that regulate the “melanocyte-stimulating hormone,” which causes melanocytes to produce more pigment.
Smoking and stress. Studies show that smoking prematurely grays hair while stress has no proven effect on graying hair, although it’s long been suspected of being responsible.
Chemicals in water and air. Some researchers suspect that chemicals in our water and air may affect when we go gray because they’re similar to chemicals used to turn hair gray as part of a scientific experiment known as the “Grollman experiment.”
Greying of the hair is a natural part of aging and occurs due to many factors. The most prevalent is a decrease in melanin synthesis, the pigment responsible for hair color. Many factors can contribute to this, including hormone changes, illness, or stress. In most cases, greying begins when people are in their mid-30s, and it’s estimated about 50% of people have some grey hair by age 50.
To some grey is a sign of wisdom and experience; to others, it is something to be feared. Permanent hair dye is an effective means of doing this, but removing it isn’t always easy if you change your mind later on. While peroxide-based bleach can strip permanent hair dye from your natural color, it may not work well if you’ve applied a permanent dye over your grey hair.
In order to remove permanent dye from your hair after you’ve used it to cover your grey hairs, you’ll need to find a way to break down the chemicals that form the dye.
What Does Hair Dye Do To Your Hair?
Hair dyes work by replacing the natural pigment, or melanin, in your hair with artificial color (pigment).
There are two types of pigment in hair dye. Permanent color is made up of small chemical pigments, while temporary color is made up of larger pigment molecules. This means that temporary color only coats the outside of the hair shaft and washes out quickly, while permanent dye penetrates into the cortex (middle layer) of the hair shaft to leave a long-lasting effect.
When you apply hair dye to your hair, it penetrates the cortex of your hair and reacts with its natural melanin. The strength of this reaction is determined by the color used.
Permanent dyes are more reactive than semi-permanent dyes, so they penetrate further into the cortex and produce a more lasting effect. Hair dye can be a fun way to switch up your look, but it can also be harmful to your hair. After the dye has been processed and rinsed out, the hair is typically porous, swollen, and brittle. These are all signs of damage, which means that the protective cuticle layer has been removed and the inner cortex has been exposed to the chemicals in the dye.
The chemicals found in most permanent hair dyes include ammonium persulfate, hydrogen peroxide, and ethanolamine. Hydrogen peroxide helps open up the cuticles so that the color penetrates deeper into the cortex. Ammonium persulfate works as a stabilizer for hydrogen peroxide. Ethanolamine helps open up the cuticles so they can receive color molecules.
In addition to these chemicals that help dye penetrate into the hair shaft, there are also other ingredients used in most permanent hair dyes that act as colorants or couplers.
The Color Removal Process
- Deposit-only color (darker)
Using an ash brown or black demi-permanent dye allows you to add color and make it look more natural. Try using a shade that is closest to your natural color. You can also use this method if you have bleached your hair before but want to return it to its natural color.
- Bleached or lightened hair
If you have bleached your hair, the safest way to remove permanent hair dye is with bleach and water. In a bowl, combine equal portions of both ingredients and apply liberally to your hair strands. After 15-20 minutes, rinse with warm water and repeat as needed until all of the colors have been removed. You may need to shampoo twice if necessary before using conditioner on your hair.
Prepping Your Hair For Color Removal
Before you remove the permanent dye from your hair, consider prepping your locks for the process. This can help minimize damage and prepare your hair for healthy regrowth.
Before you go through with any color removal, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
If you’re currently using permanent or semi-permanent hair color, you’ll need to wait at least one month before switching to a new color. This is because your hair needs time to recover from the damage of coloring and will be more difficult to strip.
If you’ve used a peroxide-based color remover, you’ll have to wait at least 4 weeks before applying any type of dye. This is because peroxide-based color removers can cause severe damage to your hair cuticle, making the hair more porous and susceptible to further damage.
How To Remove Permanent Hair Dye From Grey Hair
Everyone may have a different motive for wanting to get rid of their hair dye. Maybe you’re looking to return your locks to their natural shade, or perhaps you’re looking to change up your color. Whatever the reason, read on for all the tips and tricks you need to remove that permanent color from grey hair.
If you have super-light hair (white, platinum blonde, or grey), you can use a vitamin C treatment to remove the color. This method is not recommended for dark hair. Take 1,000mg of vitamin C powder and mix it with a high-volume developer (30 or 40 volume). You can find both products at beauty supply stores or online.
Apply the mixture to your hair and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Wash it with shampoo and conditioner.
If you don’t see results after one treatment, try again a couple of days later. Just don’t use this method more than three times in one week because it can irritate your scalp!
The color removal process will work on all hair that has been colored with permanent color. This includes gray, white, blonde and platinum hair. The color removal process will not work if the hair has been colored using a deposit-only color.
There are two types of color removers:
- Color strippers: These only remove artificial dye from the hair shaft. They don’t affect your natural hair color.
- Color correctors: These remove the artificial dye and can also remove some of your natural hair pigment.
The color removal process takes place in 3 steps:
Step 1: Apply the Color Remover to your hair.
Step 2: Rinse the product out of your hair and shampoo as usual. The Color Remover does not need to be left on for a specific amount of time to work correctly.
Step 3: Apply the Neutralizing Shampoo after towel drying your hair and keep it on for 5 minutes before rinsing. Your hair is now ready for the next step in the dyeing process!
When you dye your hair, the color is deposited on the outer layer of each strand. As your hair grows out, the colored parts are replaced with your natural color.
This is why few people dye their hair completely gray. It would require frequent touch-ups to maintain a uniform look.
To assist diminish the color and ease the transition, there are a few things you can do at home.
Bare in mind that none of these techniques will completely remove permanent color. You’ll need to visit a salon for that. However, they may help you transition back to your natural hair color or make it easier for your stylist to do so.
Baking soda and shampoo
A mixture of baking soda and shampoo can help strip your hair of color.
To do this, mix equal parts baking soda and shampoo in a bowl and apply the mixture to your wet hair. After leaving it on for 5 to 10 minutes, rinse it out thoroughly with warm water until all traces of the mix have been removed.
Repeat as many times as you like over multiple days until you achieve the desired results.
Making The Transition To Your Natural Grey Less Noticeable
- Section your hair.
Divide your hair into four even sections using clips to hold each section in place. This will help keep the dye from getting on hair that doesn’t need it.
If you have short or medium-length hair, part your hair horizontally across the top of your head and clip the top in place using bobby pins. Then, part the bottom layer of your hair horizontally just below your ears and clip this layer in place as well. Using a small dye brush or tinting brush, apply the dye only on the bottom layer of your parted sections of hair. Wait for 15 minutes before rinsing off both layers of hair with cool water. If you have long hair and want to go gray gradually, part your hair vertically down the middle, leaving out a small section at the front of each side of your head.
If you’re using a bottle, apply the dye with the applicator brush and comb it through your hair with a wide-tooth comb. Make sure you get all of your roots, even if you’re only dying your roots this time. This will help create an overall even color for your next root touch-up. If you are using a box dye, follow the instructions on the box to apply the paint.
How to remove semi-permanent hair dye from grey hair?
You can also try using a vitamin C treatment. Mix 1,000mg of powdered vitamin C with regular shampoo and apply it to dry hair. Leave the mixture on your head for 15 minutes before washing it out with shampoo and conditioner.
For added benefit, leave the shampoo in your hair while you take a shower — the steam will help lift the color molecules out of your strands!
The best way to strip off permanent dye is to use a semi-permanent color. This is because grey hair doesn’t lift well, so using another permanent color may cause further damage to your hair. The semi-permanent dye will gently fade with each wash and is less damaging than a permanent dye.
To remove semi-permanent hair dye from grey hair, start by mixing baking soda and anti-dandruff shampoo in a bowl until it forms a paste. Then, apply the paste to your hair and let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing it out with warm water. Next, wash your hair with clarifying shampoo twice and rinse it out both times. Finally, apply conditioner to your hair and rinse it out after 5 minutes.
If you don’t have any semi-permanent dye on hand, you can also use hydrogen peroxide to remove the permanent dye from your grey hair. Just mix a part hydrogen peroxide with 2 parts shampoo and stir them together until they’re combined. Then, work the mixture into your wet hair and leave it on for 15 minutes before rinsing it out.
Conclusion
Finally, this information has helped you understand that permanent hair dye can be removed from gray hair at home. We would also urge you not to judge someone so harshly based on the color of their hair or any other physical trait as I’m sure they have plenty of different interesting facets to them.
The next time you feel like making a pernicious remark, try letting go of that first and getting to know the person first before judging them. Even if society does not perceive your hair color to be “attractive,” focus on loving yourself for who you are, and others will follow.
Matching your own hair color is not an exact science, but with the complete guide offered here, you can give it a go without too much of a risk. The more you practice and learn about the process, the better you’ll be at making your own hair toner at home.
We’ve compiled my favorite ways to help remove various types of permanent hair dye from grey hair, but there are still countless other options out there. Let me know in the comments section below if you have any of your own proven methods for removing stubborn dye from grey hair. Good luck and happy dyeing!