Have you recently realized that dyeing hair every two or three weeks is too complicated for you? You are not alone. Many women switch back to their natural hair color due to changes in their lifestyle.
Sometimes, it is about not having time for salon visits or spending money on too many products for dyed hair. However, you can also have personal or health reasons to return to your natural shade. Or a merely self-conscious decision to go more natural.
Whatever the reason, if you want to learn how to come back to natural color, read on.
1. Consult Your Stylist for a Plan
Now that you have determined why you want to return to your natural hair color, it is time to call your stylist and come up with a plan. Once you have decided to switch back to your old color, we highly recommend speaking to professionals.
Hairstylists know the best and, usually, the shortest ways to grow your old hair back. You might end up with damaged hair when you do it yourself, which is certainly what you want to avoid.
2. Consider Last Coloring
Even though you think about stopping coloring altogether, it can be crucial to consider that last coloring.
The last coloring implies that you use the shade that is most likely your natural one. Whether you have highlights or are changing your hair color completely, patience is what you need most.
Coloring your hair one last time will help the transition and make the whole process much more manageable. You can also consider doing an ombre hairstyle. While you dye your roots the same color as your natural one, the rest of your hair will be lighter. That is how you can get a specific style without touch-ups every two or three weeks.
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3. Going Back to Your Natural Hair if You’re a Blonde
If you wore a honey blonde or platinum hairstyle for a while, now is the right time to return to your natural shade. To achieve that, you need patience and just a bit of knowledge.
First, you shouldn’t try this transformation all at once but do it gradually. It is usually not a good idea to go straight back to brown or even black if your hair has been dyed blonde.
You might be sick of your blonde hair, and we get it. However, try to pick a color that you will like that is darker than the blonde one. Caramel hues and dark bronde will be perfect transitional shades until you reach your destination – natural dark hair.
4. Going Back to Natural Hair for Brunettes
If your natural hair color is blonde, but your colorist dyed your hair in a beautiful dark color, going back to your natural shade might be a bit complicated. Unfortunately, moving from dark to light shades is not damage-free, and it can require regular salon visits.
Consider using bleach to be even closer to your light natural hue. We suggest doing this with a professional stylist in a salon instead of trying it at home.
If your hair color was extremely light before dyeing, you would need more time to reach the goal. And even then, you will need to take good care of your hair to reduce bleach damage.
5. Grow It Out
Growing your hair out is usually the first method that comes to mind for most women. This easy and low-maintenance method can be excellent, but only if you do it correctly.
You have two options with this method. You can either grow out your hair naturally, leaving the roots in a different shade than the rest of your hair, or dye it in a similar shade. If you opt for the second option, you will have to touch up the roots every few months to avoid them looking too light or dark.
6. Chop Your Hair Off
The shorter the hair is, the less growing out you will have to deal with. Chopping off your hair will speed up the process. There are many beautiful styles you can choose from. From trendy bob hairstyles that can be blunt or choppy to concise pixie looks – the choice is only yours.
Either way, you should still visit your hairdresser for regular trims. You will be amazed by how time will pass, and your natural hair will grow quicker. Yet, the hair ends will stay healthy and be appropriately styled.
7. Get Balayage Highlights or Lowlights
The key to growing out your natural hair is turning it into a low-maintenance process. How to do that? By getting balayage, highlights, or lowlights. All these styles will help the natural hair grow in the roots and then seamlessly blend into the rest of your hair.
Whether you are wearing long or medium hairstyles, balayage is the proven way to return to your natural shade.
8. Consider Ombre
Ombre is yet another style to consider if you decide to come back to your natural hair color. Having your roots in a darker shade with the rest of your hair that is lighter can look great yet very low-maintenance for you.
9. Use Self Tanner
Using a self-tanner is excellent if you are transitioning from very blonde to your natural hair color, which is a bit darker. If tanning is a part of your routine, it can make you feel better and your skin tone more balanced with the hair color.
During the winter and spring months, when you are not naturally getting any tan, you can use different self-tanning products or even bronzer from your makeup palette.
10. Use High-Quality Products
When planning your transition to natural hair, you should also think about your hair care. Similar to skincare, hair care should be simple yet effective. Using high-quality products will ensure healthy hair ends, especially if you use bleach and ammonia dyes.
Invest in a good wide-tooth comb. Such a comb is an essential product that will reduce hair breakage while seamlessly detangling your hair.
A hairdryer should be on the investment list as well. A good-quality dryer should be on your list if you are usually in a rush and can’t take the time to dry your hair naturally.
Make sure to buy sulfate-free shampoo, conditioner, and a hair mask that will be suitable for your hair type. Also, the mask needs to be hydrating to improve the hair’s strength, shine, and softness.
11. Try Root Concealers
Let’s say you need to go to some special occasion and would prefer to hide your grown roots. You can do that with root concealers. This temporary solution is perfect for such situations. Root concealers are great since they come in various shades, from light blonde to dark brown.
Your Reasons Why You’re Going Natural
First, women have different reasons to switch back to their natural color. They can vary from health-related to personal reasons. Sometimes, it is evident that you need to switch to your old color.
1. Personal Reasons
There might be many personal reasons for changing your hair color, from spending too much money on salon visits to going through a life transition.
Some women like changes, so they quickly get bored with their current hair color and want to change it to something new. Before doing that, many of them return to their natural hair shade.
Or perhaps you realized that you don’t have time or energy to maintain that complicated blonde hair shade. We get it. Growing back your natural hair hues will surely save you some time so you can focus on something else.
2. Health-Related Reasons
Your hair might look dry and brittle-like after that bleach you have used for years. Women with blonde shades usually have problems since much bleach is used to get the desired hair color.
Unfortunately, hair can be damaged during coloring appointments. That is a sign that you should listen and stop dyeing your hair for some time. Make sure professionals do the last coloring.
If you have missed hair color, for instance, gone too platinum or too dark, you can also decide to switch back to your good old natural shade.
Mistakes to Avoid
As with any other process that can last, mistakes are a normal part. However, if you know how to avoid them, there may be less chance of damaging your hair or ruining the whole process of returning to your natural hair color.
1. Be Aware of the Difference Between Semi and Demi-Permanent
Demi-permanent hair colors are stronger since they contain ammonia. They require some kind of developer to make color oxidize.
On the other hand, semi-permanent hair colors should be ammonia-free and be used directly from the tube. The semi-permanent option is better for your hair since it contains no ammonia or peroxide.
However, to avoid making a mistake, always read the label on the dye box. Hairstylists warn us that many semi-permanent dyes contain ammonia even though they shouldn’t. If you find the one that has it, you should know it will dye your roots more than you want.
2. Avoid Color-Removers
All hairstylists agree that you should avoid color removers when trying to go back to a natural shade. They can be even more damaging than dye, especially if you over-use them. Using these products can make your regrowth journey much longer and leave your hair damaged and brittle-like.
3. Not Visiting Hair Salon
Another mistake to avoid is missing your hair salon appointments. Professional colorists can use the dye to make your hair transition more seamless and natural-looking. They will make your hair appear beautiful with no harsh lines between natural and dyed hair.
4. Don’t Rush the Process
Patience is the crucial thing you will need to remember when you start the process of going back to natural hair color. Rushing the whole process can damage your hair, making it hard to repair damaged hair naturally. Remaining focused and patient will provide pleasing results. You will see!
A Final Word of Advice: Keep Your Hair Healthy
Along with many ways and tips on how to go back to your natural hair color, there is one thing you should be careful about. That is keeping your hair healthy. Many of these dyeing or color striping processes can be pretty damaging for your hair. Some of them can damage your hair beyond repair.
Regular trims, good-quality shampoo, conditioner, and a hair mask should become part of your routine, even if you are in the process of hair color transition. Avoid hot tools as much as possible, or use heat protectant spray.
It is not just about how your hair looks. Keeping it balanced and good-looking should also be your goal. Be patient; the results will be there even before you hope for them.
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