Some people choose to dye their hair to change their appearance, others to cover grays, and still others out of simple curiosity. That may be all well and good, but it doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to in some cases. You should choose a shade that suits the color of your skin, and also be very careful when choosing blonde colors if your hair is naturally very dark brown or black. With blonde shades in particular, the process to achieve these colors can be very harsh on your hair. In other cases, the color might not penetrate evenly throughout your hair, resulting in unattractive patchiness. Finally, removing hair dye is a difficult process and some people even choose to cover it completely with a very dark color, and call it a day. Here are some effective and natural ways to remove hair dye and avoid mistreating your hair too much.
8 Natural Ways To Remove Hair Dye
#1 Baking Soda
Baking soda helps to strip the color from your hair, and if you've used temporary or semi-permanent hair dye, you can likely get the dye out completely. For permanent dye, it make take several attempts to completely remove the dye, or you may not be able to get all of it out. Start by wetting your hair with the hottest water you can comfortably stand without burning yourself. Put dandruff shampoo in the palm of your hand, then sprinkle an equal amount of baking soda onto the shampoo and blend the two together. Smooth the mixture throughout your hair. Rinse well, and repeat as many times as necessary to remove all of the hair dye.
#2 The Vitamin C Treatment
This way is relatively easy and doesn’t harm your hair as much as bleaching it. Simply get a package of Vitamin C powder or Vitamin C tablets. Using around 500 – 1000mg of crushed Vitamin C powder, mix it with a bit of conditioning shampoo to form a thick paste. Get into the shower, wet your hair, and apply the mixture from the roots to your ends like you would normally. Don’t rinse it off just yet! Make sure to get a shower cap ready and put your hair with the mixture. Step out of the shower and put a towel around your shoulders to protect your clothes. After 20-45 minutes, go back into the shower and rinse it off. Make sure to condition well after, because this will dry your hair out.
#3 Dish soap
Mix four or five drops of dish soap with regular shampoo. Wet your hair and apply the mixture. Rub up a soapy lather, allowing the dish soap to penetrate deeply into the hair. Lather your hair for at least a couple of minutes. Rinse your hair thoroughly. Dish soap causes hair to become very dry and strips out natural oils, so be sure to rinse it out thoroughly. You will probably have to repeat this technique more than once, but because dish soap is so harsh, don't repeat it too many times in a row. Follow up with a deep conditioner every time. Always follow the last rinse with a deep conditioning treatment such as hot oil. Dish soap is extremely drying; your strands will need a dose of hydration every time you use it.
You can even sit under a heated dryer to increase the effectiveness of the conditioner.
#4 Lemon juice
Lemon juice is an excellent way to remove the hair color from the hair strands. Take 3-4 teaspoonful of lemon juice and apply that on the hair strands. Take some more lemon juice if needed.
Apply that evenly on all the hair and then wait for 15 minutes.
Wash the hair and then shampoo your hair. Then use a hair conditioner. You should always use a hair conditioner as the conditioner will make the hair softer since lemon juice can make the hair slightly dried but definitely adds a subtle shine.
#5 Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
Sounds simple, but anti-dandruff shampoo works like a charm removing pastels and unwanted tones. If your blonde hair has gone too ashy or you still have a slight tint from your last colour hanging around, a few washes with an anti-dandruff shampoo will lighten it up significantly.
#6 Clothing detergents
Natural laundry detergents have high contents of chemicals that help in washing away almost 75% of the dye from the hair. So, try washing the hair using detergents that do not have any bleach or bleaching agents. Only one tablespoon of detergent is enough at a time. However, after-wash care is very important for your hair, because there are chemicals in it that can make the hair very dry and frizzy.
#7 Hot Oil massage
For those who want to condition their hair while lightening it,try a hot oil massage and treatment. Put the hot oil treatment on your head and cover it with a shower cap for about an hour. Then rinse it with hot water and watch the color come out. You don't have to worry about damaging the hair because it'll actually nourish it instead!
#8 Vinegar
For this method, you should use plain white vinegar. Similar to the way vitamin C works, the acidity of the vinegar will help strip the dye from your hair without damaging your scalp like some expensive products do. This is because most hair dyes cannot handle acidic substances.