Can I Dye My Hair Twice In One Week? (No, Here’s Why)

Is it possible to dye your hair twice in on week

Have you ever made the mistake of dyeing your hair the wrong color?

Have you ever thought the hair dye was strong enough to overcome the color you had but that wasn’t the case?

Did you ever found out that you just did the process wrong and your hair is messed up?

Or any other variation that made you think about dyeing your hair twice in a week?

I did and if not you, then probably a friend of yours did also!

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it is normal for you to ask yourself the question “can I dye my hair twice in one week?” And for those people, I have made this blog post!

So, let’s dive in and see if dyeing your hair twice in a week is a smart move or something to avoid at all costs.

So, Can I dye my hair twice in one week?

No. No, it is not a good idea to dye your hair twice in one week. You see, dyeing your hair is a chemical process that does damage to your hair. and that’s why you need to wait between 4 to 8 weeks to dye your hair again. You need to give your hair time to recover.

To know exactly how it works, we’ll first look at the differences in hair dye

Temporary hair dye
When you use temporary hair dye, large color molecules enter the spaces between your hair cuticles and leave a coating at the surface of your hair. There is no penetration into the cuticle and cortex going on and no use of ammonia or peroxide. This kind of hair dye is not damaging to your hair.

Semi/Demi-permanent hair dye
When you use semi or demi-permanent hair dye, the small color molecules penetrate each hair cuticle and then go into the edge of the cortex of each and every hair. The good thing to know is that with this kind of hair dye, there is no use of ammonia. However, there is some use of peroxide to add the tone and cover grey hair up to 30%. This kind of hair dye is damaging to your hair.

Permanent hair dye
With permanent hair dye, it works almost the same as with semi-permanent hair dye. But in this case, the small color molecules enter the cuticle and hair cortex. The other difference is that this time the hair dye reacts with the melanin in your hair. The permanent hair dye uses both ammonia and peroxide to lighten, add tone, and cover grey hairs up to 100%. This permanent hair dye can wash out a bit at first (very slightly but never washes out!

Okay, So what happens to your hair when you dye it?

When you dye your hair, you are causing damage to the fiber structure that is in your hair. This chemical process of dyeing your hair breaks a lot of the disulfide bonds in your hair. These are the chemical bonds that hold the protein strands together.

What this all means is that dyeing your hair breaks down the hair fiber and makes holes in the cuticle and the hair cortex. This makes your hair more porous and drier. Regularly dyeing your hair can make it hard to comb and style your hair, maintain healthy hair in general and it also increases the chance of split ends and the fact that your hair breaks!

How soon can I dye my hair again?

You have to wait for a minimum of 4 weeks (ideally longer, around 6 weeks) before you can dye your hair again. This time gives your hair time to recover from the damage the chemical process of dyeing your hair did to it.

What to do if you want to dye your hair again to fix it?

If you want to know if you can dye your hair twice in a week, you probably want to know for a reason! What do you need to do if you want to fix your dyed hair after it’s gone south? Below are some tips for some of the most common things that happen when people dye their hair themselves

What to do if your hair dye job is uneven?

If you like the shade of color you have but it isn’t even, you have to wait a while before you can do anything with your hair (because of the recovery process). The best thing to keep in mind is that you create an even dye job from the start. So, you can’t just slap the hair dye up there.. You have to go section by section and make sure that you got every last strand.

But what you can do for an uneven dye job are a couple of things.

You can wait for the uneven splotches of dye to fade out, or you can wait to have it bleached by a professional (don’t do this yourself!)

If you go for fading it out, there are things you can do that speed along the process. If your tone is slightly darker in some areas, you can try and scrub those areas with a clarifying shampoo to lessen the difference between the right and wrong area!

What if your hair dye turned out to be too dark?

If this is the case, the biggest thing that you DON’T want to do is trying to remove the dye by yourself at home. This is a highway to ruining your hair further. 

The only thing you can do is try to reduce the color that is build up in your hair so that the lighter color starts to come through. All you need for that is some clarifying shampoo. 

Never go in with another hair dye the same week. It won’t work. It is bad for your hair and you can’t just apply color to already color hair and expect it to be better.

What to do if the hair dye turned out to be too light?

If you’ve let in the hair dye for too long and it got lighter than you wanted it to be, you can try and tone it down with pigmented conditioners. 

The advice here is the same as above. Don’t just buy a darker color and slap it on there!

What if the hair dye damages your hair?

If you’ve dyed your hair and it feels damaged and/or dry there’s, unfortunately, nothing else for you to do than go to a professional. A haircut is the only thing that can save you. But this is the worst-case scenario.

If your hair feels a little dry or damaged, you can try a hair-healing treatment such as Olaplex. Olaplex restores broken disulfide bonds. You apply it on wet, detangled hair and let it sit for as long as possible. Concentrate most on the most damaged areas and then comb it through so that it sits on your entire hair. Tie your hair up and sleep with it overnight.

This will give your hair a chance to survive!

Avoid using heat-styling products for a while.

How to maintain dyed hair?

But what to do when everything did go well :)? There are certain things that you can do to keep your dyed hair healthy.

Wash your hair less frequently
The more you wash your hair, the quicker your hair color will fade.
You can also jump straight into the conditioner without touching your shampoo! A nice way to cut back on the daily shampoo ritual.

Use the right shampoo
Even though you do it less, pick a shampoo that is right for you. A shampoo that is specifically designed to maintain dyed hair.

Avoid heat or protect your hair
The best thing would be for you to avoid heat elements, but if you’re going to need heat, I advise you to use protection sprays on your hair to reduce the heat damage.

Use a hair mask
Use a hair mask once or twice a week for about 5 to 10 minutes to deeply moisturize your hair and keep it healthy.

Conclusion

To give a summary: Can you dye your hair twice in one week? No, you cannot. The chemical process that is dyeing your hair, damages your hair in such a way that it needs time to recover. It is best for you to wait for a minimum of 4 weeks (preferably longer) to let your hair heal.

What if it went wrong? If for some reason dyeing your hair went wrong, you can use the above tips to make the best of it. The one tip that isn’t described there is that it is always free to ask your local hair professional for some advice. They can look at your hair, feel your hair, and tell you exactly what you need to do.

What if it went well? Try to keep it as healthy as possible so that you can enjoy your colored hair for a long, long time! Treating your hair right with a deeply moisturizing hair mask once or twice a week can really make a difference!

Enjoy!

Leave a Reply

Recent Posts