How to get your natural hair color back?
My hair was colored an orchid color that faded fast. I then bleached my hair and now I am yellow blond again. My natural color is medium brunette with natural red tones. I would like to go back to a darker shade similar to my natural color. How do I go about this?
If you have been using hair dye for a long time and want to get your natural hair color back, this article is for you. It will cover all the ways that are known at this moment.
There are many reasons why women choose to go from dark brown or black hair to blonde, red, and other light shades. But after a while, some may start missing their natural hair shade and want it back. Or, maybe, you went dark brunette or black and now want your light natural hair color back? Read on if now you prefer getting your natural hair color back.
Why You May Need to Get Your Natural Hair Color Back
The main reasons why women decide to go to their natural hair shade back are the following:
– Growing salon bills.
– Salon closures and quarantine.
– High-maintenance of colored hair.
– Hair damage (split ends, dryness, brittleness, breakage, etc.).
– Hair dye job that seems too fake – too blonde, or too dark.
– The hair color no longer complements the skin tone, the eye color, the eyebrows, etc.
– The last hair coloring appointment damaged the hair too much.
Pros of Returning to Your Natural Hair Color
So, the main pros of getting your natural hair color back are:
– It will save you a lot of time.
– You will spend less money on your natural hair shade.
– Natural hair color is low-maintenance.
After all, the best and the most flattering hair color for a person is the hair color they were born with!
Cons of Going Back to Your Natural Hair Color
Some negative effects of returning to your natural hair hue may include the need to explain to other people that will ask why you have several tones in your hair. Secondly, you will not have a variety of colors to choose from anymore. You will have just one option (but remember that you can have highlights, lowlights, and toning).
Also, once you go dark after bleaching, there’s no going back without serious damage. If you bleach your hair blonde after darkening your locks, you will not be able to re-dye your hair dark for a very long period of time.
The Main Tips on Going Back to Your Natural Hair Color
There are two main ways to fix the hair color you don’t like. Either let your current hair shade grow out, or re-dye everything. Below you will find the main secrets on returning to your natural hair shade, and methods to do this. Get your natural hair color back by combining several of these tips and tricks:
– Grow Your Natural Hair Out.
How do you get your natural hair color back? The answer is simple: stop coloring it! This isn’t as hard as it sounds. You just need to find a new hairstyle that works for you and let your hair grow out. It might take some time (and patience), but the results will be worth it!
Below we’ll go over how to get your natural hair color back by using styling techniques like braids and twists so that when your roots start showing through they can blend into your style seamlessly.
Also, be ready for the last coloring appointment to prepare your dyed hair for natural hair color regrowth! In most cases, it is a must.
– Grow Your Hair Color Back with Balayage.
For those of you looking for a way to return your hair back to its natural color, there is an option of using balayage highlights. The nice thing about this technique is that it is freehand, i.e. customized personally for you, and doesn’t require frequent touchups as regular coloring does.
Lowlights (darker streaks in your locks) will help you get the look of your natural dark hair. Partial highlights, peek-a-boo hair, and money pieces are also very popular now. Think about what may work for you best. This option is for those of you who plan to go to a hair salon. Highlighting/lowlighting is a technique that should be done by pros.
– Choose the Right Hair Products.
You will need proper shampoos and conditioners. A good clarifying shampoo will be a life-saver in case you need to fade your current hair color a bit. However, if you need just to regrow your hair after that last corrective hair coloring, you will need a sulfate-free shampoo for color-treated hair and a good nourishing conditioner, plus some high-quality hair masks. Regenerate all you have damaged. Root concealers may be helpful during the transition too.
– Hide Your Natural Grown-Out Roots.
There are dozens of hairstyles that can help hide the grown-out roots. Everything depends on your hair length and hair texture. Some women with thicker or curlier hair types will like the idea of cornrows, individual braids, twists, and even wigs. Others will learn new updos, ponytails, buns, and braids that all work well with straighter hair types. Different headbands and scarves can also be used to create a trendy look with your natural roots. Bleaching roots is not necessary anymore.
– Sport Your Natural Grown-Out Roots.
The best way to get your natural hair color back is not with a box of dye but by accepting reality. The more you try and cover up the parts that are different or don’t match what’s “normal,” the more likely you will end up with a patchy look. A lot of celebs have famously been rocking their grown-out roots for years now. So, you may show your grown-out roots too and still look trendy. A good idea will be to opt for the shadow root look.
– Get Your Natural Hair Color Back by Re-Dyeing It.
Growing out your dyed hair may take a long time. To speed up the process, find a natural-looking shade that’s close to your original color and re-dye it! It might be just smoke and mirrors but at least you can look like yourself again until then. If you pick the right color, your new hair will match up with your natural tone. As it grows out over time, the distinction between the dyed and non-dyed strands of hair will become less obvious.
If you want to color your hair, it’s best to consult a professional stylist first and let them pick the right product for you. Picking the wrong shade can result in unexpected results as each dye reacts uniquely with different underlying pigments. So, after growing your hair out for a couple of months, call up a salon to book an appointment. Moreover, your hair colorist needs to know your hair dye journey from the very beginning to choose the right products and re-dye strategy for you.
– Don’t Be Afraid of Fading.
Although most colorists will be able to take you back to brown after bleaching in one session, the process of returning your hair’s natural shade is gradual. Each layer of dye applied contributes more depth and intensity so it might not happen all at once. Hair dye will fade and you may see some peek-a-boo streaks of the previous color. When you finish your color treatment, book a follow-up appointment two weeks later to help seal in the shade. Your hair colorist will essentially reapply all the colors that were lifted from your hair. Taking back from dark box dye to your natural blonde hair is a more painful process. You will have to strip the hair color, bleach your locks, restore hair a lot.
How to Dye Bleached Hair Back to Natural Color
How long does bleached hair last? Bleached hair is the hair that has had the color taken away. You can’t get the color back unless you put it on your hair again. So, it will last till the moment you cut off all the bleached length. Or re-dye it.
The process of putting color over bleached hair step by step is the following:
– Choose the hair dye that repeats your natural hair color.
– Put on gloves and squeeze the dye into a plastic container. Mix it with developer until you have a smooth cream, sectioning your hair into four parts at this time. Brush out each part of your hair before applying color.
– Take one section, apply a generous amount of hair dye. Once each part is covered in hair dye let sit for 30-45 minutes before rinsing it out with cool water.
– Use the dye on your lengths and don’t touch your roots! Your hair doesn’t need to be re-dyed all over, so you can just use it where your natural color is hidden under the bleach.
– Now you can wash it with your normal shampoo. You should also use the post-coloring treatment included in the kit, which will help moisturize your hair for 5 to 10 minutes after using color dye.
How to Go Back to Your Natural Blonde Hair
If you’re looking into going back to your natural blonde, talk to your hairdresser and figure out what is best for your specific needs. Everything depends on your current hair shade and your hair color story.
Possibly, you will have just to use a mild at-home dye remover to strip away the unwanted color. If not, your hairstylist may have to bleach your whole hair and tone it to the desired shade, or just give you corrective highlights close to your natural hair color and then repeat this color service in several weeks or even months, depending on the condition of your locks.
Definitely check with a hair colorist before trying to go from dark, red, or any bright hair color back to blonde yourself, because there may be too many chemicals involved in your chosen method of coloring. You are not a pro hair colorist! And your actions can take from hours to months to fix in a salon if something goes wrong!
If you want to grow out your blonde hair color and cut off the darker ends, just know that blonde roots and the reverse light-from-dark ombre are still an option. So, why not?
How to Go to Your Natural Gray Hair
You can go back to your natural gray hair by doing highlights, blending your grays with lowlights, and, finally, ditching hair dyes, and learning new hairstyles that will help you conceal the grays. In this case, full all-over re-dyeing will not work as you will have lots of grays in some time and will have to visit a hair salon again and again.
Going Back to Natural Hair Color: Before and After Pictures
Check out these before and after photos of women who went back to their natural hair colors or are in the middle of the transition process now:
1. Going back to a natural dark brunette hair color with partial highlights and a shorter haircut.
2. Going back to natural brown hair after bleaching and hair damage with the help of rich chocolate highlights and hair treatments.
3. Post-bleach transitioning to a natural dark hair color with corrective balayage highlights.
4. Returning to a darker natural hair shade after bleach-dyed hair.
5. Transitioning to a natural dark gray hair color with the ‘blending’ method.
More Ways to Get Your Natural Hair Color Back
These transitioning hairstyles will also help you return your natural hair color, be it a natural blonde shade, or a dark brunette hair color.
1. An idea on how to gradually transition from blonde roots to fully blonde hair.
2. Transitioning from bleached blonde hair to a solid dark brown hair shade.
3. Growing out natural blonde hair with a milk chocolate reverse ombre.
4. A haircut and hair color blend perfect for transitioning to gray.
5. Transitioning to a glossy reddish brown color from bleached ends.
6. An example of how to go back to your natural gray hair shade with a bob haircut and light roots.
We hope that the questions ‘Do I really want my natural hair color back?’ and ‘Should I go back to my natural hair color?’ are now answered, and you will follow your inner voice. If you feel that you need this transition, go for it without any regrets. May your journey back to natural be easy and painless!
