How to lighten permanent black hair dye

• If your hair is in good condition, you can bleach it to completely get rid of the black dye, and then use the light brown dye you like.
• Now, if your hair shows signs of being damaged or broken, then it won’t hold up to a session of bleach. So, you’ll need to use a clarifying shampoo.
• No matter which is your case, I’ll tell you how to do both processes and how to choose your ideal light brown color.

Black is a very personal color, and it can give you a sophisticated, wild and strong look. But, the reality is that it’s one of the colors that requires the most maintenance.

Because your roots can become terribly obvious after just a month. And that, of course, depends on your hair care routine and how often you wash your hair.

That’s why many women get tired of black dye really quickly. And that’s when the true fight happens. Because unfortunately, black and red dyes are the hardest ones to get rid of.

Hard, but not impossible.

But, first, before you get down to getting rid of the black dye, you’ll need to  put your hand to your heart, and just like if you were in confession, be honest. 

Not only do you need to be honest with the priest, but you also need to be honest with yourself.

• Is your hair in good shape?
• When you touch it, does it feel soft and docile?
• It doesn’t have any symptoms of breakage or frizz?

If that’s the case, then you can bleach your hair in order to get rid of the black dye, which is a quick process, but also an aggressive one. If your hair is in good condition, though, you don’t need to worry. You just need to be very careful to follow the necessary after-care steps.

If your hair isn’t in good shape, then you can still get rid of the black pigment, but you’ll need to do it slower, using something known as clarifying shampoo.

Once you’ve gotten rid of all of the black dye, you can use that light brown color you’re dying for.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Stick around, and I’ll tell you:

• How to get rid of black dye with clarifying shampoo
• How to bleach hair dyed black to then use a light brown dye
• How to choose the right color of light brown

After today, you’ll be able to say “Goodbye” to black hair forever. Well, at least to the black dye in your hair.

Tabla de Contenidos

• How to get rid of black dye with clarifying shampoo
  • How to use clarifying shampoo
• How to get rid of black dye by bleaching your hair
• How to choose the right light brown for your hair after getting rid of black dye
• Conclusions

How to get rid of black dye with clarifying shampoo

If you’ve decided to go for this option, it’s because you think that your hair won’t hold up to bleaching it. And I love women that are careful with their hair, putting its health over quick results.

So, congratulations! Because clarifying shampoo is an excellent tool if you don’t want to put your hair through a session of bleach or if your hair was damaged by previous rounds of bleach or too much dye. That’s because clarifying shampoo doesn’t damage your hair or affect its structure.

But, you need to keep in mind that  black dye is very persistent and difficult to completely get rid of. As such, you’ll need to use clarifying shampoo 2-3 times to get your base color to appear. 

What do I mean by base color?

I mean that clarifying shampoo only gets rid of artificial pigments, not natural pigments in your hair. So, after using the shampoo 2-3 times, your hair will be the color it was before you dyed it.

How to use clarifying shampoo

I suggest not using clarifying shampoo in the shower. It’s better to just focus on your hair when you’re using it.

• Wet your hair as you normally would.
• Use the clarifying shampoo and massage it deeply into your hair.
• Leave it in for 10 minutes.
• Rinse your hair with plenty of cool water and take a look at your results.
• If the black dye has disappeared, then you can use the light brown dye. If there are bits of dyes still left, then you should repeat this process again to completely get rid of the black pigment.

If you don’t know which color of light brown dye to choose, don’t worry. At the end I’ll tell you how to choose the right one.

Now it’s time for the people that have hair in good condition and want to bleach their hair to get rid of the black dye to hear what they need to do.

How to get rid of black dye by bleaching your hair

Bleaching your hair is an aggressive chemical process in which you use two ingredients: hydrogen peroxide and bleach powder.

The peroxide, also known as developer, opens your hair cuticles so the bleach powder, or ammonia, can enter your hair fiber and eliminate the color inside, whether it’s natural or artificial.

I repeat,  it’s very important that your hair is healthy when you do this because the bleach powder dries out your hair fiber in an extreme way.  If your hair isn’t healthy, you’ll end up with straw-like, limp hair with lots of frizz. And if that happens, there won’t be a light brown dye out there that will fix your problem.

Do you want to know a little secret for minimizing the damage the chemicals do to your hair?

Coconut oil!

Put approximately 8-10 drops of coconut oil in the palm of your hand, then massage it into your hair from ends to roots, at least three hours before you bleach your hair to moisturize it and to protect your hair fiber.

Once those three hours have gone by, you can start bleaching your hair.

Ingredients:

• 30 volume developer (peroxide)
• Bleach powder
• Coconut oil
• Gloves

Get the necessary items together, then start the process:

• Completely detangle your hair.
• Mix the 30 volume developer and bleach powder in a plastic container.
• Add 5 drops of coconut oil to the mixture.
• Put on the gloves and start using the bleach mix on your ends, then move on to the rest of your hair, working your way to your roots.
• Massage the mixture into your hair so the chemical process doesn’t lose its heat. You can also put on a shower cap for this purpose.
• Leave the bleach mixture in your hair for 20-30 minutes, checking on the color every 5 minutes.
• Once that time has gone by, rinse with plenty of cool water, ensuring to get all of the mixture out.
• Check out the color you’ve ended up with and if you think you’ll need to bleach your hair again, you can do it by repeating these steps.

Of course, you can’t just go and bleach it again immediately. It’s best to wait 15-20 days before doing it again, and to moisture your hair with hair masks during that time.

Now, here comes the most exciting part: choosing your new hair color, which will be light brown in this case. But, what kind of light brown?

How to choose the right light brown for your hair after getting rid of black dye

In order for your hair to turn out perfectly, you should choose a light brown dye depending on what color is left after the bleach process or the clarifying shampoo.

Can you choose just any old light brown color?

Truthfully, no, because  you need to opt for one that neutralizes any unwanted tones that might have appeared in your hair. 

As you’ll see, black dye usually has red or orange pigmentation, and once you’ve gotten rid of the dye, it can leave those tones in your hair. Tones that you should neutralize.

Each hair color has another color that neutralizes it. For example, green neutralizes red.

What are your options?

• If your hair has unwanted red tones, you can choose a light brown color with ashy tones. Your new color is a 6.1 light ashy brown.
• If your hair has unwanted orange tones, then you should choose a light brown with pearl tones. Your new color is a 6.2 light pearl brown.

Conclusions

• In order to get rid of black dye, you can use clarifying shampoo on hair that’s not very healthy or you can bleach hair that’s strong enough to undergo the process of bleaching it.
• If after getting rid of those black pigments, your hair has some red tones, then you should choose a light ashy brown dye for it, and if it has some orange tones, then your ideal color is a light pearl brown.
• And, it’s always important to maintain a deep moisturization routine. You can use coconut oil on your hair during the day and hydrating masks once a week.

Now tell me: Have you already chosen your new hair color?