Hair color washed out after the 1st wash

Sweetievtv

Hi, I was wondering if any of you guys had your hair colored at a salon before? I had my hair a burgundy, violet balayage and waited 48 hrs to wash my hair for the first time after. Just rinsing my hair in cold water and I noticed the hair color going down the drain. Is that normal? When my hair was dried, the color already faded. I thought it was normal. Until I waited 2 days again to wash my hair and the color was completely gone. Would anyone happen to know why? P.s. I also had no product in my hair what so ever and the hair dresser did bleach my hair.

9 years ago

General

7 replies

Latest reply was from Marina

Anonymous

That doesn't sound normal at all. Go back to the salon and complain.

9 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

I agree with BC. I've never had my hair colored, but as far as I know, the only thing to watch for is not to use a sulfate shampoo. It looks like your color was affected even by plain water! Definitely call the salon and tell them what happened. They should fix it for free, because this certainly sounds like it wasn't your fault at all.

9 years ago

rabbit

Veteran

The first time you wash your hair after it's colored at a salon (I usually wait 24 hours or so), you will see some color running out under the tap, but it shouldn't be much and it shouldn't visibly effect the color of your hair at all when it's dry afterwards -- at least not with a permanent hair color, it should be permanent until it grows out. I don't know about non-natural color washes, they could be different but the stylist should let you know.

9 years ago

Roxanna

Veteran

This has happened to me twice, ecatly the way you say; with purple hair, at a very reputable colour-only salon. I told them the first time and they changed up the formulation, but it didn't help. I'm going to try it one more time on my now silver hair, and if it dopesn't work, I'm going to try somewhere else. So frustrating.

It never happened to me with other colours, but the purple/plum/burgundy has a knack for washing out I think...

9 years ago

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

(ETA: I realize you're talking about purple, but a lot of the red dyes are purple-based, so I'm assuming they work the same way, and I wrote my reply accordingly)

Okay, if you've colored with red, the saying is, your color is already leaving your hair the moment you step out of the salon. I color my hair every two weeks because the gray grows in quickly. I use a copper red that, if it fades, is a coppery brown that I can live with until the next coloring I can offer you these insights, learned the hard way:

1. If a shampoo has 'Sodium Laureth Sulfate' or pretty much anything 'sulfate' in the ingredients, your reds and burgundies will wash right out. Doesn't matter if it says the shampoo is safe for color, or if it's the $30 bottle of Highly Touted Celebrity Shampoo That Is Safe for Color. Sulfate = red running down the drain. Don't let your salon sell you stuff that has sulfate in it, if you want to keep your color longer than your first shampoo.

2. Get yourself a boar bristle, or mixed boar bristle brush, and brush your hair and scalp, at least 100 strokes a day. This helps pull the oil from your scalp through your hair, and keeps it shiny and your scalp invigorated. And doing this offsets the next part, which might worry you a bit...

3. Don't wash your hair as frequently. Right now, I shampoo twice a week. And brush, brush brush your scalp every day. If my hair feels very dry, or like it needs a boost, I will 'wash' it with cool or lukewarm water, with my head flipped over, and I really scrub at my scalp with my fingertips.

If you shampoo frequently, this will seem all wrong, but once you get accustomed to the idea, you'll be surprised how much healthier your hair and scalp feel.

4. For conditioners, I haven't noticed that any one conditioner is better than another, it really depends on your hair type.

Some shampoos that have been consistently great for red: L'Oreal Everpure is great for NOT fading color - but I stopped using this and their accompanying conditioner, because the dimethicone makes my skin break out.

I currently use the Giovanni 2Chic Ultra-Repairing shampoo, but I think that if I used it more than twice a week, my color would fade at a quicker rate.

I would love to know what other red-by-technology ladies use for shampoos and conditioners.

9 years ago

Chris987

Veteran

Any reputable salon will fix it for you. Half of the reason for getting hair color done at a salon (as opposed to DIY) us to pay them for their expertise in color choice, formulation, results, and if it's not right they should fix it. Hair color that completely washes out within a few days is not right. Maybe the stylist goofed and used a temporary color but still they should fix it. I don't know about purple-based colors but if they do wash out quickly as stated then the stylist should tell you that ahead of time and be honest with you about what to expect. Or try a different salon. Like any other profession, there are various degrees of competence and expertise..

I have had my hair colored ash blonde for many years, it started out as highlighting to cover up the grey that crept in in my late 20s, and after a while it was full-blown coloring. I've been to the same person for many years and when she noticed that one of the products she was using was giving me a strange color (I didn't really notice it), and after seeing it happen on other clients, she did some research and changed the products she used and fixed the problem. She also tells me that certain styles I think of will be difficult on my type of hair, she gives me honest info. To me that's the right level of service.

9 years ago

Marina

Active Member

La Belle make some excellent points and suggestions. I dyed my hair red from 15 to 30 yr old (more or less). When it comes to red based colors, immediately after dying your hair you will get a very strong and vivid red color (or purple, in your case). During 1 or 2 weeks this initial red/purple color will quickly fade to a secondary color, that will fade slower during the next weeks until there is only traces of red/purple (this will happen in a month or two, depending on your hair products and hair type). Unlike other colors and dyes with a reddish reflex only, red based colors will "go down the drainer" quite literally (water in your first washing will be visible tainted with hair dye).

9 years ago

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