Can I Dye My Hair Twice in One Day?

Dyed your hair, but it didn’t turn out the way you wanted? Is it possible to dye it again on the same day? Find out more about this and more in this article.

Dyeing your hair another color can give you a fresh new look, but sometimes, the results aren’t exactly what you expected. This can be frustrating since hair disasters can be incredibly challenging – and often costly – to fix, which can make dyeing your hair again tempting.

However, is it safe to dye your hair twice in one day? What happens if you do? What alternatives do you have if dyeing it twice isn’t possible?

If you’re wondering what the answers to these questions are, you’re in luck. This article will answer these questions and others in detail, so keep reading if you want to learn more.

Can You Dye Your Hair Twice in One Day?

Dyeing your hair at home can sometimes have unintended results, and the usual go-to option people have to fix the issue is to dye their hair again immediately after the first time.

However, as most stylists and experts will tell you, dyeing your hair twice in one day is really never a good idea, especially since hair dyes are primarily made from harsh chemicals that can be damaging and harmful when used in excess.

This is especially true if you’re using permanent dyes, particularly the ones that are readily available in your local drug stores. These typically contain ingredients like ammonia and oxidizing agents that work together to permanently change your hair color.

While these ingredients are effective at what they do, they can be too harsh for your hair and scalp. So, dyeing your hair twice in one day with these can negatively affect your hair and scalp health, possibly even damaging them beyond repair.

What Happens When You Dye Your Hair Twice in One Day?

One example of the possible damage is that your hair will become so dry and brittle that it’s more prone to breakage and thinning, especially when using heat styling tools.

This is because the hair loses many of its nutrients due to the chemicals found in hair dyes, and this affects the overall integrity of your hair strands.

As a result, they tend to be weaker and more prone to falling, which can result in temporary bald patches that will be tough to cover and grow back.

Your hair can also become duller and limp since the harsh chemicals can strip your strands of their natural moisture. Your scalp can also be irritated and become more sensitive, making it prone to allergic reactions to other hair products.

Likewise, dyeing your hair twice in one day will subject your scalp to more harsh chemicals. These chemicals can burn your scalp, which can cause not only irritation but also small wounds. In turn, these small wounds will make your scalp more prone to infections, which can be potentially dangerous if not treated immediately.

So, simply put, you can dye your hair twice in one day, but it’s never advisable that you do so, especially when using permanent dyes.

Hair Dyeing Interval: How Long Should You Wait Before Re-Dyeing Your Hair?

So, how long do you need to wait before coloring your hair again? How long should the interval be before you can dye your hair without worrying about irreparably damaging it?

If you suffered from a hair mishap and want to repair it as soon as possible, the shortest interval for waiting would be around 3 to 4 days. However, this is still not enough to let your locks recover from the initial dye job, so you should still expect some damages when you dye your hair so soon.

Still, if you’re not in too much of a rush and want to keep your hair and scalp as healthy as possible before dyeing your locks again, most experts would advise that you wait at least four weeks after the initial session.

This period can be enough to let your strands recover before subjecting them to harsh chemicals again. Of course, the longer you wait, the less damage you’ll experience.

Waiting six to seven weeks after the first session should be plenty of time for your hair to recover and be ready for another dye job.

However, aside from the interval between sessions, you’ll still need to consider other factors before applying another layer of dye to your hair.

Dyeing Your Hair Again: The Factors You Should Consider

As mentioned, you need to consider a couple of factors before you pick up another box of hair color at your local drug store. Generally, you need to consider three things:

Your Hair’s Condition

The first thing you should consider before dyeing your hair once more is its condition. It would be best if you evaluated whether it’s healthy enough to handle another round of coloring.

As stated earlier, hair dyes, especially permanent ones, typically contain harsh chemicals that can strip your hair of its natural moisture. These make your hair more prone to harmful side effects like breakage and thinning.

Therefore, coloring your hair again when it hasn’t recovered enough might result in severe damages that can take years to repair. So, it’s best to check your hair’s current condition before applying another layer of dye.

Check out: How to Know If Your Hair is Damaged?

The Type of Hair Dye You Use

Another aspect you should consider when dyeing your hair again is the type of hair dye you intend to use. There are typically several types of hair dyes available, and their differences often lie in how long their effects last.

Permanent dyes are the most readily available type, and as the name suggests, their results are more or less permanent. This means they don’t fade as quickly as other dyes, so you can enjoy your new hair color longer before needing a touch-up.

However, permanent hair dyes tend to be the most damaging as well since they use harsh chemicals to open up your hair’s cuticles and deposit the dye’s pigments to achieve your desired hair color.

Besides permanent dyes, you also have the option to go for semi-permanent dyes, which primarily coat the hair shaft instead of fully depositing the pigment into the strand.

These can be less damaging for your hair if you choose to re-dye it since they contain fewer harsh chemicals than permanent ones. However, their effects aren’t as long-lasting, so you may need to re-apply after 6 weeks or so.

Aside from these two, you also have alternatives like ammonia-free dyes and temporary hair dyes, both of which have significantly less damaging effects than permanent and semi-permanent dyes.

However, the downside to these two is that ammonia-free dyes still inflict a bit of damage to your hair, while temporary dyes immediately wash off when you wash your hair.

All of these options have their advantages and disadvantages, so, if you’re planning on dyeing your hair once more, you also need to carefully consider what type of dye you’re using if you want to minimize the damages to your locks.

The Color of the Dye

If you’re coloring your hair again because you didn’t get the results you wanted at first, you also need to consider the color of the dye you will be applying on top of the initial color. This is because the color doesn’t lift color; it only adds to the existing pigment.

In this case, if you want to correct hair dye mishaps, you can refer to the color wheel to see what color you can use to neutralize your dyed hair’s unwanted tones.

For example, if your hair now has too much red in it after dyeing it, you can correct this by using a dye that has more green tones in it. Likewise, if it’s too yellow, you can use dyes with more purple tones to neutralize it and make it look more natural.

Check out:

• How To Fix Over-Toned Hair?
• 3 Steps to Dye Your Hair Two Different Colors On Top and Bottom

Fixing Hair Dye Mishaps: What Are the Alternatives?

Waiting a few weeks before coloring your hair again is necessary to limit the potential damages to a minimum. However, what about if you had a dyeing mishap and need to fix it ASAP?

In such cases, stylists advise against using permanent dyes because they can cause irreparable damages to your hair and scalp. So, what alternatives do you have to fix your hair color as quickly as possible while minimizing the damages?

Here are a few of your options:

Semi-Permanent Dyes

If you want to cover up the effects of your botched dye job, semi-permanent dyes can be an excellent alternative. While it’s still advisable that you wait at least 3 to 4 days after the first session, you’re less likely to suffer from permanent damages to your hair with semi-permanent dyes.

This is because these typically don’t contain the harsh chemicals their permanent counterparts do, so you can apply them to your dyed hair without worrying about experiencing too much damage.

However, it’s still best to do a patch test first on a small section of your hair to see if it’s healthy enough to handle even semi-permanent dyes.

Clarifying Shampoos

If your hair turned out darker than what you intended, it’s not recommended that you dye it again with a lighter color. This is because other hair colors can’t remove the existing dye, and dyeing it again might damage your hair.

So, if you want to lighten your hair, your best bet would be to use a clarifying shampoo to wash out some of the pigments in your hair.

Washing your hair with this shampoo multiple times in a row can remove some of the dye from your strands and leave you with lighter-looking hair.

It’s even more effective if you combine it with hot water since the higher temperature helps open up your hair’s cuticles to let the dye out. Of course, you also need to ensure that your hair is healthy enough to handle the frequent washing.

Pigmented Shampoos and Conditioners

On the other hand, if you end up with too-light hair, you might be tempted to apply a darker color to fix the mistake.

However, doing so can actually cause more problems and dry your hair even further. An excellent alternative to this would be pigmented shampoos or conditioners.

Unlike your typical hair dyes, these don’t contain abrasive chemicals to color your hair, so you can use them as often as possible to add a darker shade to your hair without worrying about harmful side effects.

Of course, these will only slightly darken your hair, so make sure you manage your expectations when it comes to the results. If you’re more daring, you can even find pigmented shampoos and conditioners in bright colors like blue or pink that will temporarily stain your hair with vivid hues.

What about when you have the exact shade of blonde you want, but the results are too brassy? In this case, instead of reaching for a darker dye to cover it up or lightening it again with more bleach or blonde dyes, you can use purple shampoos to tone it and reduce the brassiness.

Purple shampoos use the concept of complementary colors in color theory to counteract brassy tones in blonde hair, leaving it brighter and more like the shade of blonde you wanted.

Make sure you’re careful with the frequency, though, as you might end up unintentionally staining your hair purple if you use it too often.

Maybe you also like: Can You Dye Your Hair With Purple Shampoo?

The Bottom Line

Dyeing your hair can be the quickest way to revamp your appearance and give yourself a fresher and more exciting look. However, coloring your hair might not always have the intended results, and you might end up with a look you didn’t want.

It can be tempting to reach for another box of hair dye in these cases, but dyeing your hair twice in a row in one day is generally considered a bad idea. Not only can it potentially have even more disastrous results, but doing so might end up damaging your locks beyond repair.

So, while it’s possible to dye your hair twice in one day, it might be better to wait a few weeks or find alternative ways to fix the botched dye job. Who knows, you might end up loving your current look in time.

See also: Can You Bleach And Dye Hair On The Same Day?