How to Remove Permanent Black Hair Dye

Black hair dye is notoriously difficult to remove from dyed hair once it has been applied. Most methods of removing black hair dye leaves hair orange and frizzy. Alternatives for stripping hair dye include gentle hair bleach and hydrogen peroxide-based hair color strippers. Learn how to fix a bad hair dye job and remove black hair dye color without damaging your hair.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Level 40 hair bleach
• Hair dye removal kit
• Hair conditioner

1. Learn the basic principles of how black hair dye color works. Permanent black hair dye uses hair bleach to strip your hair of its natural color. The black hair dye then then covers it with dark dye pigments. Naturally dark brown to black hair has an underlying red color pigment at its core. Applying a straight application of blonde hair dye to try to remove dark hair dye will simply strip the natural dark pigments out of your hair but leave the underlying red pigments. The result of such a dye job is a brass- or orange-colored tone. You will want to avoid this when removing permanent or semi-permanent black hair dye.

2. Buy a professional hair dye removal kit. Such permanent hair dye removal kits cost approximately $10 to $15 from your local drug or grocery store. One of the best black hair dye removal kits is called Color Zap and is manufactured by hair dye company L'Oreal.

3. Apply the hair dye removal chemicals to your permanent- or semi-permanent black hair dye. Most hair dye removal kits use a weak peroxide bleach base to slowly fade the black hair dye without burning or drying the hair. However, such dye removal chemicals will not restore your hair to its natural, pre-dye color. Most black hair dye removal attempts using black hair dye kits will leave the hair orange-colored.

4. Consider using a powerful hair bleach to completely bleach out the permanent black hair dye. The end result will be a light blonde. This is an alternative to black hair dye removal kits, and is typically slightly less expensive.

5. Re-dye your hair to your natural hair color, regardless of the method used to strip hair of black hair dye.

6. Apply an intensive, deep conditioner to your hair to restore your hair's natural moisture and keep it from looking frizzy and dry. This is especially important after applying bleaching chemicals to your black hair.

[lynneh]

on 11/3/2009 this is all so wrong. permanent black hair color does NOT use "hair bleach to strip your hair of its natural color". bleach and permanent hair color are two totally different things. black hair color just has a higher pigment load than other, lighter shades. nowhere in the process of coloring your hair black does the color "strip" your natural color.

"Consider using a powerful hair bleach to completely bleach out the permanent black hair dye. The end result will be a light blonde." seriously?! there is no guarantee that your result will be a light blonde. the brassiness will be outrageous, not to mention the unevenness that will occur. because your ends are undoubtedly more porous, you will most likely be left with those being darker since they don't want to let go of the color molecules, and gradually up the hair shaft the color will get lighter and lighter, ranging from red-orang...