How To Grow Out Dyed Hair And Get Back To Your Natural Colour

There are dozens of reasons to go on a hair colour break. Coming off the bottled stuff will help improve the health of your hair and can save you serious time and money.

Thanks to lockdown, taking a step back from dyeing altogether is also very in right now, with colourists jumping on the bandwagon of endorsing soft, lived-in locks. The only problem? After years of regularly scheduled colour appointments, how is one supposed to transition back to a more natural — or totally dye-free — mane without looking like you're doing exactly that?

"The most important thing is to have a plan," Nine Zero One hair colourist Morgan Parks told us. In other words, forget dying your hair the one colour you think best reflects your natural shade, or diving headfirst into colour-correction boot camp. Parks suggests taking baby steps, by softly blending your roots into your current colour, then slowly adding soft touches of colour over several months. Not only will it save the integrity of your hair, it'll also make the transition easier on you, too. (Anyone who's done it knows that a quick colour change can be jarring, to say the least.) However, not all shades should be treated the same. So Parks, who regularly takes people back to a life of less maintenance, broke down the process for us.

Some highlights will grow out without so much as a follow-up appointment (such as baby lights or sombre), but if your colourist has been foiling the colour right up to the scalp, it will take some skill to blend and soften it into a seamless grow-out. “This is my favourite thing to do,” Parks told us. “Nine times out of 10 when someone sits in my chair with over-highlighted, stripy hair, they actually have a really beautiful natural colour.” Which, she told us, makes it easy.

“It's as if you create a root, so it’s easy for their natural colour to transition in,” Parks explained. “Using a glossing service, you can create a natural root that will blend out their natural colour. It’s almost like I am going in and erasing all of the highlights.” This can be done just at the root to soften the line between the roots growing in and the lighter highlights, or throughout all the hair, if someone wants to cover all the lighter pieces. Then, Parks will go in and add a few highlights to blend it all together. Your colourist may also use a toner or a gloss to do this.

Building a bridge between light ends and dark roots is one thing, but what happens when the tables are turned? "One of the more intricate situations is when clients want to go natural after dying their hair darker for years,” Parks said. First things first: Resist the urge to dye it all at once, which is a recipe for damage. “It’s baby steps — the most important thing is the health of your hair,” she stressed. “Don’t let anyone start bleaching all your hair!” Instead, Parks explained, “You want to create some kind of base colour that is lighter than what they had, almost like a middleman.” Parks does this by taking all the hair to a shade between the natural colour and the ends. Then you can pepper in highlights, little by little, until you’ve flushed out the dark.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that you can simply cover the blonde when you’re sick of it. “That’s not how it works,” Parks said. “You’re definitely going to have maintenance, as it takes a couple [processes] for your hair to absorb the darker colour.” If you go down this route, expect your colourist to apply around four coats of colour to your hair for it to fully take the darker hue, then plan to be back after a few weeks for the same treatment again. You’re at risk for fading and a slight green tinge, plus it can be shocking. “It’s a harsh transition," Parks admitted. “Instead of shocking yourself by going dark all at once, I suggest you add lowlights, then use baby lights to break up and [soften] the roots.” Et voilà: Ombre!

We recommend Olaplex for hair which has been previously bleached to restore the broken bonds.

You finally went for it and added a trendy pop of colour to your ‘do. Then, of course, you got over it. Now what? “You can dye over it, but it really depends upon the integrity of the client's hair,” Parks said. Since your hair was most likely bleached to get the pink, blue, or purple to be vibrant, it may not take darker dye in the same way. “Your hair goes in one way and comes out another,” Parks explained. Luckily, since colourful shades fade quickly, you can also remove them fairly easily. “There is a company called Malibu that makes in-salon extractors that we can use to pull a lot of that colour in a gentle way,” Parks said. “Most of the time it removes most of the colour, and you’re left with just a small amount.” The remaining colour can then be covered over more easily.

Coloured hair is weaker and more susceptible to damage, breakage and lacklustre shine. Remember to condition whilst growing the dye out with intense masks, hair oils and even monthly Olaplex treatments when possible.