Dyeing your hair a wild color is fun and exciting, but it's not as easy as it may seem. There are a lot of things people don't tell you about dyeing your hair vivid, especially if you are doing it at home.
Fast fading, the effects of bleaching your hair, and even levels of maintenance are things to consider and it's important to know what you're getting into when going with a bold new color. Keep reading to find out how long does vivid color last, how to maintain vivid color and general tips on vibrant hair colors.
What is Vivid Hair?
Vivid hair refers to hair that is not a natural color. This can include colors like blue, fire engine red, pink, purple-anything you don't naturally find on a person. Vivid hair has grown in popularity over the years, especially with the younger crowd. Vivids are fun, bold and keep things interesting!
Check out these ten tips about vivid colors before dyeing your unicorn hair!
In this article
Vivids and Don't Last As Long
You May Have to Lighten Several Levels
Not All Hair Dye is the Same
Wash with Cold Water
Dry Shampoo is Your Best Friend
You Can Use Color Depositing Shampoo or Conditioner to Make it Last Longer
Warmer Colors Stay Longer than Cool Colors
Vivid Colors Can be Hard to Get Out
You Will Need to Touch-Up Your Vivid Hair Color Every 1-2 Weeks
Sunlight Can Speed Up Fading
How to Make Hair Dye More Vibrant
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Vivids Don't Last As Long
The life of a vivid color on your hair is short, and even shorter with pastels. This has to do with the size of the color molecules as well as the porosity of your hair and other factors. This means that you will have to do more frequent and weekly upkeep with your vivid or pastel hair colors.
Bright hair dyes are typically semi-permanent but with recent technology some do come as a permanent color. Due to their short lifespan, vivid and pastel colors will have to be reapplied or touched up more frequently than your usual natural hair color. This will all depend on how often you wash your hair, what products you use, and the brand of color as well.
One of our long-lasting favorite brands is Manic Panic. It has a long life on your hair and has a more gradual fade. For color that's easier to remove and a more noticeable fade-out, we recommend our ion Semi-Permanent Brights. Don't be fooled, those ion Brights still pack a vivid punch and have lots of colors to choose from.
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2. You May Have to Lighten Several Levels
Adding a vivid color to your hair generally requires lightening your hair first. The amount you'll have to lighten or bleach depends on how dark or light your hair is (referred to as the “level” of your hair). Find out your current level to see how much you need to lighten your hair before dyeing it.
Always be careful when lightening your hair, especially if you've already previously lightened your hair. You will want to choose the best developer for the level and texture of your hair for the best results.
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3. Not All Hair Dye is the Same
Hair dyes and hair dye brands are not all created equal. Some hair dyes don't last as long, others aren't cruelty free like you might want. Often a bad dye job with vivid hair is a lot more noticeable than with natural colors–and harder to fix.
Make sure to check out highly rated hair dye from ion, Strawberry Leopard and more.
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4. Wash with Cold Water
When you wash your hair, make sure you use cold water. Hot water will cause your vibrant colors to bleed and fall out of your hair much quicker.
The reason is that when hair gets wet, the cuticle (outermost layer of the hair) expands quicker and opens wider in warm water. Vivid colors are direct dyes, meaning they don't penetrate past the cuticle-- they just sit on top. The wider the cuticle opens, the more the color particles can wash away. It is recommended that you wash your vibrant colored hair in cold to lukewarm water
Also consider using a color sealer from ion to keep the vivid color in your hair.
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5. Dry Shampoo is Your Best Friend
When you don't want to wash your hair with cold water, dry shampoo is your best friend. Using dry shampoo can give your vibrant hair the look and feel of clean hair without stripping away the color like a shower would.
Choose your dry shampoo carefully, though. Some dry shampoos can leave build up that require unnecessary scrubbing. We recommend the Eva NYC Dry Shampoo if you have vivid colors you want to protect.
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6. You Can Use Color Depositing Shampoo or Conditioner to Make it Last Longer
Color depositing shampoo can help rejuvenate your dyed vivid hair color without having to go through the entire bleaching and dyeing process again. Add the color to your favorite shampoo to deposit color while you wash. Our favorites include Color Lux and Wella Color Fresh Masks.
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7. Warmer Colors Stay Longer than Cool Colors
As a rule, warmer colors tend to stay in the hair longer than cool colors. Reds and oranges may stick around longer than grays and pastel blue, for example. But there are exceptions to this rule depending on the color's undertones, so pay careful attention to what you are mixing if you're using more than one color or placing color over existing color. Some purples can be warm-toned or cool-toned depending on whether it's got more red or blue undertones.
To keep colors around longer, we recommend this color-safe shampoo from ion, but any shampoo free of sulfates and parabens will do the trick.
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8. Vivid Colors Can be Hard to Get Out
Although some vivid colors tend to fade fast, others can be hard to get out of your hair. Certain colors may linger, especially if they have strong undertones that remain even after the top color fades.
If you don't plan on keeping your vivid color around forever, make sure you have the right products. Shampoo with sulfates should help to quickly strip vivid and pastel color from your hair. For more intense and stubborn colors, consider a Strawberry Leopard Color Remover or a Colour Off Kit.
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9. You Will Need to Touch-Up Your Vivid Hair Color Every 1-2 Weeks
On top of washing your hair with sulfate-free shampoo and adding a depositing conditioner, you will have to actively touch up your vivid color every 1-2 weeks. This means either scheduling frequent color appointments or putting on gloves and reapplying the vivid color yourself, primarily to your ends. Your roots might need bleaching if they're not light blonde once they've started growing out in order for any bright color to take.
Pro tip
Apply your color directly to dry hair for a bolder look and to damp hair for a more subtle touch-up.
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10. Sunlight Can Speed Up Fading
Believe it or not, being in the sun more often can make your vivid hair fade faster. This is especially true for pastels. This means that while out for long periods of time in the summer, you may want to wear a hat or you will have to touch up your hair sooner. This is why vivids and pastels tend to last longer in the autumn and winter.
Of course, if you have bright hair you don't want to constantly have it covered, so you may also want to apply a Leave in Color Protector to protect against styling and environmental heat.
Make sure to be careful when trying to remove color from your hair or lighten your hair to apply vivid colors, especially if it is already damaged.
Shop Strawberry Leopard UV & Heat Protector Cream For Vivid Color
How to Make Hair Dye More Vibrant
If you notice your hair color fading or it doesn't come out as bright as you'd like, there are ways to make your vivid hair even more vibrant.
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Add Color to Your Shampoo
If you have leftover hair dye, add it to your shampoo! This way, you can add color as you lather so that washing doesn’t make your hair color fade even faster.
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Use a Depositing Shampoo
If you have no leftover color, you can use a color depositing shampoo to add color with each wash.
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Boost Color with Conditioning Treatment
A conditioning treatment like ion Color Pigments can revitalize your hair color between salon visits.
Pro tip
There are a lot of nuances to getting a vivid hair color, but it can be worth it if you want a bright change. Click here to virtually try on different hair colors to see which shade is right for you!
