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Thread: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

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    Member LocustSpawning's Avatar
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    Unhappy Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    Please!

    I've had black hair for years, and although I love it, I'm really interested to see my natural medium brown again. Are there any ways I can lighten chemically dyed black hair, after years of dying, without any extreme damage or breaking? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks




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    Now-shorthaired mod Anje's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    There are some dye-removal products like "Color Oops" out there. They might help you, though depending on what you used to dye your hair, you might have some weird colors going on beneath the dye. (Lots of dyes, even black ones for reasons I don't comprehend, contain peroxide. So your hair might be lighter after removing the dye than the hair that grows from your follicles.)

    A lot of these have a bottle with some sort of peroxide in it, as a final step I think. I've been told you can completely skip that step. It may take a few days to a week for your hair to reach whatever final shade it's going to be if you skip that, but I think avoiding the damage makes a week of oxidation worth it.

    In any case, strand test!
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    Just a note, you wont be able to go back to your original colour without first growing all your hair out and starting anew

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    made of sugar and cyanide MandyBeth's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    It's a salon trip or many and it will damage your hair. But it can be done. I bleached streaks in. If you don't go to white and do it only to naturalish with the right over will be best.

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    Perfumista amaiaisabella's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    I would do as Anje suggested and try the Color Oops, and AFAIK, coconut oil soaks also remove excess dye- not that it would necessarily lighten your hair, but might not make it look so monotone. You can always end up doing highlights to make the difference not seem so stark as it grows out, as well, but you may end up getting more color out than you think.
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    Member <3OnHerSleeve's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    maybe you could dye your hair darkest brown for starters so it doesn't clash with ur natural roots, and then have highlights the same/similar to your roots once they grow out to an inch. a matter of blending in so growing out doesn't look so stark obvious against the black.
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    I used to dye my hair black and products like Color Oops wouldn't even make it budge.

    It was bleach for me. Luckily my hair survived it just fine, but we all know that isn't always the case.

    Whatever you do, consult a pro.
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    Member Maverick494's Avatar
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    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    I&#180;ve had chemically dyed black hair and what I did was throw a brown dye over it. This lightened it a shade or 2. Then I had highlights added everywhere, so that my hair looked lighter overall. I came back to a medium brown then. But because my hair is actually darkblonde/lightbrown I later had it bleached by a hairdresser. He had to cut off tons of my hair because it was like straw after that. I still regret that decision. Patience pays off, let me tell you. Blending in and growing out like <3OnHerSleeve said is the best way to preserve your hair. And don't forget to pamper it!

    Don't bother with anti dandruff or clarifying shampoos because they won't lighten years of chemicals.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    I used to have layers and layers of black dye on my hair. And I mean probably almost ten layers of dark dye. (Reason being because I thought putting brown hair dye over my black hair color would turn it brown. Nope, just made it darker each time). I also wanted to return back to my natural medium brown hair color. (Or at least a color that wouldn't have such a strong line of demarcation while growing out my natural hair). I tried using Color Oops extra conditioning. Didn't work. A few months later I tried Color Oops extra strength. Didn't work. The next day (I know, not good) I picked up Color Zap by L'oreal from my local Sallie's Beauty supply. It removed the dye! My hair was left a reddish color. Here's the results.


    I then dyed over that color with a light ash brown (remember, your hair will be porous after using the color remover. So if you are going to redye it again, make sure it is much lighter then the color you want!) It was still a bit too red for my liking, so I dyed a medium ash brown over it again the next day and it came out waay too dark. I shampooed it about five times, and my hair is now extremely close to my natural color. My hair is still a bit patchy, but you can only tell in direct sunlight and you cannot see a line of demarcation at all. Color Zap worked wonders for me, without creating too much damage. (The reason why my hair is damaged is from doing nonstop chemical processes without any breaks in between). Good luck!



    If you're curious, this is my current hair color (I went through the removal process in March of this year!) I have not touched it with chemicals since.
    Scribbled face because this is not a flattering picture, LOL.
    Last edited by rosieex3; November 16th, 2010 at 05:29 PM.

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  10. #10

    Default Re: Any way to lighten chemically dyed black hair without bleach...?

    I dont think its possible to do this naturally. Dark brown hair in my experience can be lightened and blonde also, but black doesn't really lighten to more, but more of a soft black colour.

    You could try henna. I have naturally jet black hair that won't budge but henna gave me lighter tones throughout. It looks dark brown with a little red.

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