Least damaging dark color removal: salon, or home bleach baths?

[scaredofbleach]

I've done one bleach bath already and it lightened my roots a fair amount but I can barely tell the difference on the rest of my hair. (Semi-permanent black dye, NEVER AGAIN. Tried Color Ooops, Vit-C, dandruff shampoo, dish soap, henna, lit. everything. "lasts 28 washes" LIES.) I did the coconut oil beforehand, 20 vol developer.

I'm thinking it will take at least 2-3 more bleach baths to lighten it to my natural medium brown (it's dark brown now) and I'm wondering if it would be less damage to simply go to a salon and get it done in one go. I know bleach baths are supposed to be gentler, but I'm wondering if the amount plus the fact that I'm fumbling around on my own would mean a salon would ultimately be better.

My hair doesn't feel terrible after the bleach bath but it will definitely need a good trim and some love.

[MidnightMoon]

Is there a specific reason why you want to get it out quickly?
Both options sound damaging, and while the people at the salon might be more precise and have better products or techniques, it doesn't mean they won't damage your hair... removing black dye in one go requires quite a lot of action, and if it doesn't look near perfect they probably won't stop... so any patches, brassiness, colour differences, etc. will require additional bleach. They want the end result to look good, sell you some products and keep you going... meaning, their main goal isn't exactly hair health, but appearance of it.
Anyways... I'd just stick to normal washing with a strong shampoo and be patient. It will definitely fade more, just give it time.

[lapushka]

How many washes have you had? Usually it says either a number amount of washes and/or a number amount of weeks, which ever lasts longer will be valid, usually they state both because not everyone washes the same amount.

Are you sure you are past the allotted time/washes? If not, I'd stop with the bleach and just keep being patient. A semi always comes out, normally, if you give it the time it needs.

[Joules]

I would have gone to the salon straight away, because in my opinion


Color Ooops, Vit-C, dandruff shampoo, dish soap, henna, lit. everything

is damaging, too. The only way to wash out the dye and not damage your hair is to leave it alone and wait till it gets out on its own, and maybe try some pre-poo oils, they help wash out the dye. If you want the dye to be out asap, however, the salon is the best option, people there know their stuff (assuming you choose a nice salon and a great stylist).

Also, a bit off-topic: does bleach even remove hair dye? Don't you need a specific product made for color removal? I'm really curious about the science of it.

[*Wednesday*]

I agree with Midnightmoon and Lapushka on their comments, especially with the mention of the salons. Heed the message.

A future note….Semi-permanent that says it lasts 28 days does not mean exactly 28 days, especially with the color Black. Lighter colors may, darker colors like dark brown and black may last longer and take time for it to break down out of the hair. Also considering if you went 3 shades darker than your natural color which they don’t recommend (I believe on the box) may grab longer. You’re hair may feel okay now, but the next bleach bath or Color Ooops treatment you may wind up in tears racing to get it out with harsh chemicals. By the time you walk into the salon, most will charge you for “Corrective Coloring” which will be expensive but may be worth it if you ruined your hair color.

[Obsidian]

Did the color oops lighten it at all? I would try it again, maybe leave it on a little longer and rinse for at least 15-20 minutes. Dark color might need multiple treatments.

If that's not something you want to try, go to a salon.

[Sarez]

Experimenting a couple of years ago with Castile shampoo, I noticed after a couple of washes that the permanent dark brown box dye started fading a lot quicker, on my peroxided/bleached hair, than any commercial brand shampoo would.
However, semi's don't last long in my hair - maybe 2 months (About 8 - 10washes.) before it's all gone/faded.
I used a colour remover a couple of weeks ago to take out the permanent dark brown box dye that has been accumulating over the past 2 years, and noticed the peroxide in the brown creating bands of orange, and a general orange-y glow all over. This has pretty much settled now, and is a warm golden brown.

I would just leave it for a couple of weeks to let your hair settle into a colour, look after it, and see where you're at then about want you want to to. You may also in that time find some more knowledge about what to do. Good luck :)

[Jo Ann]

Even with a bleach bath, there's NO guarantee you will reach your natural hair color, especially now that your roots have been lightened.

I would suggest deep conditioning treatments and patience--let your natural color grow out for a month or two, so you'll have something a(n) good (excellent) colorist can work with, as far as your natural color is concerned. You also didn't mention how long you let the bleach bath sit, but I'm assuming about 15-20 minutes if your roots lightened a bit. If you're not comfortable doing another bleach bath, especially now that you've lightened your roots, save and let a professional do it. They'll use bleach (not a bleach bath) to lighten your hair, as well as tone it (unless you're good at toning yourself) for you, but you'll still run the risk of hair damage.

I would also recommend saturating your hair with coconut oil at least an hour BEFORE you go in to have your hair professionally done--it will help cut back on the amount of damage done when the professional bleaches your hair! Some damage is easier to deal with than totally fried hair :flower: Good luck!

[Soulina]

Is your goal to get back your natural hair color or do you want the health of a dye free hair? If you want the health and not just the look I would just wait because everything you are doing to it is just going to damage your hair and possible virgin growth more, if it is only the color you are after I would go to salon.

[Kae612]

Sometimes it takes a long time to fade completely. I used a semi red dye, and after ~8 months and a few washes with clarifying shampoo, my ends are still redish. And my hair is very dark brown to begin with so I wasn’t even sure it would stay at all. I’m not mad at it but I had wanted to try another colour so it means I need to wait longer.

I would try using clarifying shampoo, I read before that dish detergent can help (double check this with someone who tried it), maybe the Castile soap someone else mentioned. But you might be able to at least fade it significantly if not return completely to your natural colour just by waiting longer. The 28 washes isn’t a promise to be gone, it’s a vague estimate. Unless there’s a reason you absolutely need it out now, I would stay away from both options.

[DoomKitty]

If you do decide to go a salon and they recommend bleaching, have them use Olaplex/Curaplex...that stuff is as close to magic as it gets to protect your hair.

[2gaits]

How long has it been since you used the dark semi permanent? I wash and blow dry almost daily and it lasts about a month in my hair. I would recommend living with it. It will fade in time and you won't be doing more damage.

[Blue Mermaid]

To answer a previous poster's question- Yes, bleach can lift hair color. In fact, it is usually the way a professional will remove a color. Chemicals like color oops are REALLY unpredictable, and I've never met a professional stylist who used it. Not to say they don't, because I haven't met every stylist, but in my area, it's unheard of. Bleach is usually quite predictable- it blows holes into the hair cortex, and then breaks up the dye molecules (as well as natural hair pigment). Black dye is hard to lift, but it's a measurable process. Usually 2 levels of lift per go, your hair will go black>dark brown> dark orange>flaming cheeto orange> brassy blond> banana blond> pale blond in that order. Getting the orange/yellow tones out is extremely challenging and generally not recommended. Since you want your natural, the course would be to lift just lighter than that, and then use a dye over to match close to your natural color.

If you've used henna at all, this is simply not going to work. I highly suggest you take a deep breath and leave your hair the heck alone. Seriously. You've done way more to it than you should've as it is. Also, some boxes marked as "semi permanent" are actually demi permanent. If it had to be mixed or contained peroxide, you aren't going to be able to get it out without bleach. It will most likely fade with time, but will never completely be gone.

I've taken black dye out of my own hair many times (I liked going from jet black to jet black with bright blue or red when I was younger) and also have lifted it out of client's hair. It requires planning, patience, and the understanding you are never guaranteed to get what you want- you just gotta roll with it! Dish soap will not do anything, neither will baking soda. Those things might work for direct deposit dyes (Manic panic, kool aid, etc..) but if you used a boxed semi-permanent, all you're doing is stripping your hair and damaging your cuticle. As I said, if there was peroxide or ammonia in it, the dye has penetrated the cortex. Scrubbing your cuticle off your hair with harsh alkaline products isn't going to do anything. If you really wanna try washing it out, use a chelating shampoo, made to remove heavy metals/chlorine build up. It might help fade it a bit, but I'm quite doubtful.

I don't like bleach baths, and I never used them on a client, unless we were trying to go a half shade lighter to get brassiness out. Even then the results were unpredictable/uneven. The single best way to bleach black dye out in my opinion is foils. That way the bleach won't dry on the hair (Disastrous for the hair condition) and it can be applied where it's needed- avoiding any regrowth or areas that already have been hit hard with the bleach. It's just a more controlled application. Additionally, if a section of hair has finished processing, it can be rinsed separate from the rest. I really strongly suggest if you're going to chemically remove the dye that you go to a salon. If you don't want to do that, I would just leave it be and hope it fades, or wait for it to grow out. You're going to end up damaging your hair so much you have no choice but to cut your hair short, and if you later decide you want to get it professionally fixed, it's going to be 10x the nightmare of spottiness and damage.

[Glitch]

Unfortunately I have too much experience with going black to blonde and blonde to black. I’ve tried regular dyes, harsh bleaches, and professional salons with it as well. Sometimes it would go well, but there was always obvious damage. I vividly remember one time feeling my hair after a self session and thinking it was just like straw or hay in texture and visually. It was just like those “gone wrong” horror videos on YouTube! I also clearly remember a professional taking multiple months on me to lessen the damage, and yet it looked like a disaster once again by the end. I came home and immediately dyed it black again because it was just so terrible.

Honestly, I highly recommend giving French braids a try :) They look especially aesthetic with a mix of light and dark colors, and make growing it out a lot easier. All that those back and forth blonde/black times did for me, in hind sight, was dramatically slow down my hair progress (would snap off, split, was weakened significantly, had permanent texture damage etc). If you’re still hell bent over going through with it though (like I always was, so I understand lol) then I do recommend (with very careful reading of instructions) to do it yourself. My DIY bleaches always came out better, and it was still going to be damaging anyway so I didn’t see the point in spending hundreds at the salon. I’d always rather have fried hair by my own doing and pace then fried by someone else, but that’s just me personally! If you’re not confident in your skills or what you’re exactly doing then I definitely recommend a stylist though :flower: