Does your hair look darker when it's at its healthiest?

[Priska]

I've been making some good treatments lately and my hair looks very dark to me from the mirror. Also sometimes people have asked me if i have dyed my hair, when i have just made for example an aloe vera treatment, so that my hair has been really smooth and shiny.

[luthiene]

I have noticed that when my hair is more moisturized or more oily than usual that it is darker, to the point people have also asked if I had dyed it. I also notice that if I strip it with a strong shampoo it is much lighter. I am not sure if it is due to the frizz making it look lighter in color or the actual hair itself though. :shrug:

[ETJ CURLS]

I have heard some stylists state that properly moisturised hair is darker than dry hair.

[lapushka]

A tad bit, yes, but then it's not "lifted" from the sun bleaching the bejeezus out of it, it doesn't have dye damage and there's 0 heat (I diffuse on warm/tolerable for the hands) on my hair. Is it darker? Yes, you can clearly see that in my profile that it is that dark ash color / signature as well. As it should be. I would rather have a smidge darker hair than hair that is totally unmanageable due to damage. I am 51, I have run the gamut of stuff you can do (wrong) to your hair. I think I have retired from doing crap to it.

[Aerya]

I have noticed my hair appears a tad bit lighter when it's squeaky clean, like if I have just used a clarifying shampoo and no conditioner after. It only lasts for a short time though, probably because the natural oils darkens it again as my hair has time to adjust. Likewise it appears darker if it has had time to get properly oily, similar to how it looks darker when wet.


A tad bit, yes, but then it's not "lifted" from the sun bleaching the bejeezus out of it, it doesn't have dye damage and there's 0 heat (I diffuse on warm/tolerable for the hands) on my hair. Is it darker? Yes, you can clearly see that in my profile that it is that dark ash color / signature as well. As it should be. I would rather have a smidge darker hair than hair that is totally unmanageable due to damage. I am 51, I have run the gamut of stuff you can do (wrong) to your hair. I think I have retired from doing crap to it.

You have such a striking and beautiful colour too, Lapushka! :flower:

[lapushka]

Thank you so much Aerya, that means the world to me. I had the hardest time, trying to accept my natural color, because I dyed it all the colors of blonde that are there, then all the darker colors that are there, I tried red, just all natural colors because I hated having people compare it to the ashes in an ashtray. :rolleyes: Hated it for many years. Now? I don't care. I have few years left (age 51) with my own color, let's make the most of it. And thank you again, you don't know how much this means to me. :)

[spidermom]

Darker? No, not at all.

[Nefcerka]

I suppose so. Not at the roots, those are usually a uniform color for me (mousy brown), but I noticed that my length in the old pictures (20 years ago) was much lighter - I never used any conditioner back then and I had a ton of split ends, so from ears down, I had almost a blonde color (not from dye, no dye). Nowadays, with proper haircare, the natural color of my length matches the color of my roots, there is very little to none lightening towards the ends.

[WednesdayAddams]

Yes. When it's frizzy it looks.lighter-colored.

[Greengable]

Mine is a little darker with some oils in and definetely lighter in summer when it's drier.

[Priska]

Thank you for your answers, this is interesting to hear! :) And I don't think this is bad in anyway, dark is my haircolour. I mean the one that suits me and makes me look best. I believe natural haircolour suits everyone. I was blond for one year when I was young, and getting it dark brown was like coming back home again.

[lithostoic]

Nope, it just looks darker when it has oil in it. If anything my hair looks lighter when it's healthy because the light reflects off it more.

[Deborah]

Yes, hair looks darker when healthy, except for my niece who has naturally platinum blonde hair, almost white. Hers always looks the same.

[sarana]

Yes, my hair is much darker when it's healthy.

Lightness comes with uv damage and dryness

[catklutzy]

I have heard some stylists state that properly moisturised hair is darker than dry hair.

I've heard the same about properly moisturized hair appearing darker. It seems like keeping our hair hydrated is not only good for its health but also for maintaining a rich color.

[Fiorentina]

No I would not say so.
My hair is a little darker when I applied some oil, and maybe a tiny bit lighter when it is drier.
However, this only happens to the tips, not to the lengths or the roots.

[Kat]

I haven't noticed anything like that. My hair looks darker when it needs to be washed (oily and looks wet), but that's it. (And my hair doesn't need to be any more dark, so I'm fine with that.)



I suppose so. Not at the roots, those are usually a uniform color for me (mousy brown), but I noticed that my length in the old pictures (20 years ago) was much lighter - I never used any conditioner back then and I had a ton of split ends, so from ears down, I had almost a blonde color (not from dye, no dye). Nowadays, with proper haircare, the natural color of my length matches the color of my roots, there is very little to none lightening towards the ends.

That could also just be time, though. My hair is much darker than it was 20 years ago, which was much darker than it was 20 years before that.

[rosenester]

I’ll echo what other fair hairies have said. My hair sun bleaches very easily, so it is healthier on the underside where it is darker, and has less sun exposure due to the thickness of my hair. It doesn’t really change much how my hair behaves, the waves straighten out faster on the crown hairs is mostly all I notice :shrug:

[tuanyiji]

In Chinese social media, the quickest way to fake healthy hair is to dye it black so as to hide the frizzy, damaged, and bleached bits, and immediately the whole auro changes. And since 90% of the population has default very dark hair roots, it is easier for someone to continue/resume their long hair journey this way without trimming.
I’ve used a lot of henna oil and it virtually looks no difference on my hair unless it’s under direct sunlight, then it shows a tiny bit of orange hue.