How healthy can hair be if it's still dyed? (Newbie!:))

[millyaulait]

Hi, everyone! I'm new & looking for a little help..

I dye my hair every few months with a commercial box-dye, from light brown to dark brown. I would LOVE to not dye my hair but I do honestly look terrible with my lighter , natural hair! My roots come in blonde and make it look like I'm losing hair and balding! ):

I use SLS-free shampoo (1-2x a week) & I condition with EVOO, I heat-style 1-2x a fortnight, if that. I wear it up 90% of the time, I also never brush it & this has really helped with breakage in the past few months.

Can I still grow my hair out long & healthy? I long to have BSL, eventually. :crush:

I don't think my hair is incredibly damaged, but I'm honestly not sure how to tell!

Any help/advice would be appreciated, thank you.. :)

[Astroflammante]

I have pretty much the same hairtype as you. My routine is a little different; SLS-free shampoo every other day, conditioner with -cones, I never heat-style* and occasionally brush my hair.

But I almost always wear it up, and dye with box-dye every 10 weeks or so (when I can't ignore the roots anymore!), also from light brown to dark brown. And I have managed to get to BSL, so I think you definitely have a chance. My hair is healthy, the ends are a bit dry but I almost never have any splits. It might be thinning a bit, but I'm honestly not sure. If it is, I believe that is most likely caused by the birth control pills, not the dye.

From what I can see, your routine is good. Keeping my hair up is what prevents most of the damage for me, so I think that is definitely a good idea. You'll have to wait for someone else's opinion on how damaging the heat is though...

Good luck!


*I own a hairdryer and a curling iron, which I put in my closet six years ago when we moved into the house. I dug the hairdryer out a few months ago to lend to a friend. I think the curling iron is still hiding in there somewhere, but I haven't seen it...

[buttercupmcgee]

Hi, everyone! I'm new & looking for a little help..

I dye my hair every few months with a commercial box-dye, from light brown to dark brown. I would LOVE to not dye my hair but I do honestly look terrible with my lighter , natural hair! My roots come in blonde and make it look like I'm losing hair and balding! ):

I use SLS-free shampoo (1-2x a week) & I condition with EVOO, I heat-style 1-2x a fortnight, if that. I wear it up 90% of the time, I also never brush it & this has really helped with breakage in the past few months.

Can I still grow my hair out long & healthy? I long to have BSL, eventually. :crush:

I don't think my hair is incredibly damaged, but I'm honestly not sure how to tell!

Any help/advice would be appreciated, thank you.. :)

I did the exact same thing as you for 5 years and made it to BSL no problem.

Now that I've given up the dye and embraced the light brown I will say I've gained thickness and the texture is less rough, but I understand the impulse to switch up your color, and I think as long as you watch the rest of your routine and handle it with care (and only color the roots!) you'll have no problem achieving length.

[Nera]

I am past waist and I have been dying my hair for five years now. It's healthy.

[millyaulait]

Thank you so much everyone! :)

I'm so glad it can be done, I'm going to be as kind to my hair as possible & hope to see it long again. I had hair down to my bum up until the age of 11, so I'm sure I can grow it to at least BSL at this age.

Time to wait & see.. :crush:

[littlenvy]

I think it totally depends on your hair and how it takes in the dye. It also helps that you don't bleach it since you are going darker not lighter.
I know people who dye their hair all the time and it looks beautiful, while my hair gets very weak and damaged right away.
If you want a little bit healthier way of doing your hair, maybe you can try Herbatint instead of a box dye?

[millyaulait]

Ah - Herbatint! I completely forgot about that!

I will definitely pick that up next time I need a root touch-up, thank you.. :)

[blondie9912]

I think it is definitely possible! What kind of dye do you use, permanent or demi-permanent? I don't think dying your hair darker is really the issue, because that is typically much less damaging than bleaching. I highlighted my hair for 3 years and despite that, reached BSL with very nice-looking hair and not much visible damage at all.

If you don't already, look into using a demi-permanent dye! It's much less damaging because it doesn't actually penetrate the hair shaft, but rather sits on top of it, yet it still lasts a good amount of time. (When I dyed my virgin roots darker with demi-permanent dye it didn't fade at all, though it was supposed to wash out after 28 shampoos)

Natural Instincts is a good one to try if you're doing it yourself :) The conditioner is really fab and its a pretty foolproof colouring formula.

[WinterButterfly]

I dye my blond hair black. I understand the feeling that you look like you are balding when roots come in. My hair is at hip now and growing. I hardly ever get splits. I start to feel the urge to dye my roots at 4 weeks but usually wait 6 to 10 weeks depending on how long I feel that I can hold out. My hair isn't as soft as it naturally is, but it is softer than a lot of virgin hair I have touched. So its a fair trade for me. It is very possible for some people to dye their hair and grow long. Not everyone can, but it sounds like it is possible for you.

[Velvettt]

I have dyed my hair for many years. Of course you can have healthy hair that's dyed! I bleach and dye my roots every 2 months, first coating the length with coconut oil to protect it so it doesn't get bleached over and over again. The siggy pic I have here is old. My profile pic is newer.

[Kristamommyx3]

I am proof that it can be done! :D