The best way to remove dye from your hair

By Pilore on Apr 09, 2022

The best way to remove dye from your hair is to create a mixture of equal parts dandruff shampoo and baking soda. Shampoo the mixture into your hair, then let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing. You may have to repeat this a few times in order to completely remove the dye.

Oops! Your dye job did not quite turn out the way you wanted it to. Luckily, there are several ways you can try to remove dye from your hair. Feel free to try more than one of these techniques, or the same technique multiple times, if you aren’t seeing the desired results. Keep in mind that these methods will work best if you try them immediately after dyeing your hair, and are most effective on semi- or demi-permanent dyes.

Method : Dandruff Shampoo and Baking Soda

Image titled Remove Dye from Hair Step 1 — **Purchase dandruff shampoo.** You can get this at any drug or grocery store. It will be labelled clearly as a dandruff product. Head & Shoulders and Original Formula Prell are popular options.Dandruff shampoo is a little more heavy-duty than normal shampoo; people with dandruff have excess sebum that causes the skin to flake off, necessitating a stronger formula.

Image titled Remove Dye from Hair Step 2 — **Grab some baking soda.** Make sure it’s baking soda and not baking powder. The packaging often looks similar, but baking powder will not work for this. Baking soda is a natural (although not strong) bleaching agent

Why Baking Soda?
Baking soda is a natural cleaning agent—you may have even used it to remove stains before! It will help lighten and remove the dye without bleaching your hair. Combining this cleansing power with dandruff shampoo, which has an active ingredient that fades hair color, makes for a powerful dye-removing mixture.
Tip: If you don’t have any baking soda on hand, try the dandruff shampoo alone. Just washing your hair should help remove the dye, especially if it’s semi-permanent.

Image titled Remove Dye from Hair Step 3 — **Mix the shampoo and baking soda together in equal parts.** You can mix them together in a container, or just pour equal parts of each into the palm of your hand. It doesn’t have to be exact!

Image titled Remove Dye from Hair Step 4 — **Shampoo your hair with the mixture.** Work up a nice lather, then let the mixture sit on your hair for a few minutes before you rinse it out.

Shampooing Tips:
Get your hair thoroughly wet before you shampoo. Hop in the shower or bath and run your hair under the water for a minute, just as you would before using your regular shampoo.
Scrunch the shampoo through your hair evenly. Use both hands to coat the strands, working it all the way from the tips of your hair to the roots.
Let the mixture soak in. The shampoo and baking soda need a bit of time to penetrate the strands and work out the dye. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes without touching it or rinsing it out.

Image titled Remove Dye from Hair Step 5 — **Rinse thoroughly.** You’ll see the hair color running out when you rinse. You can wash your hair with this solution several times, if necessary. This works best if you have recently dyed your hair, rather than several months later.

EXPERT TIP

CHRISTINE GEORGE
Master Hair Stylist & Colorist

Did You Know? Since your hair is naturally acidic, you have to apply something alkaline if you want to effectively remove the color. After you rinse some of the dye away, shampooing your hair will restore it to its natural pH level.