Don’t Wash Your Hair Before You Color

If you’re washing your hair before coloring, it’s important to know that the oil in your hair can prevent the color from properly absorbing. If you have greasy hair, it will not take as well to the dye.

So how long should you wait? It depends on what kind of product is being used, but generally speaking, if you’re coloring at home and using a semi-permanent dye (like Clairol Nice ‘n Easy) or a permanent dye (like Pravana), then it’s safe to wash your hair 24 hours before coloring. If you use a oxidative permanent color (like Pravana Color Intensities), then wait 48 hours between washing and coloring.

Check Your Hairline

As a general rule, if you have a sensitive scalp and are new to coloring your hair, it’s best to start with small sections of hair. This way, you can test out the product and see if you have any reactions before committing to dyeing the rest of your tresses.

If you’re confident that it will work out fine and want to cover more ground all at once, there are some tricks for avoiding allergic reactions:

• If possible, try using a colorant that contains avocado oil or jojoba oil (or both). These ingredients are very nourishing for the scalp, so they can help prevent irritation or redness in some cases.
• Also make sure not to overuse bleach or ammonia when dying your locks—and remember that bleaching products vary widely in their strength levels. If possible, ask someone who works at a beauty supply store which brands might be good options for people with sensitive scalps (they might even have samples available).

Pay Attention to Your Lifestyle

If you have an active lifestyle, then you should consider a color that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance. The same goes if your hair is dry. You should also make sure to use conditioners designed for blonde or dry hair when coloring it with bleach.

Don’t Forget to Do a Strand Test

Once you’ve decided on a color and brand, it’s time to do a strand test. This is where you apply the dye to strands of hair and check how it looks after. If you don’t like the results, there’s no need to panic; this means that your dye may not be right for your hair type or color.

Before doing any strand testing, make sure that:

• You’re using gloves! It’s important that you don’t contaminate your samples with any dirt or oils from your hands (and even if they are clean, they could still have some residue).
• Remove any previous dyes in order to get an accurate reading of what will happen when applying over virgin hair.

Hair color can be intimidating but if you follow these tips and advice, you’ll be able to get your hair the color you want.

Hair color can be intimidating, but if you follow these tips and advice, you’ll be able to get your hair the color you want.

• Color one shade lighter or darker than your natural hair color
• Choose a color that will blend well with your skin tone
• Wash your hair before you color it
• Check your hairline before coloring it