If you want to apply coconut oil through your locks but can’t help but wonder if coconut oil will fade your hair color, wonder no more. Whether coconut oil fades your hair color depends on whether your hair is color treated and what type of hair color you use.
Will using coconut oil fade your hair color?
Whether coconut oil will fade your hair color depends on whether you use coconut oil on untreated or colored hair. But first, it’s important to know this Coconut oil does not contain color lifting or stripping qualities.
Therefore, if you use coconut oil on your natural, untreated hair, you will not experience any color change, only the excellent benefits of coconut oil. However, the real problem arises when you use coconut oil on color-treated hair.
Permanent hair color will not experience any fading or change if you use coconut oil because the color penetrates deep into the hair shaft, making it very difficult to fade.
Therefore the term “permanent” means that you are stuck with the color until your hair grows back to its natural color.
However, coconut oil can change or even fade the color if you use semi-permanent hair color. Coconut oil can change the color of semi-permanent hair color because it does not penetrate the hair shaft.
Instead, the color sits on the hair, so it fades after a few washes, and coconut oil can speed up the fading process.
Benefits of coconut oil for hair
The most significant benefit of using coconut oil on your hair is that it will deeply nourish and moisturize your hair, leaving it looking smoother and shinier.
In addition, the coconut oil acts as a barrier to the scalp and hair strands preventing bacteria and irritants from penetrating them and causing damage.
Furthermore, thanks to the lauric acid in coconut oil, it has antimicrobial properties that can kill bacteria. Lauric acid is especially beneficial for those suffering from conditions such as scalp psoriasis, and coconut oil can reduce the effects of such skin conditions.
Avoid these if you don’t want to fade your hair color
If you have dyed your hair and your goal is to prevent your hair color from fading, avoid these situations as best you can. Below is a list of the three most significant scenarios to avoid to prevent your hair color from fading.
Excessive direct sunlight
You may love the feeling of the sun warming your skin, but too much sunlight can fade your hair color just like it can fade color from photos and paintings.
This is especially true for dyed hair because the UV rays destroy the chemical bonds of the hair color, causing the color to fade.
Excessive heat design
Flat irons or curling irons are great ways to achieve the perfect look you want, but the high temperatures can damage your locks, and overuse can make your hair color fade and look dull.
Unfortunately, even heat styling products that protect your hair from the damaging effects of high temperatures won’t completely prevent your color from fading. At best, they will minimize the impact.
Super hot showers
Yes, hot showers can cause color fading in dyed hair. How does a hot shower do that? Hot water can open the hair cuticle as steam with your pores, and when the hair cuticle is open, the color inside the hair strand ends up being washed out a bit.
So if you take hot showers regularly, you are regularly fading a little bit of your hair color each time.
So, does coconut oil fade your hair color?
After reading this article, you know that coconut oil will not fade dyed hair permanently, but it can change the color of semi-permanent hair color.
Plus, you learned the benefits of using coconut oil in your hair and what to avoid to prevent your hair color from fading. Now you are ready to use coconut oil for you and your hair.
Common questions
After this article on the potential fading effects of using coconut oil, you may find yourself with a question or two about coconut oil or fading hair color in general.
For best results, use unrefined virgin coconut oil or, better yet, extra virgin coconut oil on your hair. Using both of these versions of coconut oil will ensure that your hair gets all the best that coconut oil has to offer.
Yes, you can use a baking soda paste to lighten hair color. Thanks to its color-lifting qualities, mixing baking soda with lemon juice creates a paste that, when applied to hair for five minutes, can lighten color-treated hair.