The sad reality of bleaching your hair is that sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped. If you find yourself in a situation where your bleached hair has become too light, you may ask, “Can I darken my bleached hair?“
Fortunately, bleached hair can be darkened with or without dye.
Can you darken bleached hair?
Yes! You can darken bleached hair if you bleach it too lightly.
Toner, purple or blue shampoo and dye are the most popular techniques for darkening bleached hair. However, you may need to wait a few days to two weeks to give your freshly bleached hair time to recover.
The key is knowing what products to use and how to care for your dark hair. Working with or at least consulting with a colorist will help you make the best decision in choosing the right product to darken your bleached hair.
How to darken slightly bleached hair?
Choosing the right products and following the right process to prevent hair damage is important when learning how to darken bleached hair. This is how to darken bleached hair.
Step 1: Assess your hair
You need to assess if your hair is healthy enough to dye after bleaching. Indicators of hair health are porosity, split ends and dryness.
Hold a few strands firmly between two fingers to test hair pores. Pour a drop of water over the hair and see how long it takes to absorb.
The longer it takes, the healthier your hair is. However, if the hair absorbs the water within seconds, it is porous and will not get a good color.
Bleaching dries hair and increases split ends. While such hair may absorb the color, it is best to renew it for about two weeks with deep moisturizers and conditioners to restore its health and strength.
Step 2: Choose the right hair color
Choosing the right color is essential when darkening bleached hair. The wrong color can easily darken your hair too much, requiring additional bleaching.
When darkening the hair, it is better to choose a Brown color between 3-5. Going lower than 3, especially if you intend to lighten your hair in the future, exposes it to more damage. It’s also ineffective to bleach your hair blonde only to immediately revert it to colors 1 or 2.
Choose the right shades for your hair according to your skin tone, eyes and preferences. If you have warm undertones, choose colors with warmer undertones and vice versa.
Step 3: Fill in the hair
Filling your hair straightens its pores, allowing it to take the color evenly. If you skip this step, your hair will likely turn muddy green, or you’ll have patchy results.
Blonde, especially at levels 9 and 10, has cool undertones. When filling the hair, you gradually bring the warm undertones back into the hair, opposing the bleaching effect.
Filling in warm undertones is important, even if you intend to darken bleached hair to a cooler color. The filler should be one or two shades lighter than the intended color. After filling your hair is ready for uniform coloring.
Step 4: Color the hair
Now that you’ve filled your hair, it’s time to apply color to darken it a bit. Please do not wash your hair for at least 48 hours before dyeing it.
Stick to the following tips during the application process:
- Prepare your hair by detangling it with a comb and dividing it into four sections.
- Wear gloves to protect your hands. Add paint and key to the container and mix until a smooth mixture and complete assimilation.
- Apply the mixture to your hair, saturating it from roots to ends. Repeat all sections.
- Rinse with warm water to remove all product. Use a post-color treatment on your hair. Rinse and then wrap your hair in a towel to dry it.
Dyeing is not the only way to slightly darken bleached hair. Other options include purple and blue shampoo, purple conditioner and toner.
When darkening hair with purple shampoo or conditioner, wash or condition your hair with these products about once a week to neutralize the warm, bright colors in bleached hair.
How to slightly darken bleached hair with toner
Toners are the desired option when bleached hair develops unwanted shades. You can use a toner to darken your bleached hair as it fades. The best toner for darkening bleached hair should be up to two shades darker than the final color you want.
Follow these steps once you have the appropriate toner.
- cut your hair Four sections is ideal but go for more if you have thicker hair.
- Mix the toner and developer in a ratio of 1:2 in a plastic bowl. Mix them thoroughly to a smooth paste
- Apply the mixture to your hair, making sure to saturate each strand
- Leave the toner to process for 20-45 minutes
- wash thoroughly
- Wash your hair with a color-friendly shampoo and let it renew your hair
How to maintain your newly bleached dark hair?
You need to treat bleached hair to restore its health. But how will you maintain the newly bleached and dark hair? Here are some important tips to consider.
- Minimize heat styling and use a heat shield
- Use care products developed for colored hair
- Do not comb your hair when it is wet to avoid breakage and split ends
- Reduce how often you shampoo your hair. Avoid shampooing for 48 hours after dyeing
- Condition and moisturize hair regularly to prevent breakage
- Air dry your hair more often
- Protect your hair from the sun
- Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase to protect your hair
- Prepare and condition your hair before swimming in the pool or sea
- Maintain a healthy diet to nourish your hair from the inside out
Can the darkening of bleached hair harm the hair?
The darkening of bleached hair can further damage it if you use permanent or semi-permanent hair dye. However, semi-permanent hair color does not damage your hair because it sets color without opening the nail or lifting color.
Common questions
Let’s review some of the most frequently asked questions about darkening bleached hair.
Yes, you can darken your hair without dyeing it with natural methods like coffee. Toner and purple/blue shampoo also work when you want to darken the hair without color.
Yes! Dark color, even permanent hair color, eventually fades. But with the right products and hair tools, the color can last longer.
Yes. Coffee, black tea and henna are some natural ways to darken hair naturally. Henna is the most effective natural remedy for darkening slightly bleached hair.
No. Toner does not darken bleached hair like hair dye does. Instead, it neutralizes the light yellow, orange or red undertones of bleached hair to give you darker hair.