How Soon After Highlights Can I Wash My Hair? - Scizzorhands (2024)

FAQs

How Soon After Highlights Can I Wash My Hair? - Scizzorhands? ›

To keep them looking on point, though, you might need to adjust your hair care routine, and this includes washing. After a highlight or balayage appointment, it's good to wait between 48 and 72 hours before washing your hair.

“I generally tell my clients to wait 48 hours before they wash their hair,” VanDyke says. During the first 48 hours after a color service, the pigments of the salon color are still settling—meaning if you shampoo your hair too soon after an appointment, it can cause your hue to fade quicker.

Wait 48-72 hours to wash your hair after bleaching it. Bleaching causes your hair cuticles to swell, so washing your hair before they shrink can affect the color. Hair expert Frankie Sanderson says that “within two days, [the cuticles] should have come back down.”

“The color will slowly start to fade with each wash.” Using a gloss or toner is definitely something that you'll need to maintain if you don't want the highlights to return to their brighter state.

A thorough rinse after the coloring process ensures the removal of any excess chemicals from your hair. This not only prevents potential damage but also encourages the bonding process between the new color and your hair shafts.

We all ask ourselves the same question a day or two after our color appointment: When is the right time to wash freshly colored hair? Celebrity colorist Aura Friedman makes it simple: “Wait at least three days before shampooing your hair after color,” she says.

If you waited 72 hours before washing your hair after it was bleached, you could use the purple shampoo the next time you shower. If it hasn't been up to 72 hours, shy away from the purple shampoo until your next wash day, so it doesn't potentially ruin your hair tone.

It gets the brassiness out of the hair. My favorite and easiest tomer to use is purple shampoo.

Will washing my hair ruin my highlights? ›

This can cause the highlight to fade faster. Washing highlights the day after only strips the hair, meaning all the beautiful colours will go down the drain (literally).

In a few months, your highlights will gradually grow out and you will be left with a much healthier mane in your natural hue. Easy, right? If your highlights start at the top of your scalp or you simply don't have the patience to grow them out, you do have another option.

This is why we recommend waiting 48-72 hours after coloring and highlighting to wash your hair. This allows the cuticle to fully closed with the hair color in there. And this is great for long lasting color.

Avoid Washing for 48 Hours

Celebrity stylist Cody Renegar says this helps the pigment settle into your hair. “If you wash it before then, there's a chance the color will fade,” Renegar warns. It also goes without saying that you should avoid getting hair wet in hot tubs or pools, which is even worse!

the first week after bleaching.”

After the first week, you can introduce shampoo back into your life. Use a gentle low lathering, sulfate-free shampoo the first week after bleaching.

Avoid Washing for 48 Hours

Celebrity stylist Cody Renegar says this helps the pigment settle into your hair. “If you wash it before then, there's a chance the color will fade,” Renegar warns. It also goes without saying that you should avoid getting hair wet in hot tubs or pools, which is even worse!

“Unlike single- or double-process color, highlights aren't applied directly to the scalp, so it's OK to wash your hair the morning of your color appointment,” says Hazelton, adding that she actually prefers that her highlight clients come in with clean, detangled hair rather than hair that hasn't been washed in ...

While there is conflicting information on how long you should wait to wash your hair after coloring it, most experts say that you should wait about 24 to 48 hours after dyeing your hair to wash it.