How to Remove Dark or Black Hair Color

How to remove dark, blue or black hair color has once again reared its dreary head, and is this week’s hair care issue in Ask the Pro Stylist’s beauty advice for Wednesday.

Whoop Whoop! Happy Hump Day! Welcome to another weekly edition of Ask the Pro Stylist’s beauty Q&A. Today we conquer the issue of dark, blue or black hair color removal. This query has been posed to me twice within the past week, and once was from a beauty professional, a licensed instructor of cosmetology.

Make no mistake; I am not a renowned color educator for big brands, and as a stylist, I do make mistakes, but I also work very hard at corrections. This being said, one anonymous individual recently asked me the best process for removal of dark or black hair color and one who needed to remove blue hair color from a client’s blonde locks.

The best analogy I can use for black hair color removal is a nail care one. The only way to remove nail polish is with nail polish remover. If you bite, chip or peel the polish off, then you will damage the nail. If you do nothing, the nail will grow, and the polish will eventually erode and as the nails are trimmed or cut, the colored nail will disappear.

It is the same with hair color, especially black or dark hair color. If you do nothing, eventually the dark or black hair will be cut out with each trim, which is the healthiest alternative. However, there will be a significant amount of regrowth as the hair naturally grows that will be more or less noticeable based upon the natural base color.

The only successful way to remove dark or black hair is with a professional hair color removal system or a lightener as applied by a licensed and knowledgeable colorist. Hair color will not lighten hair color or remove it. Period. Nor will clarifying shampoo, baby shampoo or dish detergent remove hair color.

What will they do? A professional brand clarifying shampoo such as Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three will remove excessive chlorine and styling product build-up, but not remove black hair color. Baby shampoo and other pharmacy brand shampoos dull color, remove bright pigments, but not the actual color, and it will do nothing to black hair, especially repeatedly colored hair from the box. It will cause the hair to pick up brassy tones that are not always favorable.

Additionally, dish detergent is TERRIBLE for the hair, because if you repeatedly use it in an attempt to remove color, when you eventually end up at the salon to have it fixed, the integrity of your hair will have been so compromised that a “GOOD” haircut, meaning possibly more than you want off, will have to be administered to ensure healthy hair.

So what should you do to remove dark or black hair color?

Really think about the future of your hair color before you dye it? Is this a whim, a trend or will I really look good darker or colorful?
Visit your licensed hair care provider to discuss options. If you haven’t any grey hairs, a semi-permanent or demi-permanent color could be your best alternative for dark and black hair color.
Then if after you’ve been dark and want a change, discuss it with your colorist. Would a thin highlight work for you, or is a gradual Ombre or Balayage technique enough to lighten the locks. If one lighter color is what you desire, then corrective coloring is the answer, but it is not inexpensive and requires the professional removal from a licensed stylist who has the best interest of your hair at heart.

If you have a beauty, hair care or nails question similar to the hair color queries you’d like to see answered here, please email me at DeirdreAHaggerty@gmail.com.