Few people know that you can revive hair color without using boxed dye. Of course, you can simply buy tinting treatments, but these are expensive and will damage your hair a little. Instead, try some natural remedies you can make from the ingredients available in your pantry.
Effective Tips to Revive Your Hair Color: Red, Blonde, Dark
Bring red color back to life with juice
One natural method that will work brilliantly on previously colored hair is staining your locks with pure cranberry or beet juice. These substances stain everything they touch, and your hair is no exception. Bear in mind that your skin also won’t ‘escape unscathed’. Therefore, you should apply a thick layer of cream or Vaseline around your hairline and make sure to clean any droplets that run down your face and neck. Study this post on how to remove juice stains when preparing for this treatment as you’ll definitely need it.
Remember to use natural freshly-squeezed juice only as various concentrates do not possess the strength of natural pigment necessary to color your locks. After applying juice, cover your locks with a plastic shower cap and leave for about 30 minutes. Then rinse with cold water and condition.
This method won’t produce a lasting effect but will give your red tresses a fantastically ‘intense’ look before a party.
Tint or lemon-bleach blonde locks
Depending on the shade of blonde you want to get, you can either use a purple-tinted shampoo or homemade lemon juice mask to revive your hair color. The shampoo will work for platinum, ash, and other ‘silvery’ shades as its pigment neutralizes the natural yellowing of bleached locks. You can learn more about how this method works from this post on purple shampoo.
Lemon hair mask is similar to staining your locks with red juices. However, due to its high acidity, you shouldn’t use straight fresh lemon juice on your hair. Instead mix it with some coconut oil or homey (for a warmer gold color). Warm up the mixture and coat your tresses in it carefully. Cover the hair with a plastic wrap or cap and leave for a few hours. Shampoo your hair and condition it after the treatment.
This method will take a bit of experimentation to work out the perfect proportions for your desired shade. Bear in mind that the results will also depend on the lemons as the acidity level in the fruit can vary.
Tint chocolate locks with cocoa powder
If you have brown hair, you’ll be able to effectively tint it with regular cocoa powder and a bit of cornstarch. This method will also give your tresses a delightful chocolate smell. You simply mix two powders and apply them on the locks before styling, which will ‘fix’ the powder to the hair.
This method isn’t particularly reliable due to the fact that powdered tint will eventually start to crumble all over you. So you can try mixing cocoa powder with your leave-in conditioner. Again, it’s not perfect, but a great quick fix that will instantly revive your hair color.
Use food coloring for experimenting
If you have some unusual hair color, like blue or green, you can use a saltwater spray with some food coloring in it to revive it. Saltwater is necessary to enhance the absorption of the color. Mix about a spoonful of salt per 8 ounces of water and one packet of coloring.
Be careful when spraying and protect your skin with greasy cream. Do not shampoo your locks afterward as this will erase all your efforts. Make sure to avoid any activities that might get your hair wet as this color will start dripping all over you.