So last weekend I finally got around to dyeing my burgundy hair – that color I’ve been obsessed with since seeing it on Pinterest. Grabbed the box dye from the drugstore, locked myself in the bathroom for two hours, and came out looking like a grape popsicle. Then it hit me: should I shampoo this fresh color out or not? Total panic moment.
The messy experiment begins
Rinsed my hair under cold water like the box said, watching rivers of red swirl down the drain. Fingertips were stained purple when I felt how greasy the dye left my roots. Almost reached for shampoo right then – muscle memory, you know? But stopped myself thinking “What if I wash all that expensive color down the drain?”
Instead, I made a hot mess in my kitchen. Slapped coconut oil on one section, conditioner on another, left some parts with just water. Took selfies to compare results later like some amateur scientist. Looked ridiculous with plastic wrap on half my head.
The 4 tricks that actually worked
After three days of walking around with weird hair partitions, here’s what stuck:
- Delayed washing is crucial – Waited 72 hours before any shampoo touched my hair. That first shower? Barely any color bleed. Felt like winning the lottery.
- Cold water rinse only first day – Used lukewarm water on day two cause cold showers suck. Big mistake. Section without shampoo but warm water faded fastest.
- Conditioner is your first wash – Slathered cheap conditioner on dry hair before rinsing on day three. That slippery stuff lifted gunk without stripping color.
- Sulfate-free is non-negotiable – Dug out that overpriced salon shampoo from the back of my cupboard. Regular shampoo made the test strip look sun-bleached.
The ugly truth about box dye
Two weeks in, roots are showing and burgundy looks more like pink in some spots. My bathroom towels still look like crime scene evidence. But that greasy post-dye hair? Totally manageable once I stopped treating it like regular dirty hair. Pro tip: dry shampoo is useless on fresh dye – turns into chalky paste.
Biggest surprise? My hair feels less fried than when I shampooed immediately after dye jobs. Still never using box red again though – that mess stains everything. Next time I’m saving up for salon coloring.
