When dying your hair a natural color, most of us want the dye to last as long as possible. Generally, when dealing with natural colors, it’s well known that the darker colors are those that last the longest.
But what happens when you select an unnatural hair color like fuchsia, lime green, or a vivid electric blue?
Lots will depend on the brand you select, how you care for your hair, and what care products and styling tools you use.
Many of the top brands can last from 20 to 30 shampoos, but this may be reduced considerably if you use hair irons, blow dryers, or anything using heat on your uniquely colored hair. Hair care products will also influence how long your color lasts.
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What Makes an Unnatural Hair Color a Good Product?
What we all search for in hair color is a vibrant color that lasts as long as possible. No one wants a head of lifeless, dull-looking hair. But no one can really predict how long a fantasy hair color will endure as we are all individuals and we each have a personal hair care routine.
Even if you purchase the most expensive hair color on the market, without good hair care, it doesn’t matter how long it’s supposed to last in theory.
Caring for an Unnatural Hair Color to Make It Last
Once you have selected your unique hair color, think about what you will use to shampoo it. How you wash unnatural hair color is a significant factor in determining how long the color will last.
You should not use just any shampoo to wash unnatural hair colors, especially if you wish to maintain the color’s vibrancy as well as the shade itself.
1. Wash Less
The best hair care advice for maintaining these colors is to not shampoo your hair every day. If you wash your hair a fewer amount of times, the longer the pigment will remain in the hair shaft. Ideally, washing no more than every two to three days should contribute to the color’s duration.
2. Use a Color Depositing Shampoo
Always use hair care products that are free of sulfates in the ingredients. Sulfates are chemicals that have a corrosive effect on the hair shaft. They do indeed remove dirt and grime, but they will also remove the pigment from the hair.
Using a shampoo that contains no sulfates will help your color last longer. It’s recommended by experts that you use a shampoo containing the same color as your fantasy hair color.
Most of the manufacturers of unnatural hair colors also produce a line of hair care products including shampoos and conditioners.
Choose a color-depositing shampoo when washing colored hair. This one care habit can determine in how long your fantasy color survives.
3. Choose Your Conditioner Wisely
Also, refrain from using hair conditioning masks excessively. While you do need to moisturize and condition colored hair, exaggeration will not do you any favors here.
Most conditioning masks will contain chemical ingredients that may contribute to fading. Use the color conditioner produced by the manufacturer of the hair color.
4. Use Heated Styling Tools Sparingly
Whether straightening or curling, hair irons dry hair out and will contribute to the removal of color pigments. You can use them, but do not abuse your newly colored hair by using them frequently.
What Unnatural Hair Color Brand Will Last the Longest?
The brands that are sold the most on Amazon and used widely in hair salons are also the fantasy colors that are the longest lasting.
1. Punky Color
Punky color is available in a generous selection of exciting colors and is one of the longest-lasting colors on the market. It is reported to last a whopping 20 to 30 shampoos.
This is a semi-permanent hair dye that is not damaging and will condition your hair. It requires no peroxide and contains keratin which is color-enhancing. So, Punky colors and conditions. It is a vegan formula and is gentle on the hair shafts.
Available in 23 colors, it is sold in a convenient tub that won’t leak. It can be applied to both bleached or black hair and the various colors can be mixed. It will bleed for several weeks.
2. Manic Panic
Manic Panic not only provides an impressive palette of 66 color choices, but it is vegan! So, if you want an environmentally friendly color, this is a brand that merits consideration.
Manic Panic also offers neon that will glow under a black light among its colors and lasts a solid 12 to 20 shampoos. This is a gentle friendly hair dye that contains no ammonia or PPD and does a wonderful job of conditioning your locks.
3. Joico Color Intensity
Joico offers 25 unnatural fantasy colors. Easy to use, this hair color lasts for a bit more than 20 washes. This manufacturer offers several fantasy color lines from the seductive Love Aura Collection to the bold Love Fest Collection with Limelight and Aqua Flow to the delicate Pearl Pastel Collection. There is something for everyone!
4. Arctic Fox
Arctic Fox also has a nice offering of 17 rainbow color choices. Mixable and inspiring, it comes with a diluting lotion so you can get even lighter pastel shades if desired.
This unnatural hair color should last with proper care from 12 to 18 shampoos. The vegan and cruelty-free formula also works great on gray, black, or bleached hair.
This dye also boasts a super-pleasing fragrance, and the company donates 15% of its profits to associations that work to prevent animal abuse. Stains, however, can be problematic to clean.
5. Crazy Color
Crazy Color is the brand name of another vegan, semi-permanent hair dye. The brand boasts 27 unique colors, but it will only last 6 to 8 shampoos.
You’ll be treated to a choice of green, blue, red, purple, yellow, pink, grey, orange, and even metallic or UV hair color and you can mix and match or even create your signature shade by blending colors. Vibrant and conditioning in a single hair color.
6. L’Oréal Paris Colorista
This is a short-lasting fantasy hair color from hair care powerhouse L’Oréal. This affordable option is important for those who like to change their hair color often.
It will only last 4 to 8 washes, but if you are highly creative with your hair and like the possibility of changing frequently, L’Oréal gives you this option.
The dye comes with an applicator brush and is a gentle formula without peroxide or ammonia. It’s worth noting that the Colorista line also produces a 1-day, washable hair color spray for those that want to change daily.
The number of shampoos indicated is furnished by the manufacturers, but these numbers will be influenced by how you care for your hair and above all the products you use.
