How Often Should You Colour Your Hair?

We’ve all experienced a time when we just need a change. Whether you’re dissatisfied or simply bored with your current look, changing your hair colour is a great way to mix things up and feel renewed.

But how often can you colour your hair? If you’re new to hair colouring, this question may even put you off colouring your hair altogether! But fret not, for in this article we’ll cover how often to dye and how often to wash coloured hair. By keeping these basic hair colour tips in mind you are on your way to a new look, while keeping your hair healthy and strong.

Key takeaways

  1. The most important factor when considering how often to dye your hair is the type of dye you are using: permanent, semi-permanent, or box.
  2. After dyeing, your roots will be the first part of your hair to show your natural colour. Using toners and colour-refreshing products can help keep roots at bay.
  3. It is important to leave adequate time between hair dyes, this is typically 6-8 weeks.

Coloured Hair Maintenance

So, how often can you colour your hair?

There are several factors that dictate how often you can, or should, dye your hair, including your natural hair colour, the colour you’re aiming to achieve, and the condition of your hair. But, potentially the most important factor is the type of dye you, or your colourist, are using.



How Often Can I Dye My Hair with Permanent Dye?


Permanent dyes, as their name suggests, permanently change the colour of your hair. They do this through opening the hair cuticle and colouring the hair from the inside. Permanent dyes are best for full head coverage and covering any grey roots. They can lighten or darken hair.

If you are wondering ‘how often can I dye my hair with permanent dye’, then typically the answer is once every 2 months or so. Garnier’s Permanent Dyes, including our stunning GOOD 7.33 Hot Honey Blonde, provide up to 100% grey coverage* and up to 8-weeks long lasting hair colour* meaning you can leave up to 2 months between dyes.



How Often Can I Dye My Hair with Semi-Permanent Dye?


Semi-permanent hair dyes deposit colour on the surface of the hair, temporarily altering the shade of your hair. Most semi-permanent dyes are designed to wash out in 4-6 washes, or a single wash if you use an aggressive cleanser shampoo.

Wondering ‘How Often Can I Dye My Hair with Semi-Permanent Dye?’, the answer tends to be as often, or as little as you wish. Most semi-permanent dyes will do little to no damage to your hair so you can chop and change between colours as you wish.



How Often Can I Box Dye My Hair?


Box dyes are at-home permanent dyes, intended for personal use. When choosing a box dye, it is important to choose those formulated with the health and nourishment of your hair in mind.

Garnier’s Permanent Dyes are made with flower oils providing up to 100% grey coverage* and maximum colour performance. Our dyes last up to 8 weeks*, so should be used at these intervals. Not sure which shade to go for? Use our virtual try on to test colours before committing.



How Often Can I Colour My Roots?

The question ‘how often can I colour my roots’ pops up a lot when considering hair dyes, and hair colour.

After dyeing your hair, your roots will be the first to show your hair's natural colour. If you have dyed your hair to a much lighter or darker shade, for example from blonde to Garnier Olia 1.10 Black Sapphire Permanent Hair Dye, or from a dark brown to Garnier Olia 9.3 Golden Light Blonde Permanent Hair Dye then roots may be more obvious and require more attention.

Instead of dyeing your whole head of hair, consider using Garnier Olia Gloss, a root touch up product that’ll keep your hair colour beautifully refreshed.

How Long Should You Wait To Dye Your Hair Again?

Unfortunately, hair colouring can affect your hair fibre, and dyeing too regularly can lead to brittle, porous, and damage-prone hair. For this reason, it is important to leave adequate time between hair colouring sessions. In most cases 6-8 weeks between uses of permanent dyes should be enough for hair to stay healthy and fresh.

Garnier’s Permanent Dyes use a vegan, non-ammonia base formula to create a lasting glossy colour. With longer lasting colours, you can worry less about damage from regular top ups and leave the time between dyes you need for your hair to stay healthy and happy.

If you’re looking to change your look with a 96% natural origin ingredients formulated hair dye you can trust, Find your perfect Garnier hair colour today.

How Often To Colour Hair: FAQs

Does permanent hair colour damage hair?


Permanent hair colouring can cause damage if done too often. We recommend leaving at least 6-8 weeks between uses of permanent dyes to allow hair the time to heal and refresh.



How to cover roots between colourings?


To cover roots between dyes, you could use root touch up products like Garnier’s Olia Gloss, which will cover your roots without you having to dye your full head of hair.



How Often To Wash Coloured Hair


If your hair colour is due to a temporary dye, you may wish to leave more time between washes, as most semi-permanent dyes last between 4-6 washes. Permanently dyed hair can be washed as normal hair, but special care needs to be taken to use colour-friendly products that refresh and replenish dyed colour and nurture hair to prevent damage. You can find these products in Garnier’s Coloured Hair Care Range.



*Instrumental Tests