How to Grow Out Your Natural Hair Color, According to Experts

Let it grow.

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@ursulastephen / Design by Michela Buttignol

Changing your hair color is one of the easiest ways to play with your look. Depending on the season, current beauty trends, or mood, going from brunette to blonde or dyeing your hair green is an undeniable form of fun self-expression. However, sometimes, you want to hit the reset button and grow out your natural hair color.

There's something incredibly refreshing about going back to your roots, but if you've been dyeing your hair for years, it can also feel daunting. There are so many things to consider: how to maintain your hair's health, nail your natural color, or how long it will take to fully grow your dyed hair. Rest assured, there are many ways to achieve this transition with ease.

To best understand how to transition our hair color back to its natural shade, we talked to four professionals and asked them for their top recommendations. From getting consistent trims and using a hair gloss to using an at-home treatment and what to ask your colorist for, read below for their tips.

Meet the Expert

Consult Your Colorist

"Always ask advice or work with a professional colorist that understands hair color," says professional colorist and R + Co. Collective member Richy Kandasamy. "They will make sure your colorist knows your hair color history and can guide you through the smoothest transition without damaging the integrity of your hair."

If you're working with someone new or you both need a reminder of what your natural shade looks like, celebrity colorist and Matrix brand ambassador Rachel Bodt recommend bringing a photo of what your hair looked like when it was natural. This way, she says, it will be easier to set a game plan of the next steps and whether it can be achieved in one appointment or multiple. 

Eliminate Lines of Demarcation

"If you’re trying to transition to your natural color from permanent color or highlights, ask your stylist for a root melt to soften the transition and eliminate any lines of demarcation from your existing color," recommends celebrity hairstylist and co-founder of 901 Salon in Los Angeles, Nikki Lee. "Doing this will allow for an easier grow-out."

Get Ombré Highlights

If you've just added a few highlights to your hair to brighten it up, transitioning to your natural shade will be pretty simple. This is one of those instances where you can grow it out and embrace an experimental ombré look until regular haircuts even things out. "You can get natural highlights or lowlights to get a softer transition blend as your natural hair grows," Kandasamy says.

Furthermore, Bodt says you can start this process by either adding in lowlights that match the natural color or doing a base drop, in which stylists will color the roots and then drag it through so the line of demarcation is softened.

Refresh Your Color

"Another great way to grow out permanent color or highlights is to do color refresh treatments," says Lee. And don't worry, you don't need to drop cash at a salon to do this. "You can do these at home every couple of weeks to ensure that your hair color is toned and doesn't turn brassy," she says, adding that a favorite of hers is the Garnier Nutrisse Color Reviver that comes in seven shades and works in five 5 minutes.

Give Your Hair a Gloss

Alternately, you can slowly transition your hair by glossing it to replicate the color of your roots. "The best way to grow out your natural color, especially coming from a highlight or balayage look, is to have your colorist gloss your hair back to the natural level of the roots to allow the natural root to blend as it grows," says IGK Hair Care founder Chase Kusero. Plus, Bodt adds that a gloss will tone the brightness and create less of a color jump from your natural hair color.

Get a Tint-Back

Your stylist might have you do a "tint back" to a shade as close to your natural color. But it's not as simple as applying a color that looks like your natural color. During a tint back process, a filler (a semi or demi-permanent color applied before your permanent color, likely an orange or copper shade) will need to be applied to replace the missing pigments your darker color will require. Some fillers are added directly to permanent color formulations.

Proper hair filling will ensure that your hair tone is even and will prevent your hair from turning green or muddy. We suggest you see a professional for a tint back service. The cost to fix a mistake made during tinting back will far outweigh any savings you get from replacing your natural color yourself.

Get Frequent Trims

While cutting your hair to transition back to your natural color may feel counter-intuitive, Lee says it will help you do so with your healthiest hair ever. "Be consistent with getting regular trims; while you're at it, go for a deep conditioning treatment as well," she recommends. "All hair is beautiful no matter what color, so when it's maintained properly, it will look its best."

Embrace Your Grays

The process is different if you color your hair (either light or dark) to cover gray and are ready to embrace your natural hair. Having your hair colored to a gray shade that will blend and match your natural color is nearly impossible. The grow-out process can be long, but if you're ready for the challenge, you can do a few things to make the process less daunting. If you cut your hair often and keep it short, growing your natural hair out will be significantly faster. You can try highlights or a demi-permanent color as well.

Cut Your Hair Shorter

"You can have a shorter haircut if you like a proper seasonal extreme change, and it can be the best way to speed up the waiting process when growing your natural hair color," Kandasamy says. "A professional stylist will advise a haircut that suits your face shape and style."

Trust the Process

"You must understand that it will take some patience during the transition," says Kandasamy. "You must grow your roots at least one to two inches, which means you will have to wait anywhere from two to four months to allow your hair to grow an inch or two. (If you can, wait even longer)."

Byrdie Tip

For the fastest results, work with your stylist to ensure that you are properly caring for your hair, and ask them what is necessary to get the best result.

Depending on how much you lightened your hair in the past, your hair's porosity, and overall health, it may take more than one color appointment over two to six months to achieve the right tone.

After you've tinted your hair, you need to let it grow. Remember to treat it like colored hair: just because it's your natural color doesn't mean it isn't chemically treated. Hair usually grows roughly one-half-inch per month. If you keep your hair long, it will likely take years before it is truly "natural" again.

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