Does Salt Water Affect Hair Dye? What You Need to Know

A day at the beach can do wonders for your mood, but is salt water friend or foe when it comes to your hair color? If you’ve ever wondered, “does salt water affect hair dye?” you’re not alone. Let’s take a closer look at the effects of salt water on colored hair, and how to protect those expensive salon highlights.

How Salt Water Impacts Hair Dye

There are a few reasons why salt water can cause issues for colored tresses:

• Salt is drying. When salt is absorbed into your hair shaft, it draws out moisture via osmosis. This leads to dry, brittle strands that have lost their shine.

• It causes cuticle damage. The abrasive salt particles combined with ocean water friction can roughen and lift the cuticle. This allows dye molecules to escape more easily.

• It disrupts dye bonds. The salt may weaken the bonds that allow color to adhere inside the hair shaft. This enables faster fading.

• It can irritate the scalp. If you have sensitive skin, the drying salt residue left behind can cause itchiness and flakes.

Does Salt Actually Remove Hair Dye?

While salt water can cause fading, it’s not an efficient hair dye remover. You would need to soak your hair in salt water frequently and spend a lot of time in sunlight to notice significant lightening.

It’s more likely you’ll just experience subtle fading over time, rather than complete removal of color. Those with semi-permanent or temporary dyes are likely to see faster results than permanent hair color.

Using bath salts or Epsom salts can potentially leach out more dye than sea water alone, since they further help to open and swell the cuticle. However, a swim in the pool is likely more drying and damaging than a dip in the ocean.

How to Prevent Salt Water Damage to Hair Dye

If you want to protect your precious color while still enjoying beach and pool time, here are some tips:

• Apply a barrier product like leave-in conditioner or hair oil before swimming. This helps repel water absorption.

• Wet your hair with fresh water first. This prevents it soaking up the salt water.

• Rinse, shampoo, and condition thoroughly after swimming to remove salt and chlorine.

• Use a nourishing weekly hair mask to boost moisture and repair damage.

• Switch to swim caps, braids, buns or protective styles when possible.

• Use a color-depositing shampoo or gloss to refresh faded color.

• Avoid daily use of salt sprays, which can dry out hair over time.

With some preventative steps, you can have beach-ready hair without compromising your beautiful color!

Can You Use Salt to Purposefully Remove Hair Dye?

While salt may not be the most effective hair dye eraser, you can use it to help lift color gradually in a pinch:

Removing Dye at the Beach

• Soak hair in ocean water, avoiding pretreatment with fresh water or protective products.

• Allow hair to dry naturally in sunlight to maximize fading effects.

• Repeat process daily, using a clarifying shampoo afterwards to remove more color.

Removing Dye at Home

• Mix sea salt with water and apply to hair, leaving it on for awhile before rinsing. Use high salt concentrations for best results.

• Sit in sunlight to speed up fading process.

• Use clarifying, salt, or Epsom salt shampoos to lift additional color when washing.

Preventing Damage from Salt Water Dye Removal

Removing dye with salt can be very drying and damaging to your strands. Be sure to:

• Use a weekly hydrating hair mask to restore moisture

• Deep condition after each use to reduce brittle, dry hair

• Rotate with other gentle, natural dye-fading methods

• Avoid over-washing and heat styling when using salt water

The Takeaway

Salt water can cause subtle fading of hair dye over time due to its drying effects and abrasiveness. While daily ocean swimming or salt treatments may lift some color, it won’t completely strip most permanent dyes. Take steps to protect your hair before and after salt water exposure to maintain soft, shiny, color-treated hair. With TLC, you can still enjoy the beach without sacrificing your fabulous, fresh-from-the-salon locks!