So often we get the question, “how long does eSalon’s hair color last?” We always give the same answer: take care of it, steer clear of over-washing, and keep your hair hydrated for long-lasting color results. But then we had an idea: what if we tried our very best to make our hair color quickly fade? So we whipped out our handy-dandy hair color swatches, dyed them with our hair color, and took pictures to find out how to lose your hair color in 10 days. 

Good vs. Not-so-good Hair Color Practices

Before we started, we thought of the top five ways to keep your hair color healthy, and the top five ways to make it fade. Here’s what our expert colorists came up with:

GOOD PRACTICES

1. Dry Shampoo

2. Co-washing and using a color-safe shampoo

3. Deep conditioning hair once a week and pre-treating your hair

4. Using color-safe hair care products and thermal protectants

5. Wearing a hat when in the sunlight

NOT-SO-GOOD PRACTICES

1. Overexposure to the sun and pollutants 

2. Over-washing hair

3. Shampooing hair with abrasive cleansing ingredients

4. Not using a thermal protectant when heat styling

5. Stylers that aren’t color safe

How We Did the Test:

We took eight near-white swatches and dyed them four different shades using Demi-Permanent hair color. Then, we divided the swatches by color and into two groups: the “Color-fade Culprits” and the “Color Keepers.” For the Color-fade Culprits, we made common routine mistakes that can cause color fade, and for the Color Keepers, we used good habits that traditionally make your color last longer. 

So, how did it go? Here’s the before picture:

And here are the swatches after 10 days! The swatches on the right are from the Color Keepers test and the swatches on the left are from the Color-Fade Culprits test!

So, what’s the consensus? For all that we did to the Color-fade Culprits, the color really didn’t change all that much after 10 days! We did notice that the hair was very brittle, dry to the touch, frizzy, and generally not very pretty. But the color itself? It honestly wasn’t all that different from the Color Keepers! Even red, which typically shows the most signs of color fade of all colors, seemed to be as vibrant as the Color Keeper test. As it turns out, it’s going to take a lot more than 10 days to lose your eSalon hair color. (Don’t you love a twist at the end?)

However, even though eSalon hair color weathered the tests, we always suggest using best practices to prolong and maintain your hair color and overall hair health. Our advice still stands—certainly if you keep up not-so-good hair color habits after 10 days, you will see a decrease in the overall integrity of your color. So steer clear of over washing, deep condition once a week, and go ahead and give our hair color a spin. Plus, your hair color is made from scratch just for you. Try it today when you take our Hair Color Quiz. What are you waiting for?