Trying out a new hair color can be a hit or miss. You might end up really loving your edgy new look or really hating it. If you don’t like it, the question then becomes: how do you remove semi-permanent hair dye and revert to your hair’s natural color?

Before you head out to the drug store to purchase a box of hair dye remover, there are safer, less expensive alternatives worth exploring.

We’re not saying color remover won’t work – because it will. We’re simply saying that some brands have a lethal mix of harsh chemicals that will strip color from your hair, damaging it in the process.

How to Strip Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

This article explores 5 ways to remove semi-permanent hair color:

Method 1: Clarifying Shampoo

If you’re trying to get rid of semi-permanent hair color, a clarifying shampoo is a great place to start. Keep in mind that the differentiating factor between semi-permanent and permanent hair color is how deeply the pigment penetrates the hair cuticle and cortex.

Semi-permanent dye only gets to the hair cuticle but not all the way into the hair cortex (the core of the hair shaft). Permanent hair color gets all the way past those two layers through an oxidative process.

Every time you wash your hair, the shampoo you use washes out some of the dye’s color molecules. A clarifying shampoo speeds up this process. In addition, it is designed to get rid of product and mineral buildup that conventional shampoos cannot.

For best results, do a first round of shampooing with a clarifying cleanser. This will get rid of any product buildup that may already be present on your hair. Then, rinse it out and apply more of the shampoo. Lather it up and cover with a cap for 30 minutes before rinsing it out again.

Repeat this every day for a week until the dye fades completely. If it doesn’t get rid of it, you might need to use something stronger.