How To Stop Red Hair from Bleeding? [9 Important Tips for You]

After going to the salon to get that red hair color you’ve had your eyes on for a long time, you’ll be excited to see how long you can go about enjoying your new hair color. But what happens when your hair color begins to bleed?

Perhaps you see that the hair color drains a lot whenever you take a shower or your pillowcase is always stained with red pigment whenever you get out of your bed.

If your red hair has been bleeding, you’ll need to take some measures to put a stop to it. We’ll be talking about those measures in this article.

9 Tips to Stop Red Hair from Bleeding

1. Get Your Hair Products Right

When you dye your hair red, you need to immediately purchase hair products that you’ll use throughout this period.

These products should be specially designed for colored hair and should have ingredients that help to keep the color in.

For instance, you’ll need to use a color-safe or color-balancing shampoo that’ll ensure that the red color doesn’t go bleeding out of your hair.

You can even buy a shampoo specifically designed for red hair dye. You should do the same for your conditioners and any other hair products that have a color-specific option.

Pigmented products also go a long way to ensure that hair color lasts long. In this case, hair products with red pigments will go a long way to reinforce the color and stop it from bleeding.

2. Reduce Your Hair Wash Frequency

One of the surest ways to stop red hair from bleeding is to stop washing it so often. If you’re a fan of washing your hair several times a week, you’ll need to tone it down if you want to have any color left on your hair.

Remember that the process of washing your hair will naturally take away some of the red hair colors and make it less likely to last. Washing also strips your hair of oils, some of which strengthen the cuticle, protect your hair, and supports the appearance of your hair color.

And whenever you decide to wash your hair, staying away from warm water is a rule of thumb you must never forget. 

3. Wash Your Hair with Cool Water

One mistake many people make when handling dyed hair is to wash it with warm-to-hot water instead of cool-to-cold ones.

When you wash your hair with warm water, it opens up your hair cuticles and makes it beyond easy for the red pigments to find their way out of your hair.

To avoid this, your hair washing sessions after dying your hair red should always go with cold water. In fact, once you apply the dye to your hair in first instance, you should use cool water to rinse the dye out of your hair in order to leave behind lots of vibrant red color and close the cuticles to prevent more bleeding.

4. Avoid Heat Styling

Just as hot water isn’t good for newly dyed hair, heat styling is also something you must avoid if you want to avoid or stop your red hair dye from bleeding.

Heat styling tools like curlers, dryers, and straighteners will negatively impact the structure of your hair cuticle, thereby making it more likely for your hair to bleed.

Ensure to avoid using heat styling tools for as long as possible once you have dyed your hair red, especially in the first two weeks. Even if you have to, always maintain the low heat setting and use heat protection while you’re at it. If you’re looking for alternatives, consider exploring heatless styling methods to keep your hair healthy while maintaining your color.

5. Protect Your Hair Against the Sun

Exposure to UV rays from the sun can damage your hair, and this damage can negatively impact your red hair color and cause it to run.

The heat can open your cuticles and give the color a freeway to get out, so ensure that you always protect your hair by wearing a hat whenever you’re out under the sun or using an umbrella.

6. Avoid Swimming Pools

When you have your hair dyed red, your swimming pool visits have to become more intentional and careful. If you jump into a swimming pool without protecting your hair, you can surely expect the color to run.

The chemicals resident in swimming pools can cause your hair to bleed and even result in other forms of damage to your colored hair that you might not have expected.

So, what do you do? Always cover your hair with a swim cap that doesn’t let water get in before entering the pool. It is also a good idea to rinse your hair with non-chlorinated water before you get into the pool and right after, to protect your hair against whatever chemical it comes across. Additionally, be aware that dyeing hair with chlorine in it can lead to uneven color results, so proper protection is essential.

7. Don’t Sleep with Wet Hair

One thing you must be careful about after dyeing your hair red is the wetness of your hair. Your hair shouldn’t be wet often because that’s a sure way to see your hair bleed. So, whenever your hair gets wet for some reason, ensure to dry it as soon as possible.

Never go to bed with wet hair because you’re giving the color an avenue to bleed over your beddings. Even after drying your hair, you need to cover it with a satin bonnet to protect your strands and avoid damage while you sleep.

8. Preventive Treatment

Even before applying their hair dye, you can do some pre-dyeing treatment to ensure that the red color lasts long and doesn’t bleed easily.

When working with permanent hair dye, you should consider using a lightening agent such as a bleach that’ll remove the natural colors of your hair and open up your hair cuticles to receive the red color better.

If you don’t want to use bleach, you can explore products like masks, shampoos, gels, and creams that are infused with protein. They can also open up your cuticles and help the color to sit in tight to avoid bleeding. For those with specific color goals, auburn hair color options can be more stable than vibrant reds and might require less maintenance. 

Washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo is also another thing to do when dyeing your hair. The shampoo will remove blockage and buildup on your cuticle and make it easy for your hair color to last. Using a bond building serum before and after coloring can also help strengthen your hair structure and prevent color bleeding. 

9. Get Help From A Professional

From the first moment you decide to dye your hair red and throughout the entire process, you should contact a hair professional doe guidance, especially if you have to go two shades lighter or darker to get the red color.

A professional will know the best products to use in the beginning to prevent your dye from running, just as much as they will know the right things to do when your hair dye starts bleeding. 

So, if your hair color bleeds constantly and doesn’t stop even with these measures in place, then you might need to visit a hair stylist to handle the issue. You can expect the person to skillfully identify the cause of the bleeding and the reason your hair is finding it hard to hold color in.

Then, you can get professionally-recommended products and procedures to help you put an end to the color bleeding and ensure that your hair color remains vibrant for a long time. If you’re curious about how long your color investment should last, you might want to check out how long permanent hair dye typically lasts to set realistic expectations.

Final Comments:

Now that you have an arsenal of methods with which to protect your hair from bleeding whenever you use your favorite red hair dye, you can have a more stress-free and enjoyable time rocking the hair color you love. If your red dye is still causing issues, you might consider trying frizz-control serum to help seal your hair cuticles and prevent color loss while keeping your hair looking smooth.