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Help! I Colored My Hair at Home & It's Wrong. It is Permanent?

By , About.com Guide

Picked the wrong color?

Picked the wrong color?

hairstyles, cuts & dos
Question: Help! I Colored My Hair at Home & It's Wrong. It is Permanent?
Answer: Uh-oh, a bad color match can turn your $6 box of color into a $100 salon visit. However, you might be OK if you just dyed your hair with a semipermanent color.

Semipermanent color takes 48 hours to set so you have a window of time to get to it. First, shampoo a couple times with a clarifying or dandruff shampoo. These are known to strip hair of color (which is why you're constantly told not to use these on colored hair). If you missed your 48 hour window of time, don't worry, semipermanent color washes out in 6-8 washes.

If the color is permanent, it will be harder to remove, but a professional colorist should be able to help.

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