How to Get Over a Hair Dye Addiction

Keep in mind once you get over your hair dye addiction, you can STILL dye your hair.  I know this because I got over a pretty bad hair dye addiction in the past few years, and currently, I dye my hair every 6-8 weeks.

How do you know if you have a hair dye addiction?

1.) You are dying your hair very frequently, from anywhere to once every 1-3 weeks

2.) You are rarely satisfied with your color; you like it on the first day, and by the third day you can’t wait to dye it again

3.) You dye your hair even when you like the current color

4.) When you do dye your hair, each color is very different from the last.

Now, how do you stop the addiction?

Luckily, hair dye isn’t actually addicting, the way alcohol or drugs are.  This addiction should be easy to break in a matter of months.

So here are the steps:

1.) Find something else to change color, so you still have your creative outlet.  Paint your nails or do your makeup in different colors.  These things aren’t harmful to your body, the way hair dye can damage your hair.  They’re a lot easier to use often and they might distract you from the fact that you aren’t changing your hair.

2.) Go one more week than usual without changing your hair color.  Let’s say recently, you waited 2 weeks to dye your hair.  Now, wait 3 weeks.  Next time, wait 4 weeks.  See if you can do this.  Perhaps reward yourself with something nice, like a new conditioner or cheap lipstick.

3.) Find other things to define yourself by.  Generally, hair dye addictions happen because you are trying to find your own “personal style” and in a sense, your own identity.  Finding other things to define yourself by will help you to rely less on your hair color.  These things can be physical, like a part of your body you love and accentuate with clothing, but also they should be emotional.  Perhaps you have a really good sense of humor, or you are really fun to talk to.  Define yourself by things other than your hair.

Remember, you don’t need to “quit” hair dye.  If you manage to end up dying your hair every month or two, you’re in a good position.