I'm been wanting to dye my hair for the last few months. I've done some research and I keep on seeing it's not safe and will damage my hair. But, when I went to a salon, my hair stylist said hair dye will not damage my hair, because I only need color added. It's hair bleach that is damaging.

I'm not sure what to believe. Does anyone who dyes their hair know if it's damaging or not?

You can get dye without ammonia in which is healthier for hair.

That said, yes, bleach will damage your hair, but if you're going dark to dark you might not need bleach. It's usually dark to light that you need it.

I dyed my hair twice, from black/dark brown( my natural hair color) to red, and my hair was ok, but I waited months between each time and the second time after it had faded out, didn't dye my hair again because I've been growing out my hair. That was 2 years ago and my hair is currently waist/hip length at the moment.

Yes, dying your hair will damage it bleaching or no. Once or twice you'll be fine but make it a life long habit and it will damage your hair.

My hair is naturally like this mousy brown color and I color it about every six months (give or take a month) to auburn. I've been doing this for 15 years. (I'm 29. Started at 14) I'm starting to see signs of damage mostly in the texture. It can get really dry sometimes. I don't get my hair cut regularly more like every 6 months but regular cuts help minimize the damage. I make sure to use hydrating shampoo and conditioner. I use drug store products but I'm sure if I used salon products that would help. When I do get my hair cut I always make sure to spend a little extra and get the revitalizing treatment when they wash my hair. It really does help. It makes my hair feel so soft and silky.

If you're looking at needing a bleach it will damage your hair and you'll need to take extra care of it. Ammonia dyes do minimal damage but like I said it builds up over time. I don't like ammonia-free dyes I don't feel they give the same grade of color but they're available. You can also try henna dye which I've heard rave reviews over.

Seconding ; most hair dye will damage your hair.

Henna hair dyes don't damage your hair, and I love using them. I use Lush Henna (Red) now and again. Lush also has a brown, a black, a reddish-brown... I think that's it? Anyway, here's what the red looks like: before, and after. Super strong stuff. Also, that 'before' picture is basically the best picture of me that has ever been taken, ever.

- I was thinking of getting a dark red color (my natural color is dark brown). I definitely am not going to get anything with ammonia or bleach as those seem to be consistently remarked as damaging.

- I was thinking of going for henna dye or salon grade dye. I guess I'll stay away from drug store products. I don't want to have dry hair as it'll become super poofy and tangled if it does.

- Amazing "before" picture! :P I was looking at henna dye closely as it seemed to be safe for hair. How long does it last?

Dark cherry red will likely work without bleach. Henna isn't permanent so if you want it to last perm then you'll probably need a salon. Red does take a while to fade though. The second time I dyed my hair red it was a bright red that shone under the sun and while the initial red faded pretty fast, the residual color took almost a year before it faded completely from my hair. My natural hair is very dark brown/ black and it faded to a more reddish brown/ light brown though so it was not that big of a deal though. I'd say dying hair once or twice is fine, but anymore than that, not so much. I have waist length hair currently and my hair grew out fine even with two past dye jobs.

I have heard good stuff about vegetable based dyes like manic panic. Granted, they're crazy colors but some of the darker colors the purple, blue, dark red in the line do show up without application of bleach.

It can vary quite a lot, unfortunately! Some people say it lasts six weeks, but I found I got several months out of it. I wish I could give you more specific numbers, but the last time I dyed my hair was a few years ago so I don't remember the exact details!

Natural color dyes usually are harmful, but a lot of "wacky" and unnatural colors tend to be good because they're veggie dyes and even a bunch of them vegan. And Henna is fine too. But all of those colors won't really last very long because in order to last long the hair needs to be damaged (with bleach) to absorb the dyes. It also depends on how often you wash your hair. I wash my hair once a week so dyes tend to last longer with my hair, but I have friends who wash daily/every two days and the dyes tend to fade quickly.

Also a hint to going red, red is a very difficult color to stick especially with dark hair (without bleaching), so it might fade faster or look like brown but shine red in the sun. I've heard red is a difficult color to stick, my hair is naturally red and I only ever dyed it with wacky colors. But it really just depends since it looks like others in here with dark hair have had success. Anyway, if you're doing anything other than veggie dyes/henna I would say get it done in a salon (at least the first time), but otherwise you could probably do it alone or with the help of a friend.

- That's good to know. I'm alright with not knowing an exact time frame.

- I wasn't aware veggie dyes were a thing. I could only use the dark red though because I don't think my job would allow unnatural colors. But, the trade off of having the dye last such a short time isn't worth it. I also wouldn't want to dye my hair only once or twice in my lifetime in a salon. I would want to continue, but the trade off of damaging my hair isn't worth it.

Based on what I've read, there seems to be too many risks of messing up my hair no matter what I use. At this point, I think it's better if I don't dye my hair, because a few months of a different hair color isn't worth a lifetime of damage. Thank you for all the advice! :)