I recently saw a post on Reddit where a guy recovered a ton of hair and then dyed it as well in his “after” photos showcasing his transformation.
It was a great transformation but I was surprised to see a lot of people in the comments talking about how “you shouldn’t dye thinning hair” when experiencing male pattern baldness or that the original poster was “brave for dying his hair” when experiencing male pattern baldness.
Those responses were confusing to me because dying your hair, styling it, etc, shouldn’t be a concern if you are treating the underlying causes of balding.
Dye Thinning Hair?
One of the best parts of starting hair loss treatments is the weight that is lifted off of you in terms of worrying about loss – you start to take a longer-term view and know that everything will improve or at least maintain in most cases. If you are treating the hair it will come back stronger and stronger after each phase of shedding.
I understand how this can be distressing in the short term but taking a longer-term view can be more beneficial here. My theory is that if the hair was going to fall out from accidentally getting pulled or brushed, then it probably was going to fall out anyway.
I also like the idea of going through phases where it seems like progress is getting worse (tretinoin skin purges, hair loss medication shedding phases, bulking before cutting to gain lean muscle) so it’s easier for me to embrace a temporary shed if it does happen.
I also think that recovering your hair or working to keep it healthy and thick makes you appreciate it more and may push you to enjoy it to its full potential and you may want to dye and style your hair in different ways.
So let’s get into the question: Can you dye thinning hair? What about bleaching? Will any of these things permanently impact hair or scalp health?
Bottom Line: if done properly, bleaching and dying your external hair will not impact the underlying hair follicles.
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Dying Hair
The main concern I can see with bleaching and dying hair about those suffering from androgenic alopecia would be the short-term damage that potentially results from either of these procedures.
The good news though is that done correctly (and barring severe burns), there is an extremely low chance that dying or bleaching could permanently impact your underlying hair follicles. The worst that could happen would be the external hair becomes damaged – but once you cut that hair the underlying follicle would still be growing healthy new hair.
There are many things we can do to protect hair during the process of bleaching and dying so the external hair shafts are not only safe at the minimum but also extremely well taken care of in terms of overall hydration, health, and structure.
Bleaching & Dying
You are probably familiar with the concept of first bleaching your hair to obtain lighter shades such as vibrant colors or just lighter natural colors overall.
This is a pretty harsh process so you want to make sure it’s done correctly.
The main thing that could go wrong here is if you experience too high a concentration of bleach or if the product stays in for too long. There are a lot of nuances here in terms of the end goal, current hair color, baseline hair health, if you’ve used products like dye or bleach previously, etc.
I would personally recommend getting any work like this done professionally – it may be slightly cheaper to dye or bleach hair at home but if you are specifically looking to avoid damage to external hair and scalp itself seeking out a reputable professional with an established portfolio is always a better option.
Beneficial Products
I would suggest taking a look at products like these (no affiliation).
When you undergo bleaching and dying it becomes especially important to maintain strong moisturized hair – so using a high-strength shampoo and “deep conditioner” specifically for these situations is a huge factor in keeping hair nourished and healthy.
Other Factors
Other things that may be beneficial range from avoiding heat-based styling and heated water as much as you can, getting a haircut regularly so that damaged portions are cut off and new hair grows, and something physical like a silk-based pillow case can help prevent physical friction and therefore breakage.
Conclusion
Overall I think this post can be summarized in one or two sentences: bleaching and dying hair if done properly will not harm the underlying hair follicles – even if the process goes wrong and the external hair is damaged, new healthy hair will still grow.
The same is still true for people experiencing androgenic alopecia.
Either way, I hope this helped you in some way – thank you for reading.