Does your hair look darker when it's at its healthiest?

**Priska** · November 21st, 2023, 06:30 AM

I've been making some good treatments lately and my hair looks very dark to me from the mirror. Also sometimes people have asked me if i have dyed my hair, when i have just made for example an aloe vera treatment, so that my hair has been really smooth and shiny.

**luthiene** · November 21st, 2023, 11:54 AM

I have noticed that when my hair is more moisturized or more oily than usual that it is darker, to the point people have also asked if I had dyed it. I also notice that if I strip it with a strong shampoo it is much lighter. I am not sure if it is due to the frizz making it look lighter in color or the actual hair itself though.

**ETJ CURLS** · November 21st, 2023, 07:09 PM

I have heard some stylists state that properly moisturised hair is darker than dry hair.

**lapushka** · November 22nd, 2023, 05:33 AM

A tad bit, yes, but then it's not "lifted" from the sun bleaching the bejeezus out of it, it doesn't have dye damage and there's 0 heat (I diffuse on warm/tolerable for the hands) on my hair. Is it darker? Yes, you can clearly see that in my profile that it is that dark ash color / signature as well. As it should be. I would rather have a smidge darker hair than hair that is totally unmanageable due to damage. I am 51, I have run the gamut of stuff you can do (wrong) to your hair. I think I have retired from doing crap to it.

**Aerya** · November 22nd, 2023, 06:43 AM

I have noticed my hair appears a tad bit lighter when it's squeaky clean, like if I have just used a clarifying shampoo and no conditioner after. It only lasts for a short time though, probably because the natural oils darkens it again as my hair has time to adjust. Likewise it appears darker if it has had time to get properly oily, similar to how it looks darker when wet.

Originally Posted by lapushka

A tad bit, yes, but then it's not "lifted" from the sun bleaching the bejeezus out of it, it doesn't have dye damage and there's 0 heat (I diffuse on warm/tolerable for the hands) on my hair. Is it darker? Yes, you can clearly see that in my profile that it is that dark ash color / signature as well. As it should be. I would rather have a smidge darker hair than hair that is totally unmanageable due to damage. I am 51, I have run the gamut of stuff you can do (wrong) to your hair. I think I have retired from doing crap to it.

You have such a striking and beautiful colour too, Lapushka!

**lapushka** · November 22nd, 2023, 08:08 AM

Thank you so much Aerya, that means the world to me. I had the hardest time, trying to accept my natural color, because I dyed it all the colors of blonde that are there, then all the darker colors that are there, I tried red, just all natural colors because I hated having people compare it to the ashes in an ashtray.

Hated it for many years. Now? I don't care. I have few years left (age 51) with my own color, let's make the most of it. And thank you again, you don't know how much this means to me.

**spidermom** · November 22nd, 2023, 08:54 AM

Darker? No, not at all.

**Nefcerka** · November 22nd, 2023, 09:07 AM

I suppose so. Not at the roots, those are usually a uniform color for me (mousy brown), but I noticed that my length in the old pictures (20 years ago) was much lighter - I never used any conditioner back then and I had a ton of split ends, so from ears down, I had almost a blonde color (not from dye, no dye). Nowadays, with proper haircare, the natural color of my length matches the color of my roots, there is very little to none lightening towards the ends.