Cowashing - do I have to use shampoo prior to hair dye?

Most of us use claryfing shampoo before dying to get everything out of the hair.

Hair takes weeks to get used to things. Using shampoo once will not cause your hair to go back to its old ways.

I only use shampoo to rinse out bleach. Have not had any issues with dye not taking to co-washed hair. The conditioner I use to wash my hair with is free of silicones and mineral oil.

I generally shampoo if I am dyeing all of my hair. I hate shampoo though, it irritates my scalp and makes my hair very difficult to manage (I like to let it dry before dyeing, and it is too long now it just ends up in a tangly cloud)
So last time i didn't shampoo, and the colour turned out fine, it isn't lasting quite as well, but a small price to pay. I hate having unconditioned 'naked' hair it feels so vulnerable. I don't use any silicones or styling products though, so no risk of any build up.

I'm glad to hear you don't necessarily need to shampoo before dying. I always shampoo before but my hair really hates it.  I'll try not shampooing next time 🙂

Thanks for the replies ladies 🙂

Since I'm dyeing over mostly virgin hair (only the underneath has been bleach-bathed) it needs touching up every 3 weeks or so, so I was worried that it wasn't enough time for my hair to adjust.  I'm currently at the first stage of stretching daily washes to every other day and don't want to undo my hard work, though hopefully if that's successful then I should be able to go even longer before re-dyeing!

Have you tried a little dye in your conditioner each time you wash? Assuming you're using the same colour each time that is. It might just be enough to help you avoid having to dye every three weeks.