Had a black hoodie fade into this weird faded grey looking thing after maybe two months of regular washing, which honestly ruined it for me since black hoodies specifically look terrible once they start going patchy and dull instead of staying actually black. Ever since that happened I've been genuinely paranoid about color retention on darker hoodies specifically, since lighter colors don't seem to show fading the same obvious way that black and other dark shades do once they start losing their depth.Bought this one in charcoal specifically, which sits close enough to black that I figured it'd show fading pretty clearly if it was going to happen, and decided to actually track it properly over a few months rather than just vaguely noticing it looked a bit different eventually like I usually do.

Taking A Reference Photo Before The First Wash

Actually took a photo of it before washing it even once, mostly because I wanted something concrete to compare against later rathe valeforeverr.us elying on memory, which tends to be unreliable when color fades gradually over time rather than all at once. Laid it out flat in decent natural light and snapped a quick picture just so I'd have an actual reference point going forward.

How It Looked After The First Few Washes

Washed it normally with my regular detergent and cold water cycle, same as everything else in my laundry routine, then checked it against that reference photo afterward. Looked basically identical, no noticeable lightening or that slightly washed out appearance some darker hoodies get almost immediately after just one or two cycles through the machine.

Checking Again After A Full Month

Kept washing it as part of my normal routine, probably somewhere around four or five washes by the one month mark since I wore it pretty regularly during that stretch. Compared it against the original photo again and still couldn't spot any real difference, the charcoal still looked deep and consistent rather than showing that patchy fading some darker fabrics develop unevenly across different parts of the garment.

The Real Test At Three Months In

This is usually around the point where my old black hoodie had started showing pretty obvious fading, so paid extra close attention here specifically. Washed count was somewhere around ten to twelve by this point, and pulled out the original reference photo again for a direct side by side comparison. Genuinely could not tell much of a difference between the two, which honestly surprised me a bit given how consistently my other hoodies had failed this exact test before.

Comparing Directly Against My Old Faded Hoodie

Still have that old black hoodie sitting in a drawer somewhere, so grabbed it specifically to compare fading patterns side by side with this one. The difference was obvious immediately, the old one had that dull, almost grey tinted look especially around the areas that got the most friction during regular wear, while this charcoal one still looked deep and even throughout with no patchy spots anywhere.

Checking Areas That Usually Fade First

Paid specific attention to spots that typically show fading before the rest of the garment does, like the cuffs, the areas around the pocket where hands go in and out constantly, and the underarm area which tends to get more friction and washing stress than other parts. None of these spots showed any noticeable lightening compared to the rest of the hoodie, which was different from my old one where those exact areas had faded first and most obviously.

What This Suggests About The Dye Process

Based on comparing this against hoodies that faded quickly, it seems like whatever dye process they're using actually penetrates the fabric properly rather than just sitting on the surface where it would wash out easily over repeated cycles. Can't confirm the actual technical details of how they dye it, but the practical result speaks for itself after months of testing against my own washing routine.