Keep Your Color-Treated Hair Looking Fresh. The feeling of getting a new hair color is undoubtedly amazing! You look different, you feel confident, you’re shining. But there’s a dreaded lingering feeling that this won’t last for long. Whether you opt for a deep brown shade or platinum blonde, your hair will lose its vibrancy eventually. Add the problem of roots fading and dull-looking ends and this will sour anyone’s mood.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should give up on getting your desired hair color. You can follow these 5 tips on how you can keep your hair color looking fresh in-between salon appointments.
1. Wash Your Hair 72 Hours Later
A common mistake people make is washing their hair as soon as they leave the salon’s premises. The hair coloring process requires opening up the cuticle layer of your hair to allow the color pigment to soak in. If you wash your hair before your cuticle closes, you’re essentially washing out all the pigment. Don’t let the hundreds of dollars you’ve spent go down the drain and be sure to wait at least 3 days before shampooing your hair.
2. Ditch the Chemicals
Go sulfate-free to prolong the look of your hair. Store-bought shampoos and conditioners often have cleansing agents like sodium Laureth sulfate in their ingredients. Using such shampoos can strip your hair of its natural oils, leading to dry and brittle hair. Sulfate is already aggressive on normal hair, so you can imagine how much worse it is for colored hair. Find sulfate-free hair products to protect color-treated hair and prevent it from fading.
3. Don’t Skip Out on Conditioner
Sometimes when you’re busy and don’t have the time to take long, leisurely showers, you might feel tempted to skip conditioner. Big mistake! Without conditioner, your color-treated hair will lose its shine and may even cause the color to fade. To save up on time, you can skip on shampoo instead. Just be sure not to make it a habit.
4. Let Your Hair Air Dry
Lose the blow dryer or any other hot tools you use on a daily basis. Excessive use of heat can risk your cuticles opening up again. As a result, the color molecules in your hair will fade. Keep dyed hair healthy by letting it dry naturally. However, if you absolutely cannot survive without a blow-dryer, try to use a heat protectant spray beforehand to minimize the damage.
5. Invest in a Leave-in Treatment
Colored hair needs extra hydration and protection, and a leave-in treatment provides just that! There are many types of leave-in treatments out there, such as detangling hair or providing protection from heat tools. You can go for a leave-in treatment specifically formulated for color-treated hair. Leave-in treatments with UV protection are the perfect option as they will target the damage and loss of nutrients caused by the sun’s glaring rays.
Have more questions? If so, contact the experts at Missouri College of Cosmetology.