Let’s get right down to the dirty, ladies. If you spend the time and money to color your hair, and DO NOT use a shampoo and conditioner designed for color treated hair, you might as well flush your budgeted hair money right town the toilet.
Harsh? Most likely. True? Most definitely!
But seriously, ordinary shampoos and conditioners are going to strip color right from your strands! The best way to ensure your fresh, beautiful color lasts the 6-8 weeks it is supposed to is by walking out of the salon with a set of color conserving products, such as Wella’s Brilliance or Kenra’s Color Maintenance line.
Besides using color conserving shampoos and conditioners, there are a number of other ways to prevent your hair color from prematurely fading. Here are some helpful tips for maintaining your gorgeous salon color!
1. Don’t Wash As Frequently
Funny how we tell you time and time again to not wash your hair everyday for a variety of reasons, but preserving color is definitely one of the top ones. Especially right after you have your hair colored, try to avoid washing your hair for at least three days to ensure that the color sets into your hair. After the first three days, try to wash no more than every-other-day in order to preserve your color. With that being said …
2. Use Heat Consciouslywoman using heat products
Be mindful of exposing your color treated hair to heat (including water). If you love those almost scalding hot showers as much as I do, tone the water temperature down to warm when lathering your hair, since the hot water will strip color from your hair. Also make sure use heat styling consciously, as hot irons will also break down hair color. Be sure to use a pre-styling protective product, such as AG Hair Firewall before applying heat to your hair.
3. Protect From Damaging Elements
Sun and saltwater are two of the biggest hair color killers out there. UV rays damage your hair just as it does your skin resulting in faded color. Saltwater will turn highlights brassy (or even green) and cause darker colored hair to fade.
So basically, I would not recommend coloring your hair before an island getaway! Additionally, when you are planning on being in the sun, apply a sun protection product like Sebastian Halo Mist, or make sure to wear a hair scarf or stylish sun hat. See our post on Summer Hair Tips for more ways to protect your hair color from sun and water.
With the holidays just around the corner, the timing has never been better to stock up on color conserving products, scarves, and trendy summer hats.
