I feel like it’s very common nowadays to have dyed your hair in some form or fashion. Most people have gotten highlights, balayage, an overall lightening or even colored their hair with dye. I don’t currently have my natural hair color – I have been dying my hair since middle school! It started out with that glorious 2012 trend of dip dying your hair with Kool-aid and now my entire head is bleach blonde! I’ve dyed my hair pink, blue and red as well, so here are some tips for on how to care for your newly dyed/colored hair:
1. Wash your hair less often
Whether you have colored hair, dyed-blonde hair or your natural hair, you should be washing your hair at least every 2-3 days, preferably every 3-4 days. Not washing your hair as often will help your dyed color to stay longer as well as being healthy for your hair. Your roots produce natural oils that protect and nourish your hair. If you wash your hair every day then you’re stripping your hair of those natural oils, causing your hair to produce even more and leave you with oily hair. The way to combat this is to slowly increase the amount of time between each of your hair washes from washing your hair every day to every other day to every two days or three days. To jumpstart this, I recommend making a one-day change to your normal routine, for example going from washing every day to washing every other day and stick with that for at least a couple weeks. I say this because your hair needs time to adjust to this new schedule so it can stop producing so much oil. Then you can continue moving on to every two or three days and your hair will thank you (if you follow the rest of these steps) with natural volume, shine and nice color.
2. Use color protection shampoo and conditioner
The right shampoo and conditioner for what you want for your hair is so important. If you have your hair dyed a certain color, it’s probably best to get a color-protecting shampoo and conditioner to help keep in as much color as possible when washing your hair. I used a color protectant shampoo from Paul Mitchell when I dyed my hair pink, but now I use a toning shampoo and conditioner because my hair is currently blonde. Your hairdresser will tone your hair after they bleach it blonde, so make sure to communicate with them what toner shampoo and conditioner would be best to keep the shade of blonde you want.
3. Avoid heat
Avoid blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons and even hot water on your hair. The heat both damages and lifts color out of your hair. Try your best to wash your hair with cold – lukewarm water and let your hair air dry. Also avoid using tools that will cause damage to your hair every single day, like straighteners and curling irons, because your hair is already very fragile from being bleached. These tools are okay every once and a while but not every day.
4. Wide-tooth comb
For whatever reason, I have realized that switching to a wide-tooth comb instead of a regular brush has made all the difference in my hair. Regular brushes are normally used to detangle your hair by separating most of the strands on your hair but brushing your hair like that every day is disrupting your hair’s natural state. If you have curly hair, then you know that brushing your hair with those separates all your curls and makes your hair poofy. Using a wide-tooth comb to brush your hair will help locate and detangle any knots while still keeping the structure of your curls. With my naturally straight hair, the wide-tooth comb actually helps my hair have more volume and wave rather than the flat effect that I got with a regular brush.
5. Avoid the pool
I feel like this is common knowledge for anyone acquainted with dyed hair, but if you’re not, don’t go in the pool. More specifically, don’t get your hair wet in the pool. For some reason that I am unsure of, chlorine from most pools will turn your bleached hair green. Even if you have color in your hair you still don’t want to get chlorine water on it because it will further damage and fade your hair faster.
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