Ladies, we spend a good hunk of money we don’t have on our hair, especially if we color our hair. Therefore, we are hoping to get the longest life out of our color.
1. Avoid Shampooing as long as you can
Knowing that shampooing removes color little by little, it’s a good practice to skip washing your hair whenever you can. Lazy day Saturday? Don’t wash your hair! Remember, the less you wash your hair the longer your color will last. It’s that simple. My favorite trick of the trade is dry shampoo. If you haven’t tried one yet, please do. I prefer the spray kind and simply focus on my roots. The dry shampoo will help to absorb any excess oil and give your hair that bounce it needs to look fresh and clean. Most dry shampoos smell great too.
2. Choose the best shampoo
A harsh shampoo can strip the color right of your hair before you rinse the suds from your eyes. Look for shampoos and conditioners that are gentle, color-safe and sulfate free. Sulfates will make your shampoo lather, but they can also strip the color from your hair. Also, some shampoos are made for your hair color, such as purple shampoo that helps tone blondes, making blondes less brassy looking and more vibrant.
3. Protect your hair from heat
When we color our hair, that protective layer gets stripped away so the dye has the ability to penetrate into the hair and deposit color. Because this protective cuticle is stripped away during the color process, our hair is much more vulnerable to drying out when we use heating devices.
4. Turn down the water temperature when shampooing color-treated hair
When you shampoo stick to lukewarm or cooler water temperatures. Super hot water leeches dye out of hair faster and strips the color, because it opens the surface of the hair strand, which causes the dye molecules to escape.
Remember, red/purple dye is most susceptible to color loss. These hair colors tend to fade faster, because they have the largest molecules. The molecule size makes it more difficult for dyes to penetrate deeply into the hair; thus, they dissipate more rapidly. So when going for a red hue, be sure to have your stylist use hair color that maximizes high-definition color results with minimum stress to the hair’s cuticle, and be prepared to take extra good care of your locks.