Imagine spending hours upon hours in the salon chair just for your hair dye job to fade within a few weeks. You’ll be left with the sickening feeling that you wasted a whole day and worse, threw a bunch of money away. There is a way to avoid this and obtain long lasting, great looking color, and it’s really not too hard.
Here are a few tips on how to take care of dyed hair that will keep the gross feeling of wasting money at bay.
1. Wait 72 Hours Before You Shampoo
When you color your hair it opens a cuticle layer making it easy for the color to seep through the hair shaft. If you wash your hair too soon after your appointment at a salon such as the Inscape Beauty Salon, the cuticle layer could still be open. If you shampoo before it’s closed you might wash the color down the drain.
It takes up to three days for the cuticle layer to fully close so the longer you wait to wash your hair, the more time the color pigment has to soak in. This will keep your color lasting longer between salon visits.
2. Use Sulfate-Free Products
Sodium Laureth Sulfate is an anionic detergent that is found in a lot of personal care products. This product creates the foaming effect of your shampoos and conditioners.
Not only does this sulfate rid your hair of its natural oils and moisture, it also strips the color out of your newly treated hair. Pay attention to labels and use sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners.
3. Add Dye to Your Conditioner
Do you like dying your hair wild colors like pink, purple, and blue? If so then try adding a bit of the dye to your regular conditioner.
Doing this will slightly redye your hair every time you condition it. You will be able to prolong the life of the dye and keep it looking fresh until your roots grow out.
4. Turn Down the Water Temperature
Hot showers feel amazing but sadly, it’s not that great for your hair color. When you wash with hot water that cuticle we were talking about before opens up. This will allow all that pretty color to slip out and go down the drain when you wash your hair.
To avoid it, shampoo with slightly warm water and then rinse with cold after you condition it. The warm water will let the shampoo and conditioner do its job and the cold will seal in the moisture from the conditioner while sealing the cuticle and keeping the color in.
5. Wash Less Often
It might feel gross but washing your hair every day is one way on not how to take care of colored hair.
If you wash it this often not only do you wash the natural, healthy oils that keep your hair moisturized down the drain but also a little bit of color with it.
If you want to keep your color locked in only wash your hair 2-3 times a week at most. Again, this will feel gross but there is something you can do on your off days to make you feel a little better.
6. Make Dry Shampoo your Friend
On your off days, you can use color-safe dry shampoos to make your hair not look so much like a grease trap.
They will refresh your hair and make it look like you got a full blowout without you having to wash it. You can also get color-tinted dry shampoo to bring life back to your color without you having to visit the salon. You want to make this handy little product your best friend if you color your hair regularly.
7. Use Leave-In Treatments to Keep it Protected
Color-treated hair needs extra hydration and protection from the sun to keep it from being damaged. Leave-in treatments can keep your hair smooth and hydrated.
You want to choose a product that comes complete with UV protection because the sun can fade your color quicker than anything.
8. Protect Your Hair from Heat before You Use Hot Tools
Heat and hair color seriously don’t mix. Heat strips away the color and can eventually lead to damaged hair. To prevent this from happening, use a heat protection spray before you blow dry or style your hair.
These protection sprays will reduce moisture loss from the inside your hair and smooth the outside to protect it from humidity after heat styling.
9. Avoid Chlorine
If you enjoy going poolside on a bright sunny day, or if you’re going on vacation soon after dying your hair, you might want to pack a swim cap.
The reason for this is that chlorine can and will strip your hair of its color. If you fancy dying it blonde chlorine will give it a fun greenish tint. Dark hair will dull and lose its shine.
If you think a swim cap would look silly you can get your hair wet in the shower and use conditioner without washing it out. The conditioner will create a chlorine reflecting barrier. This is the key to colored hair care.
How to Take Care of Dyed Hair and Keep it Looking Great Longer
If you enjoy coloring your hair and doing it often you will need to learn how to take care of dyed hair. It’s not too hard to keep your color sticking around longer you just have to take a few extra steps while washing and styling it. Don’t wash your hair as often because that will carry color down the drain and avoid chlorine unless you have a way to keep it off your hair.
For more helpful beauty facts and tips, visit the health and wellness archives on our blog.
