Nothing is perhaps as uplifting as a fresh new color to pull you out of a hairstyle rut. In an instant (or, more like an hour), you can refresh your look and style. But coloring your hair not only comes with health risks, but it damages the hair leaving it dry, brittle, and prone to breaking. Do you know the best tips for taking care of color-treated hair?
5 Tips to Protect Color-Treated Hair
- Use a sulfate-free shampoo: Sulfates, for all their lathering action, can strip away the color faster. Look for sulfate-free shampoos to keep color lasting longer and hair looking healthier.
- Dial down the hot water: While hot showers certainly feel nice, they can make color fade faster by expanding the hair cuticle. Use warm to lukewarm water for washing and conditioning.
- Reduce hair-washing: If you’re a daily hair washer, try reducing to every other day or every few days. The less you wash your hair the longer the color lasts. And daily washing is generally unnecessary, so save that money you’d be spending on hair care products. For people with extra fine hair or super active lifestyles where washing daily seems necessary, try skipping the shampoo and just conditioning. And don’t wash just-dyed hair for at least 48 hours. This gives the color time to settle and reduces the chance of it fading right from the start.
- Reduce brassiness: Some hair care products (especially those orange in color) can turn any dye job into a carroty-colored fiasco. Avoid chlorine when possible. If you are planning to hit the pool, rinse hair with fresh water before getting in as it reduces the potential to absorb the color-changing chlorine.
- Sun protection: It may sound impossible, but protecting colored hair from sun can also prevent brassiness and weakening the hair. Just like sun can burn our skin, it can do a number on our hair as well. Use hats when exposed to full sun and look for all-natural color protecting sprays for hair.
Try our Coconut Calendula conditioner for color-treated hair.
