Your Guide to Properly Maintaining Colour-Treated Hair at Home
Wanting to keep your colour looking salon-fresh? Then it's important to give your hair the unique care it needs! Read on for our tips and tricks for caring for your colour-treated hair at home, and keep your locks looking vibrant between salon visits.
Don’t Overwash Your Hair.
Washing your hair too often can cause colour to fade prematurely. It can also strip moisture from your hair, making it appear duller and less vibrant. Though it depends on your individual scalp needs, most people do not need to shampoo daily. Try extending the time between washes 2-3 days. Some people find they can go even longer between washing, cutting down on any dryness or fading caused by shampooing. In between washes, make sure you’re brushing regularly to distribute oils through the length of your hair. To combat oily hair between washes, try using a dry shampoo. This is a great way to extend the life of your colour.
Avoid hot water.
Hot water can cause colour to fade much quicker than lukewarm or cold water. Try using lukewarm water when washing your hair, and if you can stand it, rinse with cold. Rinsing with cold flattens the cuticles of your hair, making it appear shinier and smoother. Cold water will also help maintain the longevity of your coloured hair. If you can’t stand the cold, don’t worry! Rinse with lukewarm water instead. They key for keeping your colour fresh is to avoid overly hot water on your hair.
Always use sulfate-free shampoo.
Sulfates are mineral salts that are sometimes added to shampoos. They work as a detergent, stripping away residue. Because they tend to be quite harsh on hair, it’s best to use a shampoo that is free of sulfates. Because sulfates will strip hair of its natural oils, your hair will lose moisture and appear dull. The intense cleaning can also cause colour to fade. Look for shampoos that are labeled sulfate-free (and bonus if it’s formulated for colour-treated hair).
Use a colour protecting shampoo and conditioner.
Shampoos and conditioners that are formulated to protect your colour treated hair are excellent for extending your colour between salon visits. These products can help seal the hair cuticle, protect your locks from environmental damage, and lock in colour. They are generally more gentle on your hair, which also helps avoid fading of your hair colour. Some of our favourite colour-protecting lines are below.
Featured line: Everlasting Colour by Kevin Murphy
Everlasting Colour by Kevin Murphy includes a shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and treatment which protect against colour fading while enhancing shine, vibrancy and radiance.
More tips for maintaining your colour-treated hair at home ⤵️
Invest in a quality heat protectant.
Using hot tools on your coloured hair can lead to dryness, damage, and fading of colour-treated hair. Luckily, there are heat protecting products that can minimize the damage from heat tools. These products will help keep your hair soft and healthy and your colour fresh while allowing you to style your hair how you like. Many heat protectant products include added benefits such as UV filters which help protect your colour from fading due to sun exposure.
Turn down your heat tools.
In addition to using a heat protectant product on your hair, try turning down the heat of your tools. It’s best to use good quality heat tools that allow for temperature adjustments so that you can tailor your temperature to your personal hair type. If you have fine or damaged hair, try setting your iron at 250° F. If that doesn’t work for achieving a curl that lasts, you can go up to 300° F. If you have medium hair, try experimenting with a range in temperature between 300° F and 350° F. If your hair has texture, you may need to adjust the temperature slightly hotter. If you have thick and textured hair, you will probably find a good setting for your hair around 400° F. You can go slightly lower if your hair is damaged, or slightly higher if you’re not achieving the lasting results you want. Other ways that you can cut down damage and fading is using a diffuser attachment while blow drying, and avoiding direct heat sources such as sunlight.
Featured line: Alchemic by Davines
Alchemic is Davines’ line designed to intensify and brighten colour on both natural and coloured hair. These shampoos and conditioners are highly biodegradable and natural formulas, with a high concentration of pure pigments. Shop six colour ranges composed of a shampoo and a conditioner each, including Silver, Copper, Red, Chocolate, Golden, and Tobacco. Feeling more creative? Davines’ Alchemic Creative line lets you tone and gently colour lightened hair at home. This range lets you experiment with Lavender, Pink, Teal, Marine Blue, and Coral.
What else can you do to help maintain coloured hair at home? Deep condition regularly for extra nourishment.
Regularly treating your hair to a deep conditioner is important for adding moisture, and keeps coloured strands looking vibrant. Try using a deep conditioner every one or two weeks after shampooing to give added nourishment. Below are some of our favourite deep conditioners and hair masks that are safe for colour treated hair.
Featured line: Keep My Colour by Eleven Australia
Keep My Colour is Eleven Australia’s line specifically formulated for blondes, natural or not! This shampoo, conditioner, and treatment all fight brassiness with a blue base and ext Violet 2. In addition to boosting blonde tones, soy proteins and natural extracts strengthen hair and add volume.
Featured line: Oligo Blacklight Shampoo and Conditioner
Oligo’s Blacklight line offers technology for maintaining blonde hair while keeping it shiny, healthy and hydrated hair. Blue shampoo and conditioners offset orange tones, while violet shampoos and conditioners offset yellow tones. The Blacklights line restores faded highlights, leaving hair looking cleaner and brighter.
