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Want to know how to make hair color last longer? If you’ve just had your tresses beautifully restored, you’re going to want to make that rich color last for as long as possible. Thankfully, there are quite a few things you can do in your daily life to help keep your colored hair bright and vibrant.
Want To Know How To Make Hair Color Last Longer At Home? Remember These Pro Tips
Stretching out the time between salon visits can save you a lot of money – and it’s a whole lot healthier for your hair. But can a daily hair routine really make a difference to lasting color?
If you want to know how to make hair color last longer at home, continue reading for some great tips to practice.
1. Avoid Over-Rinsing Color Treated Hair (Especially After Initial Coloring)
Wait as long as possible after a color session to wash or rinse your hair. Ideally, at least 48 hours but a minimum of 24 hours. Rinsing out hair dye too quickly doesn’t allow the dye time to settle into the hair cuticle.1
In general, you should also try not to shampoo your hair too often – certainly not every day. This strips the hair of natural oils and color, which can leave your hair dry, brittle, and faded.2
2. Turn Down The Hot Showers
You may already know that hot water is extremely drying to the skin, but it might also prematurely fade your hair color. The high temperature opens up the hair’s cuticle, letting both moisture and color molecules escape.3
Instead, try to shampoo and rinse with lukewarm water and then, following your conditioner, brave a cold rinse to seal the hair cuticles back up. This has the double effect of not only helping your color but also keeping the cuticles more hydrated. This means less frizz.4
3. Choose Hair Care Products Wisely
Use A Color-Safe Shampoo
Color safe shampoos aren’t just a gimmick. They’re often much gentler than many regular shampoos, and they’re formulated without the types of ingredients that cause hair to fade.
Sulfates are a key example of such an ingredient. Sulfates help your shampoo to foam up nicely.5 However, they’re strong detergents that can strip the color from your hair. You should likewise avoid anti-dandruff or clarifying shampoos, which may also strip hair dye more quickly.6
Color-protecting shampoos are usually much lower in sulfates and are formulated to coat the hair in such a way that color molecules can’t escape as easily. They’re also deeply moisturizing and smooth the strands.7
Use A Shampoo Specific To Your Hair Color
It’s also a smart idea to select a hair product that’s specific to your hair color. For example, purple shampoo can be a blonde’s best friend, as the purple pigment cancels out any brassy, yellow tones in blonde hair.8
Red hair color is perhaps the most vibrant color you’ll invest in. It’s also the quickest hair color to fade, and it takes a good deal of upkeep to keep it looking vivacious. Red hair dye can be better maintained using a red hair-specific color deposit shampoo, which helps to enhance red pigments.
Can apple cider vinegar (ACV) really help brighten hair color?
Well, there appears to be some truth to that. But it’s best left for blonde hair. If your blonde color is looking dull, ashen, or brassy, you can try an apple cider vinegar rinse once every two weeks to brighten the base. Then, follow with your purple shampoo.9
4. Utilize Dry Shampoo To Extend Your Washes
Dry shampoo is your best friend when it comes to how to make hair color last longer. Use it to extend your hair washing out by a few days.
If your hair is looking a little oily at the roots, spray on some dry shampoo and massage it through evenly. Even if it buys you only one more day, it’s worth it. The less shampooing you do, the better.
Dry shampoo can come as a spray or a powder, and some work far better than others. So, experiment until you find a brand that works best for you.
5. Avoid Excessive Heat And/Or Sun Exposure
Heat is the enemy of healthy hair. Excessive heat styling with blow dryers, curling irons, and straightening irons is drying and damaging to the hair. This, in turn, fades color.
Try to limit how many times you heat style your hair during the week. And, when you really need to turn on that curling iron, reach for a good heat protectant spray.
Meanwhile, the sun’s UV rays can be just as damaging.10 If you’ll be spending time outside, invest in a cute, wide-brimmed hat. It’ll protect both your hair and your face from the sun’s damaging rays. And, you can look stylish while doing so.
6. Double Down With A Deep Conditioner
While on the subject of summer days in the sun – chlorine is not a friend to color-treated hair. Nor is salt. But it’s not reasonable to stay out of the water. Spray on a leave-in conditioner before you enter the pool. Or at the very least, if you don’t have any handy, wet your hair with water so that less chlorine or salt can be absorbed into the hair shaft.11
Dry hair goes hand in hand with color fade, so a deep conditioning treatment once or twice a week (and after the pool) can do wonders for your color.
Massage a nourishing hair mask into your strands, pop on a shower cap, and sit back and relax for 20 minutes.
7. Hard Water: Consider Your Tap Water
Hard water is one of the greatest threats to dyed hair. Hard water contains far more minerals (mostly calcium and magnesium) than soft water. These minerals can build up on the hair over time, creating a barrier that shuts out moisture (including that amazing new color-specific conditioner you just got). This can lead to dry, frizzy, and prematurely faded hair strands.12
The problem is, hard water is dependent on where you live, so you have no control over its existence. However, you can do something about it.
Avoid investing in a slew of special hard water shampoos and conditioners and instead invest in a filter for your showerhead. These are much cheaper than full sized, household water filters – and just as effective. You can change out the filter every few months, as you’d do with drinking water filters.13
8. A Quick Cheat For Gray Hairs
Aside from color fade, nothing ruins your beloved hair color like the reappearance of your natural color, particularly gray hairs. Gray hairs are notoriously hard to hide without professional help – or dying your whole head yourself.
There are a few quick cheats on the market for covering grays temporarily. Seek out either a temporary root coverup spray or a root concealer pen. These will only last between washes, but they can do a neat job of getting you through to your next hair appointment.
Longevity For Vibrant Hair: It’s Within Your Reach
You can make your permanent hair color much more permanent by following these expert tips. However, you should also speak to your hair colorist for any bonus tips they may have for your particular hair type and shade.
Many people spend a lot of money on coloring their hair each year. So, start treating your hair like that favorite piece of jewelry. It’ll reward you greatly in return.
Learn More:
Apple Cider Vinegar Scalp Scrub For Hair And Scalp Health
Your Daily And Weekly Beauty Routine Improved: A New Hair And Skin Schedule
Try This DIY Hair Mask To Support Healthy Hair: Caring For Your Hair And Scalp
Sources
1 https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/can-i-wash-my-hair-after-dyeing-it/
2 https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/can-i-wash-my-hair-after-dyeing-it/
3 https://www.glamour.com/story/common-mistakes-washing-hair-shampoo-conditioner
4 https://www.glamour.com/story/common-mistakes-washing-hair-shampoo-conditioner
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3002407/
6 https://www.stylist.co.uk/beauty/how-to-remove-hair-dye-best-hair-dye-removers/252397
7 https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/hair/g3878/best-shampoo-for-colored-hair/
8 https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/hair/g12655840/purple-shampoo/
9 https://www.vogue.com/article/best-at-home-hair-color
10 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23781276_UV_damage_of_the_Hair
11 https://hairpros.edu/chlorine-hair-what-happens/
12 https://stylecaster.com/beauty/how-to-fix-hard-water-hair-damage/
13 https://stylecaster.com/beauty/how-to-fix-hard-water-hair-damage/
