You know that freshly coloured hair feeling after a trip to the salon? Even though your hair has been bleached/dyed/styled for the Gods, it feels so soft and healthy. But making that feeling last is a task, and one that not many of us have time for. Coloured hair care does require a little extra attention and we want the new hair vibes to last for months. So these are all the products and tips you need to protect your coloured hair and tackle flyaways, split ends, brassiness and dry locks.
Colour care shampoo:
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As soon as your hair touches water, it’s going to start to lose its colour. Sorry to say, the hotter the shower, the quicker this process will happen. When using hot water, your cuticles will open and the colour will start washing out. Unfortunately for all the unnatural red-heads out there, red colour fades the fastest because its pigments are larger than brown and blacks and so do not penetrate the hair as deeply.
Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting you take cold showers for the rest of your coloured hair care life, using a shampoo and conditioner that is specific to coloured hair is going to strengthen and protect your locks. It’s recommended to go for a product that is alcohol and sulphate free as those ingredients can cause hair to dry out. The best formulas will coat your hair in a conditioner to keep the colour vibrant and prevent dye from escaping.
Purple shampoo:
For all the blondes out there struggling with brassiness, take purple shampoo out for a drink because she’s your new best friend. Purple shampoo colour corrects blonde hair by cancelling out the warm, brass tones. It also works for brunettes with light highlights or a blonde balayage, grey and silver hair and platinum blonde. Plus it looks really cool in the shower when your soap bubbles are all purple.
Leave in conditioner/hair masks:
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A great way to keep your hair silky soft is leave in conditioner. It’s also quick and easy; after a shower when your hair is damp, whack on some leave in conditioner and let it do the work for you. Hair masks are really good to use once a week, you can buy them or make your own with DIY recipes. They are more of a deep condition; slather all over your hair, leave on as long as possible and then rinse out. Guaranteed to feel salon smooth the next day.
Heat protect:
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We all know this. Every time you use heat on your hair without protecting it first, a fairy dies. Only joking, but your hair does get hurt. There’s loads of heat protecting products out there now, so there’s no excuse! If your hair is fine and damaged, it’s not recommended going over 300 degree heat on your hair, so turn your straighteners down. If you can avoid using heat altogether, even better! There are many heat free methods you can use to curl your hair. Coloured hair thrives when it is not dried out by heat. This also goes for UV rays, so if the sun's out where you are, stick a hat on. There are also sun cream type products available for our hair, including UV hair sprays and creams. Luckily for us in England, that’s not too much of a worry.
Clarifying shampoo:
When getting your next hair dye at the salon, you can use clarifying shampoo the night before to clear your hair of any oils that stop the new dye from fully penetrating your cuticles. This will ensure that your fresh new colour lasts longer. Make sure you do not use clarifying shampoo straight after getting your hair done as it will strip the colour out!
Hair repair in the salon:
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When getting your hair bleached/dyed it’s worth asking if the salon can provide a hair repair treatment, such as Olaplex. It does cost extra, but it is scientifically proven to rebuild the broken bonds in your hair. You can also take Olaplex home with you in conditioner form. It’s more costly than a drugstore conditioner, but the results are absolutely worth it, especially if your hair's on death's door. The Hair Boutique is proud to offer Olaplex as a treatment.
Avoid chlorine:
What better place to show off your lovely new hair colour than lounging by the pool? Unfortunately, the harsh chemical chlorine in swimming pools is not friendly. It’s drying, and if you’re a blonde, it can damage your colour by pulling out the green tones. If that happens you’re going to be taking a premature trip back to the hair salon for a colour correction. You can apply a thin layer of conditioner or coconut oil before taking a dip to create a barrier between the evil chlorine and your glorious hair. So if you can rock a swimming cap, by all means show us how it’s done, but if not, your colour will last longer if you go easy on the swimming.
Wash your hair less:
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Ah yes, a great excuse to have a lie in and to not spend that extra time in the morning washing your hair. It’s pretty widely known now that daily hair washing is drying our locks out by stripping our hair of its natural healthy oils. That also counts for our hair colour, every shampoo we carry out, the colour fades. Try to get hair washing down to 2 or 3 times a week, your salon coloured hair will get its glow back and if you’re going to a festival this year, your hair will be trained and ready for a good few days of dirt. You can always use dry shampoo to add volume and reduce grease.
Keep up with trims:
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The recommended time between trims is 6-8 weeks. Dead and dry ends won’t hold colour as well as your fresh roots, and don’t look as neat. Dying dead split ends is just like pouring money down the drain. Cut those boys off. Learn to care for your coloured hair.
Do you have any hair care tips you want to share? Leave a comment below!