One of the best ways to express yourself and properly display your personality is through style. Though some people choose to dress uniquely to show off who they are, while others choose to color their hair different colors. Whether red or purple or a darker shade of brown, colored hair can be extremely beautiful if it's maintained correctly. That's why knowing a few hacks to make your dye job last longer is important if you color your hair regularly.
To be honest, I'm not one to color my hair regularly. I've always been afraid to do it because I always thought that coloring my hair would damage it. However, now that I know a little more about coloring and what to do after coloring, I feel a little more comfortable with going to let a professional add some bold color to my mane. Although brown is always an easy choice when it comes to color, I'm willing to try something a little different for once to give myself a different way to express my personality.
If you've been on the fence about coloring your hair or want a few ways to keep your color as popping as possible for as long as possible, these 15 hacks will definitely help you get there.
1Use The Right Water Temperature
Atlanta-based hair stylist Nae Smith tells Romper that if you dye your hair red, your color can last longer by shampooing with lukewarm water and rinsing with cool water.
2Don't Overwash
According to Allure, try to avoid overwashing your hair to save your color. If your hair isn't greasy, it's OK to skip a few days.
3Avoid Hot Showers
Prevention noted that avoiding hot showers can help your color stay popping, too. Not only does it dry out your skin, it opens up the cuticles and washes away your dye quicker.
4Keep Your Hair Hydrated
Smith also tells Romper that keeping your hair hydrated will help keep the color long lasting as well. Something like the Moroccanoil hydrating travel kit ($48) could be a great product to try out.
5Cut Down Your Use Of Hot Tools
Florida-based stylist Tonisha S. tells Romper that lowering the heat (or decreasing the usage) on your hot tools will help prevent stripping the color from your newly colored hair.
6Use The Right Products
Good Housekeeping noted that using the right products are key to keeping your color alive. Something as simple as not using a conditioner that's meant for color-treated hair is a way to strip away your color sooner than you want.
7Customize Your Own Shampoo
Stylist Cierra Barnes tells Romper that those with red and vibrant colors should be taking an extra step to customize their own shampoo since the colors fade quickly. She suggests adding "a small amount of color pigment to the shampoo of your choice" to refresh your hair.
8Use Heat Protectant Spray
Stylecaster noted that using heat protectant spray may not seem like a big deal, but it's very important. The spray protects your hair from any hot tool that will dry your hair out and strip away your color. If you use heat regularly, you should be using a protectant — whether you have color or not.
9Find A Deep Conditioner
Allure also noted that you should up the amount that you deep condition to save your color. Hair dyes have chemicals that can dry out your hair, so incorporating a deep condition once a week after shampooing will help keep your mane nourished.
10Maintain A Healthy Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet will help your hair contain it's luster, Matrix noted. Protein, lean meats, fruits and vegetables are all good things to incorporate into your diet to keep your color in good standing.
11Space Out Your Shampoo Days
If you're used to shampooing daily, you may have to get into a new routine once you color your hair. Today noted that spacing out your shampoo days keeps your color alive. Washing daily strips away your hair's oils and will take away the color, too.
12Wash Your Blonde Dye Job With Purple Shampoo
If you've opted for a blonde dye job recently, Smith suggests that you wash your hair with a purple shampoo to help with eliminating brassiness in your hair, which makes the hair have an orange tint after dying. Clairol's shimmer lights shampoo ($10) is a good shampoo to consider.
13Condition Every Time You Wash Your Hair
If your hair is color treated, Matix noted that you should be conditioning after every shampoo. Conditioning will help your color remain shiny and even. Be sure that you're using a color-protecting conditioner, too.
14Say No To Clarifying Shampoos
"Clarifying shampoos strip your hair of all impurities," Barnes says. "That includes your color." Follow her advice and stay away from clarifying shampoos.
15Conduct A Post Treatment
Georgia stylist DayVonne Jordan of The Stylist Gallery Hair Salon, tells Romper that it's good to conduct a post treatment on your first shampoo after applying color. She recommends using home products like honey and organic coconut oil for this.
