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10 Tips For Making Hair Color Last Longer

Keep these ten tips for making hair color last in mind if you want to extend the life of your newly acquired vibrant color-job.

By Olivia AmberPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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These are the top ten tips for making hair color last that will make you feel like you're freshly walking out of the salon every morning. Though you might not want to face the reality of these tips, they will certainly extend the life of your hair's new color. Because no one wants to spend a paycheck on a salon appointment, just to see it wash down the drain after a few weeks.

From retiring your hot tools to finishing off your showers with some cool water, these tips are sure to keep the vibrancy of your hair's color, and improve the overall health of your locks.

Say goodbye to hot tools.

Though of course, you can use heat on your hair in moderation, one of the best tips for making hair color last is to avoid hot tools as much as possible. Overuse of heat on your hair will not only lead to damage, but to color fading.

This includes many products, from straighteners to curling irons and blow dryers, each of these tools will speed up the fading process of your color, especially if you have a bright color such as red. So instead of blow drying your hair every day, rock your natural waves, or at least blow dry it only until its about 80 percent dry.

There are plenty of other ways to style your hair with products that will not damage and fade your hair the way that heat styling does. Plus, you should always be using a heat protectant while you style with heat. You can even look into products that won't damage your hair (as much.)

Try to avoid hot showers.

Though we all can enjoy a nice, long, hot shower that is close to burning off our skin, but not quite, avoiding hot water on your hair is one of the best tips for making hair color last. Avoiding hot showers will decrease the staying power of your hair's color. This is because the heat of the water will open your hair's cuticles, which will release both its color and moisture.

Instead, you should shampoo your hair, and rinse with room temperature water. And after conditioning, rinse the product out of your hair with the coldest water you can bear. This will seal the cuticles, and in return, seal the color, moisture, and shine.

Wait to wash your hair.

Now that we're on the topic of washing your hair, we also want to mention that the longer you wait to even get your hair wet, the better. To do this, you have to train your hair to last longer between showers. Though this process is not very comfortable, it will be well worth the struggle for a couple of weeks.

This is especially important to keep in mind immediately after you get your hair dyed. Try and wait at least 24 hours to wash, 48 would be even better. This way, the less you wash it, the less color will be lost. However, this doesn't mean you should never wash your hair, of course. Just use caution when it comes to constantly wetting your hair.

So now that you've mastered washing your hair less and less, dry shampoo will become your best friend. As one of the best tips for making hair color last, taking advantage of products that will extend the life of your color is important.

So between washes, your hair will rely on dry shampoo, a great product that will extend the time your hair can last between washing it with shampoo and conditioner. Though like anything, you shouldn't overuse this product, but it's definitely a great backup when your hair is a bit greasy, but not worth an entire shower. It's also a great product to add a bit of texture and volume to your roots.

So is conditioner.

Finding the best conditioner for your hair is important to maintaining its health as well as its color. There are plenty of color protecting conditioners on the market, and finding the best one for your hair is a great step in the right direction.

The conditioners that you are going to want to look for are natural, sulfate-free, and provides a light condition. To amp up your conditioner, you can even add a few drops of jojoba oil to ensure your hair is getting the most moisture possible, while still retaining the color.

Try new styles.

While you are still getting used to not washing your hair every day, there are plenty of hairstyles that can disguise your roots. A great way to strategically style your hair is to add some dry shampoo, and throw half of it up in a ponytail or bun. This way, you won't touch your hair as much, and it will be up and out of your face, disguising your roots.

Then, style the rest of your hair accordingly, and you'll still look put together and polished. After day two or three, the full bun might have to come out. And in your last-case scenario, a cute hat is always great.

As one of the best tips for making hair color last, if you just add a bit of product and a bit of styling, no one will know your hair hasn't seen water in days. And best of all, your color will remain vibrant.

Prep your hair before dying it again.

Before you dye your hair again, or even get a touch-up, you should always prep your hair. About one or two days before you go to your appointment, you should plan a long, luxury-like shower. This will include using a chelating shampoo, which will remove any build up product, like dry shampoo.

This shower could also include using a deep conditioner for 10 to 15 minutes, in order to prep your hair for the dye, and provide moisture and strength. Prepping your hair like this before a touchup or hair appointment will allow the color to maintain its vibrancy once it is dyed. The healthier the hair, the longer the hold.

Get touch-ups.

Instead of solely having your hair touched to get a full-color treatment, touch-ups will allow you to prolong the health and vibrancy of your hair. This is because it is not as intense of a process, and it will strengthen the health of your hair.

As one of the most important tips for making hair color last, going back to the salon for a few highlights will prolong putting your hair through an entire treatment. Plus, it will hide your roots, while still giving your hair life, without damaging it completely.

Use a shower filter.

Shower filters are great, and not used enough. You can find one at Lowe's for under $20, and it will save your hair from a lot of harmful chemicals. Shower filters are used to filter out chemicals, chlorine, and minerals from your water.

These will strip your hair of its color as well as its natural oils. With a shower filter, you won't have the fear of watching your water turn bright red as it makes its way down the drain. Instead, the color will remain rightfully on your head.

To complete our list of the best tips for making hair color last, we had to finish off with a simple, but very important step, get yourself a great brush! Brushing your hair with the correct brush has everything to do with its health and its color maintaining.

We suggest the Wet Brush, as it is strong enough to get out any tough knots, but gentle enough to maintain healthy, soft hair. However, finding any brush that is flexible and durable enough to maintain shine, while still being able to smooth every tangle is exactly the product you need. Stop brushing your hair with cheap, brittle brushes that will only damage your ends.

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About the Creator

Olivia Amber

Completely invested in the makeup industry. Find me on the couch watching YouTube tutorials and drinking wine.

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