A Guide to Make Your Hair Color Stay Brighter Longer

Everyone who gets their hair colored wants to get the most bang for their buck, but most don’t know how to make their color last without spending a fortune on haircare. I have had brightly colored hair for almost four years now, and I have had lots of colors from red to blue and purple. Getting bright colors is not always cheap and I was tired of my colors fading fast. I didn’t have the money to go for a touchup every month, nor the money to spend on expensive haircare. I did some research and created a very simple and inexpensive haircare routine. Now, I am not a licensed professional, but these are the steps I use for myself.

First:

Pick a color that will fade nicely. This sounds dumb, but has kept me from going back for months. This is only if you want to not have to go back for a while and get the most out of it—if you want pastels go for it, but the darker the color the longer it will last. You can talk with your stylist and see what they know will fade nicely, but do what you want: it is your hair!

Second:

Everyone with bright colors knows (and their stylists tell them) to go as long as you can with out washing your hair after a fresh dip. Most people wash their hair every other day and there are some people I know that wash their hair everyday. This is actually damaging to the hair as the natural oils produced are good for the hairs cuticles and is healthy for your hair. Now, what a lot of people don’t realize is you can train your hair to where you only need to wash it once or twice a week. I personally only wash my hair once a week and I use dry shampoo in between when it gets a little too oily for the activities I have planned. This is something that takes a little bit of time to train your hair to do. That is why dry shampoo will be your best friend, as it is mine. I use a really cheap one by Suave. I got two for $4 at Walmart, but if you have a preferred brand or scent go with that.

Third:

The shampoo and conditioner play a key roll in making the color last. Having sulfate and silicon-free shampoo and conditioner is a must. Sulfates in these products strip the oils from your hair and take the color you just spent hours getting, and washes it all down the drain. When I first was getting into having colored hair, my first color was a bright red. I thought I could just keep doing what I had always done. I washed my hair whenever it got oily and I didn’t know I needed to change shampoo and conditioner. This caused me to have to re-dye my hair every month. I was also using a box dye, which when I found a great stylist I was promptly scolded for. Not that using box dyes is bad if that’s what you can afford or what you have been using—however, there are tons of chemicals that are harmful in them, so do your research before picking one. There are lots of vegan hair dye companies out there. By using the same cheap products that I had been using, I unknowingly was washing all the color down the drain. It quite literally looked like a murder scene, so beware those who want red hair. When I started paying for my stylist to do my hair, I wanted to get the most out of what I was paying for, which is why I did my research. I started by switching to a L’Oréal sulfate-free product, but I noticed that I was still getting a lot of color bleeding. Then, I switched to what I currently use, which is Bert’s Bees Shampoo and Conditioner. They only have two scents that correspond with the use: volumizing and moisture. I honestly love these products and highly recommend them. They are $8 a bottle, but since I only wash my hair once-a-week, it lasts a long time.

Fourth, and finally:

This last one may or may not surprise you. The temperature of the water is very important, which is why you should wash your hair with cold water, as cold as you can stand it. Now, I know this time of year is hard to do this step, it's cold outside and I don’t want you to get hypothermia all for the sake of your color. I cannot stand the cold at all, so this was hard for me at first. I didn’t want to stand in a cold shower. What I do is the following: when I go to shower, I lean over the tub and flip my head and wash my hair with the shampoo that way then I put the conditioner in my hair and put it up in a shower cap and then shower in the hot water and let the conditioner soak in. After I am done, I will rinse the conditioner over the tub again. You could also wash your hair in the sink with the sprayer if you can’t bend down or have trouble moving that way. Another life saver would be to get a sprayer head for the shower. Find what would work for you and do that.

All of these steps have helped me make my color last for months. Currently, I am fourmonths out from my last appointment with my amazing stylist. I have about an inch-and-a-half to two-inches of regrowth, but my color is still bright and I get complements all-the-time about how bright it is. The color I currently have is a mix of purples, but the main one is an orchid purple by Pravana. I love the way it fades and it is the second time I have had this color. It fades to a pinky purple, then to a silvery lilac purple. The thing to keep in mind with these steps is to find what works for you. If you have a preferred brand of haircare go with that. If you hate the cold like I do, wash with luke-warm water. This is all trial-and-error, and it will take a little bit to find what works for you.

I hoped this helps some of you with your current color, or those looking into getting color!