Repeated color treatments can leave your hair dry, brittle, and severely damaged. If you’ve recently colored your hair and don’t want it to fade, you’ve got to follow a few simple steps, which include curating a hair care arsenal with suitable products.
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What Is color-Treated Hair?
color-treated hair is hair that has undergone permanent color treatment – highlights, balayage, all-over color, and more. Unlike virgin hair, color-treated hair has undergone oxidisation to allow the dye to enter the hair cuticle.
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The Ingredients to Avoid If You Have color-Treated Hair
Those with color-treated hair should avoid using products that contain sulphates, sodium chloride, petrochemicals, and parabens. While sulphates help hair care products lather, they tend to strip the scalp of its natural oils, causing dryness. Since color-treated hair is already dry and damaged, you must choose nourishing and hydrating products that lock in moisture.
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How to Maintain color-Treated Hair
A few simple steps can go a long way to maintain color-treated hair. Once you’ve colored your hair, you should limit styling your strands with heated tools to avoid further damage. Indulge in a hydrating hair mask, use a heat protectant whenever you heat style, and avoid over-washing your hair to let the natural oils do their job. Throw in a serum to give your split ends and tips an extra boost of nourishment.
Read further to know how to extend the staying power after you buy hair color and protect your mane from further damage.
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Shampoo
Pick a shampoo for color-treated hair that reverses damage and restores lost moisture. The more hydrating, the better. Limit to washing your hair a couple of times a week to curb further dryness and breakage.
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Conditioner and Hair Mask
One of the primary ways to repair and reverse hair damage involves lending ample hydration and nourishment to your hair. Pick an ultra-moisturising conditioner to treat the lengths of your hair, and invest in a super-nourishing mask two to three times a week.
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Leave-in Treatments
A leave-in treatment will do the job a conditioner and mask couldn’t do. Such hair treatments offer an ultra-boost of hydration your parched strands crave. At-home toning, for instance, involves removing brassy tones from your hair and color-correcting to leave you with the hair color you desire. Mix hair toning drops with serums and gels to enhance and brighten the appearance of your color-treated hair. Leave-in conditioners and sprays also work well to amp up the hydration levels of your mane.
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Heat Protectant and Styling Products
You must ensure that the styling products you apply to your hair don’t exacerbate its condition. While heat protectants are a must for all hair types, they are especially vital for those with color-treated hair. Using straighteners and curling irons without a heat protectant can further damage your fragile and brittle color-treated hair, causing breakage, hair loss, and dryness.
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Hair Oiling
If your hair care arsenal doesn’t include oil or serum, consider this your cue to purchase one today. Regular oiling and weekly serum application lock in the moisture in your strands, leaving your hair looking healthy and shiny.
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Air Drying
Avoid heat styling color-treated hair. Instead of turning to a blow dryer, let wet hair air dry. Exposing your already-damaged hair to curling irons and straighteners can exacerbate dryness and breakage, furthering limp, brittle strands.
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UV Protection
Sun rays can fade your hair color more quickly. Invest in UV-protecting hair products that can limit sun damage when you step out. SPF-infused hair sprays and leave-in conditioners are available on the market and can shield your mane from external aggressors.
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Regular Trims
While everyone must get a trim every six to eight weeks, it becomes even more vital for those with color-treated tresses. Your color will fall flat if your hair begins growing shabbily or if you have split ends. A trim once every two months will help maintain your hair health and keep your color looking fresh. Plus, it’s a great way to limit breakage and split ends.
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Limit Over-Treating Your Hair
Avoid double-processing color-treated hair. If you want to invest in multiple treatments, consider staggering them rather than doing them simultaneously. At the same time, look for low-ammonia and botanical formulas that boast fewer chemicals and condition your hair.
Conclusion
They aren’t lying when they say that ‘you are what you eat.’ Consuming a well-balanced, nutritious diet can go a long way to help maintain your hair health. You could also incorporate supplements into your diet, including vitamin C and biotin, for the upkeep of your hair color. Such supplements strengthen your strands, curb hair loss, improve hair texture, and boost healthy hair growth. Salmon, carrots, egg yolks, and sardines contain natural biotin. Avoid consuming junk and processed food. Instead, snack on fruits, salads, nuts, and grains between meals.
