Although newly colored hair always looks vivid and fresh, it doesn’t take long before that vibrancy starts to dull. Ideally, to preserve the health of your hair, you should wait at least six to eight weeks before dyeing your hair again, making it important to properly care for your colored hair to maintain your shade and shine.

How can you do this? Read on as Evalectric shares some top tips to help keep your colored hair looking bold and vivacious for longer. 

Use a Color-Safe Shampoo

Let’s start by talking shampoos. The average shampoo isn’t going to be suitable for colored hair. Why? Because many of the surfactants and other ingredients in regular shampoos will end up stripping the color from your locks.

Your use of clarifying shampoos should also be limited. While they’re great for deep cleaning your hair, they will, again, strip away your color. 

Fortunately, this is why color-safe shampoos were invented. These formulas will cleanse your strands without harming the integrity of your color. They’ll also be free of ingredients that stick to your hair, like silicones and thickening agents, as these can also cause dyed hair to look duller.

Alternate Shampooing With Co-Washing and Dry Shampoos

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Even if you’re using a color-safe shampoo, you should still avoid shampooing your hair too often. The more you do so, the faster your color will fade. 

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you have to put up with greasy hair! Instead, consider one of your alternative options. Co-washing, for example, can be very beneficial. This is when you wash your hair with a conditioner instead of a shampoo. It doesn’t provide the same level of cleansing but it’s enough to remove dirt while keeping your hair color intact. For the best results, pick a gentle conditioner that contains natural oils, such as the Evalectric Moisturizing Conditioner. With an infusion of argan oil, it will leave your hair looking beautifully smooth and glossy.

Dry shampoos can also be very beneficial. They’re a great tool for extending the time between wash days. While they won’t remove dirt, they’ll absorb excess grease to revive the look of limp hair.

Don’t Use Hot Water on Your Locks

While you may enjoy languishing under a steaming hot shower, this isn’t doing your colored hair any favors. Hot water only speeds up how quickly your hair color fades. Each time hot water comes into contact with your locks, it lifts up the outer cuticle layer, which happens to be the layer that holds your color in. This then allows those color molecules to escape, leaving your hair looking dull and faded.

What should you do instead? Turn your shower temperature down to lukewarm. Once you’re done washing and conditioning your hair, turn it down again so that your final rinse is completed with cold water. This will encourage your hair cuticles to lie flat, giving your colored hair a more vibrant finish.

Always Use a Heat Protectant Before Heat Styling

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If hot water is enough to fade your colored hair, you can probably imagine how detrimental heat styling can be! The level of heat emitted from heated styling tools is intense – so much so that not only will it dull your locks but it will also damage them.

This is why using a heat protectant is essential before heat styling. It’s something that everyone should be doing anyway but is a step that definitely shouldn’t be skipped if you have colored hair. 

What should you use as a heat protectant? Any product that creates a physical shield between your hair and your heated styling tool will suffice. Hair serums can be particularly beneficial for colored hair because of how they contain other beneficial ingredients too. The Evalectric Hair Serum, for example, is infused with argan oil and vitamin E. Both ingredients have moisturizing properties that will leave your locks looking smooth and silky while keeping them feeling safe from heat damage.

Heat Style Wisely

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Even with a heat protectant, heat styling too often can still spell bad news for your colored hair. Of course, heat styling can sometimes be unavoidable, which is why you’ll need to make an effort to heat style wisely.

How? Firstly, just like when it comes to your showering habits, turn the temperature down! Whether you’re blow drying, curling, or straightening your hair, most heated styling tools come with an adjustable temperature setting. Don’t automatically go for the highest. Instead, find a lower temperature that’s capable of styling your hair without damaging it or fading your color.

Many heated styling tools, including the devices from Evalectric, also come with additional features that are designed to keep the hair looking and feeling healthy. Our Classic Styler range, for instance, comes with ceramic plates, far infrared heat, and negative ion technology. These will all help to prevent the appearance of heat damage.

Protect Your Colored Hair From the Sun

The sun is another source of damaging heat. However, it’s not just the intensity of the sun that’s an issue – the problem lies in how UV rays interact with colored hair. When the two come into contact, UV rays essentially break down dye pigment, leaving colored hair looking washed out. UV rays can also contribute to a brassy finish, especially if your hair is blonde or red.

If that wasn’t enough, UV rays are also known for drying out the hair. They strip away natural oils, leaving strands brittle and more prone to damage. 

While there are some UV-protecting hair products out there, your best bet would be to physically shield your locks from the sun. Hats and scarves are a great way to do this. So long as you place a barrier between your mane and the UV rays all around you, you’ll be able to maintain the vibrancy of your hair color for much longer.

Take Extra Care of Your Mane Before and After Swimming

While swimming is a very healthy pastime to enjoy, it’s important to be aware of how this could harm your colored hair. Both chlorine and salt water can be detrimental to dyed hair, stripping it of its color. This means that precautionary measures need to be taken, both before and after swimming.

Start by soaking your hair in clean water before it comes into contact with chlorine or salt water. By saturating your strands with clean water, they won’t absorb quite as much of the water that you’re about to submerge yourself in. 

Once you’ve finished swimming, give your hair another rinse with clean water. It’s important to remove any residue, be it from chlorine or salt, as soon as possible. The longer this lingers, the more it will affect your hair color. 

Of course, donning a swim cap can be helpful too. While some people find these to be uncomfortable, they’re a great way to minimize how much exposure your hair has to both chlorine and salt.

Install a Shower Filter 

Hard water is extremely common all over the world. This is water that contains dissolved minerals, such as magnesium, lime, and calcium. While this may not sound like a big deal, these minerals will, over time, build up in your hair. This can lead to colored hair taking on a dull and brassy appearance.

What can you do about this? Consider installing a shower head filter. Depending on which you choose, they’ll either remove or soften the minerals in hard water, saving your hair from coming into contact with them. They’re usually inexpensive and easy to install, providing an effective quick fix to a very common problem.

Use a Deep Conditioner Weekly

Chemical treatments, such as dyeing your hair, can quickly leave your hair dehydrated and damaged. The more damaged your hair is, the less capable it will be of properly retaining its new color.

This is why deep conditioning treatments need to go hand-in-hand with chemical treatments. Ideally, you should be using a deep conditioner or a hair mask each week. These products provide intense moisture, along with ingredients that will leave your hair feeling stronger and more resilient. 

Invest in a Root Cover-Up Spray

As we mentioned earlier, you should avoid re-dyeing your hair for a couple of months. However, if your roots start showing before then, what do you do?

This is why root cover-up sprays were invented. Although the color that they impart is just temporary, they’re quick to apply and will immediately disguise your grown-out roots. They can be extremely helpful when it comes to extending the amount of time between coloring treatments. This will leave your hair feeling healthier overall, enabling it to better retain its color.

Use a High-Quality Hair Dye

Of course, your colored hair will only be as good as the hair dye that you’ve used! There are so many different options out there and some are undeniably better than others. If you want your color to last for as long as possible, opting for a high-quality dye is vital.

It goes without saying that permanent, instead of semi- or demi-permanent, hair dyes will also provide longer-lasting color. Unlike the other two options, which will gradually wash out each time you shampoo your hair, permanent dyes are designed to penetrate the hair shaft and permanently change hair color. Although these will, as we mentioned, still fade over time, especially if you shampoo your hair often, they’re your best bet if you’re hoping for your hair color to last for as long as possible.

Summary

Coloring your hair can be a quick and easy way to change up your look. However, unless you follow the tips that we’ve shared above, it won’t be long before your color starts to fade and your hair requires yet another treatment. The less frequently you dye your hair, the healthier your hair will be overall, so don’t skip out on the advice that we’ve dished out. While maintaining your color may require you to invest in a few more hair care products, your efforts will be reflected in how beautifully vibrant and glossy your colored hair looks!

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