Lockdown has left our hair colour in need of a looong overdue pick-me up. But with its easing leaving most hairdressers booked solid and financial circumstances in a tight spot, preserving that luscious colour ourselves can be a scary thought. While you wait, follow these four easy and cost-effective tips on how to make your hair colour last longer and which will help your hair colour remain gorgeous from the comfort of your home.
4 Tips to Make Your Hair Dye Last Longer
Tip #1: Avoid excessive heat
Treat your hair as if it was your skin: if you didn’t want sunburn, you wouldn’t stand too close to the sun. And like sunburn, your hair will turn brittle when using your straighteners once too often. This is worse for coloured hair as it will cause fading.
Try breaking up your hot showers by washing your hair in lukewarm or cold water and apply a heat protection spray or defence cream before blow drying (or while the sun’s out, consider air drying).
If you still want to test run sleek straightening and bouncy curls for your long-awaited post-lockdown night out with added protection, consider investing in temperature controlled styling electricals. Proxelli offers an array of professional blow dryers and straighteners with variable heat and cold shot settings including the LYNA straighteners with an added curling function and the DEMI 2500W dryer, which will leave your hair feeling smooth and your colour gorgeous.
Tip #2 Use silver shampoos for bleached hair
Tip #2 Use silver shampoos
for bleached hair
The last thing you want for your luscious blonde locks is for them to end up dull and straw-like. To make sure they remain strong and to prevent your hair colour fading before your next appointment, silver shampoos will be your life-saver.
Suitable for any shade (even highlighted brown and grey), the ultraviolet pigments strengthen hair fibers while combating brassiness and neutralising yellowness. These benefits often result in your blonde being brighter than before, with the added benefit of stopping your dyed hair from fading.
It’s recommended you use silver shampoos once a week, so one bottle will be sure to last you a while if you’re money conscious.
Some of our favourite silver products
Exclusive
£23.00
<ul><li>Sheer Silver Shampoo from Maria Nila</li><li>For blonde hair with warm, yellow and brassy tones</li><li>With violet pigments and blackberry extract</li><li>For added shine and strength</li><li>Bottle size 350ml</li></ul>
£16.99
BUY 1 GET 1 HALF PRICE
<ul><li>Cool Blonde Colour Refreshing Shampoo with colour pigments</li><li>Violet shampoo to help prevent yellowing and eliminate brassiness</li><li>Refreshes and maintains colour vibrancy</li><li>Intense conditioning to leave hair soft and smooth</li><li>For natural or colored blonde hair </li></ul>
Exclusive
£13.99
<ul><li>Obliterates yellow tones</li><li>Delivers the utlimate silver ash blonde</li><li>Transforms brassy to beautiful in minutes</li><li>Super violet pigments give superior silver blonde</li><li>Loaded with conditioning agents for supersoft results</li></ul>
Tip #3: Use deep conditioning hair masks
Tip #3: Use deep conditioning
hair masks
When the amount of time between your next colour touch-up grows longer, relying on shampoo and conditioner might not be enough to keep its vibrancy. If you want to add another layer of protection, a hair mask will be a nourishing addition to your hair-care routine. On top of adding a healthy shine, they are excellent for bonding and reversing damage caused by dye chemicals and heat.
If you’re having trouble choosing a hair mask, Lôme Paris offers three varieties which are suited for all of your colour dilemmas from fade prevention to damage repair. Enriched with Argan Oil and Keratin, they will boost your hair’s moisture smooth and leave your colour revitalized.
Tip #4: Don’t over wash your hair
Before you consider going back to your normal colour care routine, ask yourself this: ‘Why do I leave extra time for washing my hair after leaving the hairdressers?’
Sometimes it’s best to let your hair breathe and restore its natural oils to truly let your colour shine. As mentioned, excessive heat will lead to breakage and fading, and so can shampooing your hair in too little time.
Dry shampoos are an amazing alternative if you want to give your hair a quick pick-me-up between washes. Specifically choose one that’s sulfate-free to avoid stripping the colour faster such as the Maria Nila Invisidry Shampoo. Containing natural (and vegan ingredients!), it will leave your hair feeling fresh all day whether it’s for that anticipated journey back to work or lazy day at home.
Which of these tips will help you the most with preserving your hair colour? Take a look at more of our care and styling products, or join the conversation over on on our Facebook page @SallyBeautyUK.