Have you noticed how often you need to color your hair even though you are doing all that you can to make it last? Sure, it may seem a little daunting to color every now and then but doesn’t a good hair day make up for all your efforts at once? After all, there is nothing that exudes that oomph better than a good haircut and a sexy hair color. To ease your pain a little, here are a few tips that will help your hair color last for at least six weeks:
- Color your hair periodically - The first thing to do is set a schedule for your hair color. Because of frequent washing and exposure to chemicals and pollution in the environment, the color starts fading in about four weeks’ time. Depending upon the chemicals in water, the color of the dye and the frequency of hair serums used, you may need to either color it completely or just highlight it. For example, black color lasts longer than red or burgundy. This is because the ingredients in black are less sensitive to the detergents present in shampoos.
- Use clarifying shampoo before you color hair - You may be using hair serums to make your hair manageable and shinier. Before you color your hair, wash it with a clarifying shampoo and do not apply serum. Products with silicon in prevent penetration of hair dye and have to be removed from hair before applying hair color.
- Use color-enhancing shampoo after coloring it - Use a shampoo that is meant for colored hair. These shampoos, known as color-enhancing shampoos, care for colored hair and protect it so that the color does not fade too quickly. Hair experts advise using a shampoo, the color of which is violet based, if you have colored hair. This prevents the color from changing to the hateful brassy tone.
- Rinse with cool water - Wash you hair with either cool or lukewarm water. Hot water has the tendency to strip hair of color.
- Shampoo on alternate days - Most people wash and shampoo their hair every day but hair experts are of the opinion hair does not need to be washed daily. If you are in the habit of shampooing your hair everyday, replace it with a cool water rinse and condition the ends. You can use a shampoo every alternate day.
- Shampoo 24 hours after coloring - After you apply color, just rinse it with cool water. Do not use shampoo on your hair for at least 24 hours.
- Get a haircut to suit you and avoid hairspray - Get your haircut to suit your face and also so that it can be managed without a hairspray, as it tends to make hair look dull. If you need to use it, keep it only for special occasions.
- Give your hair sunscreen protection - Use a hat or a scarf to protect your hair from sun. Wash your hair with a shampoo that has sunscreen. Alternatively, you can make your own sunscreen by mixing a spoon of sunscreen with 25 SPF to half a cup of water. Shake it well and spray it on hair after your shower.
When hair color starts fading, hair does not look too good. So it is essential to protect the color from fading quickly. However, as it cannot last forever, you have to color it periodically.
