Following these three simple tips to help preserving your fresh hair color
By Cory Yeakel

These days, coloring your hair is the norm. Just a few decades ago, it was rare to see someone with dyed hair, but as of 2017, it’s said that at least 75% of women put in some type of color each year. Most girls only go for natural colors like brown or black, but it’s becoming more and more popular lately to sport vibrant fashion colors like red, pink, orange, and even blue or green. However, fashion colors require more careful upkeep than most women are prepared for, and one of the biggest issues is color fading.

Unfortunately, color-treated hair will always fade, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do a few things to prevent the fading from happening quickly. Following these three simple tips below will go a long way in preserving your fresh color for as long as possible.

Hold off on your first wash

Believe it or not, hair color isn’t a done deal when you leave the salon. It can actually take two to three days for the color to properly set into your hair, which means you need to hold off on washing your hair for at least that amount of time after coloring it. Otherwise, you’ll quite literally watch all that time and money go down the drain.

Use the right shampoo

When you finally do get into the shower, you need to be using the right products. There are shampoos and conditioners designed specifically for preserving color-treated hair, and you’ll see much better results if you use one of these instead of any old regular combo. With that said, it also pays to do your research on which brands are better at holding color. ProductAdvisor.com tested 22 color care shampoos to figure out exactly which brands were best, check out their video below.

Don’t wash as much

Color fading doesn’t happen during the day while you’re at work or at night when you’re asleep, it happens when you’re washing it in the shower. Therefore, washing your hair less frequently can help prolong your color. Most stylists agree that once or twice a week is ideal. Remember, we’re not saying you have to completely skip showering except for once or twice a week – you can still shower as much as you want. Just keep your hair tied up and dry on the days you aren’t washing it.

Washing too soon, washing too much, and using the wrong shampoo are the three biggest areas where color fading occurs, so adjusting your habits to follow our advice will definitely increase how long your color-treated hair lasts. If you want to dive deeper into the subject, check out Matrix’s 26 Tips to Protect Color-Treated Hair. They mention several of the same things we do, plus a whole lot more.

Bio

Cory Yeakel is the founder of ProductAdvisor.com, a research website that tests and reviews consumer products. ProductAdvisor partners with industry experts to create trusted advice on a wide variety of products and topics. When he’s not working, reading, or writing, you can find him in the ocean on his surfboard or in the mountains on his bike.