Every time I leave a hair appointment at the salon, I cringe on the inside at the price. Professional color costs big bucks, and the fresh color I walk out of the salon with sometimes goes dull after only a few weeks. SO not worth it. Taking a few hours of my precious mommy time to even get to the salon is usually struggle, so maintaining my hair color as long as possible is crucial since I want to maximize the amount of time between salon visits. Here are five simple tips for how to maintain your hair color post dye-job.
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1. Delay
Delay washing your hair; wait at least two days after your trip to the salon to get back to your routine hair washing. This will help the color adhere and settle into your hair follicles.
2. Go sulfate-free
Use a sulfate-free shampoo. They are less harsh on the hair and include more natural ingredients. Most shampoos contain sulfates, but who has time to read ingredient labels? Check out Carol’s Daughter Rosemary Mint Sulfate-Free Shampoo—it smells great and gives you a squeaky clean finish without stripping the color from your lovely head.
3. Deep condition
Condition your hair at least once a week. It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Mask will do the trick in locking in the color and keeping it damage free and hydrated.
4. Wash with cold water
Brrrrr! I know…it doesn’t sound like very much fun having to wash your hair in cold water, but beauty is pain, honey! When you wash your hair with cold water, it closes your cuticles so your hair will hold the dye in while you wash it.
5. Get regular trims (even if you’re growing it out!)
Healthy hair absorbs color better than dry, damaged hair, so keep it healthy by trimming the ends every five to six weeks, and give it a good deep conditioning. Although you might not want to trim your hair because you are growing it out, avoiding trims will cause bigger split ends, forcing you to cut your hair even shorter when you eventually do get it cut.
How do you keep your hair color in tip-top shape? What are your tricks?
image: Getty/Knape
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