After spending half of your paycheck on your new hair colour and hair care and sitting for hours on that salon chair, I’m sure you’re not ready for your first hair wash session. Thanks to the fear of fading colour. Fresh-out-of-the-salon coloured hair looks vibrant and sexy and the last thing you would want is to lose your precious (not to forget, expensive) hair colour with each wash. I get it. Colour-treated hair fades easily, especially when you use your regular shampoo on it. But there are a ton of products you can use on coloured hair to prevent it from getting dull and keep it looking salon-fresh for months on end. And we’ve got you covered with the only list and tips you’ll need for now! 

First of all, if you’re sick of seeing your coloured hair lose its vibrancy in a couple of weeks, it’s time to switch to a colour preserving shampoo which has ingredients that’ll allow your hair colour to stay for longer.   

Say bye-bye to your regular shampoo and welcome the ones specially designed to keep your hair colour intact. For colour-treated hair, it is best that you use shampoos that don’t have chemicals or alcohol as they’ll fade the colour away. It’s even better if you permanently switch from shampoos to hair masks and add hair moisturisers and serums to your hair care routine. Here are some of the best ones you can use.

Also Read 12 Hair Colour Ideas for Women for That Ultimate Fab Look!

Often, hair gets frizzy after a colour treatment, but using a smoothing shampoo will help get rid of those problems. Moroccan oil smoothing shampoo restores hair with its argan oil and argan butter formula that leaves hair feeling soft on regular use.

Add this masque to your weekly hair care routine from Schwarzkopf. It helps repair the damage with its biomimetic hair repair technology that works from the inside out to renew hair cells and texture.  

Right after your hair colour treatment, you should get the Kiehl’s’ colour protecting shampoo that cleanses hair without stripping your freshly done colour.  It’s also infused with nutrient-enriched sunflower oils that are super hydrating.

When you feel like your hair has gotten brittle and damaged, it needs hydration. This little miracle cure in a bottle by Organix is enriched with sea minerals, green algae and sea kelp that nourishes dry and damaged colour treated hair.

Sometimes you need some shine to enhance newly coloured hair. I love Toni&Guy’s Serum formula, it does what its name says without leaving hair feeling sticky or heavy. It also has a minimum build-up on the scalp which means you can use it regularly.

Colouring hair strips it of essential oils that make hair and your scalp look healthy. Going for all-natural oils will give your hair all the nourishing and moisture it needs without adding more chemicals to it.

Also Read Your Personal Guide To A Stunning Hair Makeover

This conditioner by Surya Brasil restores shine and colour. It’s enriched with Capuacu butter, Buriti oil and a host of other natural extracts to protect your hair colour. 

Make your colour last as long as possible with this colour protection conditioner from Yves Rocher. Hawthorn is known for its therapeutic properties and helps protect hair from UV ray damage, making it more resistant to fading.

Styling hair after colouring can add more damage. A good colour protecting styling spray that also nourishes hair will keep your mane looking tame and radiant. Try the Osmo Silverising Violet Protect & Tone Styler, it is meant for more blond and silvery tones, but it protects all colour treated hair the same.

If you’ve gone blonde, then you’ll really need to take care of your tresses from the outset. A shampoo made specifically for blonde highlights like the one from John Frieda, keeps your colour intact and strengthens your hair. 

Apart from avoiding the sun, ordinary shampoo, hot water and chlorine, there’s a lot you need to be careful about if you want your hair colour to last longer. Here are a few things you should avoid using on your colour-treated hair.

Chemicals: It is important that after dyeing your hair, you ditch the chemicals as any chemical found in styling products will open up the cuticle allowing the colour to slip out.

Alcohol-based products: Avoid using styling products that have alcohol as its ingredient as it will make the hair dry quickly and that will make the colour fade even faster than usual. 

Lemon: People apply lemon juice on hair while treating dandruff and other scalp issues but for coloured hair, lemon acts as a bleaching catalyst. It’s acidic and will take a lighter shade of hair colour off your hair.  

Curd: While curd is sometimes used as a good hair moisturiser, it will pretty much act like lemon when it comes to colour-treated hair. So avoid using curd.  

If you’re a hair dye virgin who is taking a leap of faith by getting a new hair colour, here are a few things you must know.

1. You’ll have to take extra care of your hair as a lot of things can result in fading. Depending on how much you wash it, your colour can get dull and fade under the sun and on washing with a shampoo and conditioner that are not meant for coloured hair.

2. Every once in a while you’ll have to go for touch-ups. Even if you’re taking the best care of your hair, it’ll grow in its natural colour and you’ll have to get the roots done, in every 6-8 weeks. To avoid that, you can go for ombre hair-colour style as it will need less maintenance and you’ll have to get touch-up done once or twice a year.   

3. As the shades and trends of colour keep changing, it is best to carry a reference picture of the hair colour you want. What was called purple 2 years back, can be called mulled wine today, so be careful about that.

4. You’ll have to switch your regular shampoos and conditioners after colouring but remember to use a clarifying shampoo before colouring. Clarifying shampoo cleans the buildup on hair so when you use it before dyeing, it’ll give the dye a clean surface to work on. 

5. Do a swatch test before colouring your hair to avoid allergic reactions. However, allergic reactions to hair dye are not common but there have been instances. It is safe to swatch the product on your skin or on the nape of your neck.

6. Reds are the hardest shades to get, to maintain and to get rid of, so if you need something low maintenance, go ginger.  

7. The health of your hair also affects your hair colour. Healthier hair would consume the colour better as compared to broken, brittle hair. Consider a quick trim before you get a new colour on your hair. 

8. You might not get the exact colour you wanted in the first attempt. Be honest with your colourist as if you don’t like the colour, they can find ways to fix it. 

While brands like Alterna, Matrix, Redken and Oribe have great options in shampoos for colour-treated hair, Wella Professionals SP Color Save Mask For Coloured Hair (Rs 1,350) is considered one of the best as it’s free of parabens, sulphate and synthetic colours. Along with protecting your hair, it also restores it.

To keep the vibrancy of dyed hair alive you must switch to colour preserving shampoos and hair masks that can keep the colour from fading and protect them from anything that does so.   

In order to protect your hair colour, there are a few easy measures you can take at home. For instance, avoid hot showers, use hot tools as less as you can, don’t shampoo your hair for 72 hours after colouring your hair, protect your hair from the sun and chlorine (while swimming or otherwise), wash and deep condition your hair as less as possible and so on. 

For colour-treated hair, Matrix Biolage Advanced Keratindose Pro-keratin Silk Renewal Spray and SheaMoisture Mongongo and Hemp Seed Oils High Porosity Moisture-Seal Masque (Rs 2,212) are great for moisturising hair but Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion Moroccan Argan Styling Oil (Rs 790) has also done wonders for me.

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