Having your hair professionally colored can be a big investment of both time and money, so taking care of colored-treated hair with the right products and practices is well worth the effort. Regular activities such as shampooing, heat styling and swimming can negatively affect your color as well as the health of your hair. Fortunately, with the right hair care tips and precisely picked products, you can achieve long-lasting hair color to keep your mane looking vibrant, brilliant and bold in between salon appointments. If you’re seeking expert tips on how to make hair color last longer, we’ll bring you up to speed on everything you need to know, including:
How long you can expect your hair color to last depends upon the type of hair color that’s used at the salon or at home. There are three main categories of hair color: permanent, demi-permanent and semi-permanent.
The process of applying permanent hair color to hair involves permanently changing the pigment in your hair strands with ammonia. Permanent color doesn’t wash out with shampoo, but it can lose its vibrancy over time. Permanent color is generally the only type of hair color that will lighten your hair from your current shade.
Semi-permanent hair color sits on top of the hair shaft instead of penetrating it, so you can expect it to wash out in four to twelve shampoos.
Demi-permanent color is more long-lasting than semi-permanent hair color, but more temporary than permanent hair color. You can expect demi-permanent hair color to wash out in anywhere from twelve to 24 shampoos.
Choosing the right shampoo, conditioner and styling products is crucial to keep colored hair in top form. Here are some of our recommendations for the best hair products for color-treated hair.
Long-lasting hair color tip #1: Use a sulfate-free shampoo
Shampoos with sulfates do a great job of creating a sudsy, luxurious lather but can sometimes affect color-treated hair, causing color to fade more quickly than it should. That’s why choosing a sulfate-free shampoo for color-treated hair is a smart choice. Thanks to its effective, non-stripping formula, Color Wow Color Security Shampoo can help support long-lasting hair color. Gentle enough for everyday use, it can also be used on all hair types, including hair extensions.
Another excellent option is PHYTO Color Anti-Fade Shampoo. This shampoo was created specifically to promote long-lasting hair color while gently cleansing. It contains a rice peptide complex to help limit color fade as well as antioxidant-rich tannins from sunflower and tara seeds to help protect your hair’s vibrancy.
Long-lasting hair color tip #2: Deep condition your hair regularly
Another secret to achieving long-lasting hair color is incorporating a deep conditioner into your hair care routine. Because color-treating your hair can be inherently damaging, using a weekly deep conditioning treatment can help rebuild your hair’s strength. L’ANZA Healing ColorCare Trauma Treatment is formulated specifically for taking care of colored hair. Every time you use it, it delivers a dose of ultra-conditioning ingredients: Keratin helps boost shine, while ceramides work to improve elasticity and moisture retention as amino acid tyrosine supports healthy hair growth. The small amount of time that it takes to deep condition your hair once a week can go a long way to help your hair color look vibrant for as long as possible in between trips to the salon.
Long-lasting hair color tip #3: Try a nourishing hair serum
Another great product to have on hand for long-lasting hair color is a nourishing hair serum. Color-safe hair serums can be incorporated into your daily styling routine to help repair existing damage and also protect hair from future damage from heat styling and environmental exposure. OLAPLEX No. 9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum is a multitasking product that deserves a spot in your hair care routine to support long-lasting hair color. It contains OLAPLEX’s patented ingredient, Bis-aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, which repairs broken disulfide bonds to transform dry, damaged hair into softer, stronger strands. It also contains red algae extract, an antioxidant-packed ingredient that helps nourish hair by blocking damage-causing free radicals that can result from environmental elements such as sun, wind and pollutants. It also helps detangle hair, prevent static and provides protection during heat styling up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Augustinus Bader The Hair Oil is another excellent option to help nourish color-treated hair. Featuring vitamin E, argan oil and a patented complex called TFC8, this hair treatment helps detangle as well as smooth damaged strands and guard against frizz.
Long-lasting hair color tip #4: Guard against heat damage
Heat damage from styling tools such as blow dryers, curling irons and flat irons can cause your hair color to look dull, dry and frizzy. The good news is that using a high-quality heat protectant on your colored hair can help keep it as healthy as possible during heat styling. Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-tasking Treatment Spray is a versatile styling product that not only helps detangle hair but also helps smooth your strands and protect your hair from heat damage during styling. It also contains Pureology’s patented AntiFade Complex to help protect your hair from color fade. To use, just spray this treatment onto damp hair and style as usual.
Long-lasting hair color tip #5: Protect hair from chlorine
If you’re wondering how to make hair color last longer when you swim in a chlorinated pool often, the key is using the right product before you dive in. You may have heard that hair can turn green from swimming in a chlorine-treated pool, and that isn’t a myth. Copper is commonly found in swimming pools and binds to the proteins in your hair as you swim. Once copper comes into contact with chlorine, it oxidizes and produces the green appearance. Wearing a swim cap to the pool is one way to protect your hair and ensure long-lasting hair color.
You can also use a hair treatment that helps protect against the oxidizing effects of copper in swimming pools. Leonor Greyl Luminescence Leave-In Conditioning, Heat Protecting & Detangling Spray is an excellent pre-swim choice for taking care of colored hair. It protects hair against the drying, color-damaging hair effects of chlorine and helps keep hair hydrated with mongongo oil, glycerin and a variety of amino acids. If your hair is already looking green after repeated trips to the pool, you might benefit from a clarifying shampoo or other products that can help fix chlorine-damaged hair.
If you're looking to keep your hair from getting brassy, you can the check out a color-correcting mask such as the Surface Violet Nourishing Masque or read more about the best purple shampoos for blonde hair on the LovelySkin Blog.