Stretch your hair color and your dollars with these easy tips. (Getty Images)
So you've started dying your hair. Maybe you were looking to cover grays, or you thought a few highlights would brighten up your winter mane. Perhaps you wondered what it would be like to have hot pink hair just once in this wild, precious life. Whatever the reason, welcome. You've officially boarded the high-maintenance hair train. First stop? The drugstore for DIY color or the salon for a professional 'do. Next stop: Learning how to protect and stretch your investment so you don't literally wash all that pricey color down the drain.
How often do most people need to color their hair? "It really depends on the target color and the intensity," says celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Colombini, owner of John Henry Salon in Malibu, California, which counts Fran Drescher and Geena Davis as clients. "In general, brunettes and darker shades have much more noticeable growth as opposed to blondes, who might have a more blended growth — I'd say you're looking at 3-5 weeks [before the roots are visible]."
While you can't slow down hair growth, Colombini and other experts agree that you can better care for the color-treated hair you have so that it stays shiny and robust. Plus, these good habits can save you another trip to the salon — and a bundle of cash.
No, you won't evade the salon (or another box of drugstore dye) forever, but you can stretch out the time in between with the following color-friendly practices.
Washing your hair too often is among the fastest ways to fade a new dye job. In fact, some experts say you shouldn't even wet your hair for 72 hours after you color it. After this, Colombini recommends you use shampoo just twice a week, supplementing with dry shampoo in between to keep strands looking fresh. "An example of an ideal [shampooing] schedule would be: Monday, wash and style day. Tuesday, maybe a little dry shampoo if your hair is oily. Wednesday, repeat with dry shampoo. Thursday, reverse shampoo and style. Friday, dry shampoo. Saturday or Sunday, wash as normal," he explains.
Reverse shampoo? Huh? "Reverse shampooing is simply washing your hair with conditioner rather than shampoo," Colombini says. "This technique avoids using detergents found in shampoo that can strip hair color."
Color-safe products are formulated to be gentle on whatever hue you choose — and in some cases, they even enhance it. There remains some debate over whether sulfates, a common cleansing agent made mostly of salt, pull too much oil from the hair and strip color as they go. But suffice it to say, if you're trying to hold onto a deep pigment, you'll want to avoid them. It's also important to look for products with color-protecting ingredients like vitamin C, green tea, glycerin and amino acids.
Root concealer sprays — literally temporary-color sprays you spritz on your roots to hide grays — have come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the overly-inky, shoe-polish black formulas that tended to migrate and drip. Though there are loads of options (check out our list of the best gray-root cover-ups), Colombini likes Schwarzkopf Keratin Root Temporary Color Spray (he's also an ambassador for the brand). "It's made with keratin and vitamin E and instantly delivers 100% gray coverage," he says.
Back away from the flat iron. "Heat styling is a big [risk to color] that a lot of consumers don't consider. Reducing the amount of heat and how often you use heat is major," Colombini says. "Heat, and especially high heat, opens the cuticle layer of hair — most color lays under the cuticle layer. A repeated process of slamming open that cuticle with heat can cause color to dislodge and wash down the drain."
If you rely heavily on heat styling, make sure to apply a hair protectant beforehand. Also beneficial: Choosing coated-ceramic devices that conduct heat evenly with precise temperature control — they're better designed to protect your color from damage and fading.
Colombini's favorite root-cover spray is this high-quality version. "The formula is nonirritating and ammonia-free, so it's scalp friendly," he says. Available in three shades (black, dark brown and light brown), the nonsticky spritz goes on finely and evenly, which helps ensure ideal color application without any mess. "It also dries quickly and will wash out with your next shampoo," Colombini raves.
Made specifically to prolong the pigment of dyed hair, this award-winning shampoo often tops stylists' best lists and color-safe-obsessive Reddit threads alike. The sulfate-free formula is meant to extend color vibrancy for up to 32 washes while sealing hair cuticles to help lock in shine. And, while the price tag isn't exactly cheap, a little goes a long way: "A quarter-sized amount of product should be all you need to achieve a great lather," explains one super-fan. "My red copper color feels so much nicer, and it stays vibrant so much longer while using this."
Blondes may have more fun, but when it comes to maintaining hair color, they also experience more hassle. Namely: brassiness, the glaring orange-y tint that can develop when a lighter blonde shade isn't well-maintained. Enter purple shampoos, which are designed to neutralize brass while leaving behind a cool, clean, Hitchcock-heroine hue.
This top-rated purple shampoo manages to tick all the boxes: It's made with strand-enriching keratin protein with a rich, moisturizing lather. Plus, unlike many purple shampoos I've tested, it left behind zero stains on my palms or my shower floor. I'm also enamored by the quality for the price — at under $20, it's among the least expensive ultra-effective hair products I've seen.
For a more budget-friendly solution, you can't go wrong with this paraben- and sulfate- free duo. Made with nourishing vitamins C and E, these gentle, sustainable products are formulated to protect your color while deeply hydrating your strands. Best of all is the soothing, clean-but-not-overpowering lavender scent, which smells like an expensive spa.
The folks behind this flat iron say it delivers two times less damage and five times longer color than other brands. I don't know about this very precise math, but the device does have a lot going for it, including easy-glide ceramic plates, a heat-monitoring sensor that automatically adjusts if the temperature becomes too hot and an infusion of keratin oil to help condition your hair while you straighten it.
If you're looking for waves, Remington makes an equally well-reviewed Color Care Multi-Styler for twists and curls.
This lightweight, pleasant-smelling spritz prevents hair color from fading at temperatures up to 450°F. Suitable for all hair types, it additionally works as a shield against drying and heat damage, eliminates frizz and leaves your mane silky soft, shiny and smooth.
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
