Choosing the right colour is only the first step. We tell you how to enhance your new hair colour so that it lasts for longer and stays healthy and glossy.
Colour-treated hair needs special care and treatment, especially at certain times of the year, such as the coldest and hottest seasons, or in times of heightened stress. Keeping colour-treated hair healthy, strong and shiny requires a few more tricks, but if you follow a few simple beauty rules, your hair will have glossy, radiant colour for longer.
Frequent washing is often thought to damage hair treated with artificial dyes and colourants but, although washing your hair no more than 2 or 3 times a week is best, even more frequent shampoos may not be harmful, as long as your hair routine follows some basic steps.
1. Colour-treated hair – best to cool cleanse
To take care of colour-treated hair, first of all, it is necessary to wash it with cold or lukewarm water, not hot water, which can be aggressive and can dry the hair, leaving it dull. The cool water, combined with products for colour-treated hair, help protect the colour, guaranteeing shine and lustre from roots to ends.
If during the winter you can’t do without a hot shower, at the end of your shower, cool rinse the hair to close the hair cuticles and make increase the absorption of the hair treatments within the hair.
2. Colour-treated hair: best to cool dry
Drying your hair right is another important step in maintaining colour-treated hair. Step 1 is to gently pat your hair dry with a clean cotton towel. Immediately after, you can proceed with the hairdryer, but be careful that the hair is no longer dripping wet. The temperature of the hair dryer must remain medium-low, never exceed 70°C degrees. Better to use the dryer without the nozzle at first, so as not to disperse the heat and dry the hair evenly. Stressing the ends and lengths too much can over-dry the hair, which will then lack shine. The nozzle can be added at the end with the help of the brush, but never bring the hairdryer too close to the strands. However, experts recommend drying hair naturally rather than always using a hairdryer. Whenever possible, opt for a natural style (beach waves never go out of style).
3. Colour-treated hair: colour protection masks
Beautiful, healthy hair needs more than a shampoo and conditioner: hair masks make the difference. There are nourishing hair masks for dry and brittle hair, but also for normal, oily, curly and straight hair. Every type of colour-treated hair needs a beauty mask at least once a week (twice during the summer). The masks for colour-treated hair contain special active ingredients that have a deep action in the hair fibre, hydrating, thickening and regenerating hair that has been “emptied” by colouring and lightening treatments.
4. Colour-treated hair: avoid heated styling tools
Curly red hair, ultra-straight blond hair, etc. In short, straighteners, curling tongs and more are always handy, but it is good to limit their use, especially for colour-treated hair. In particular, during the summer, with high temperatures, the sun, the sea or the pool, using straighteners or curling wands does nothing but stress the hair further, which dries the hair, leaving it dull. It is better to avoid harsh brushing, and rather use the old method of curlers to make a wavy style. You just need to curl some wet locks with your fingers, and pin them for a few hours. Or make one or two braids. If you want straight hair, you can use a round brush or comb.
In any case, the natural effect in summer will be even more captivating.
5. Colour-treated hair: protect it with scarves, hats and bandanas
When external aggressors increase in the summer and the need to take care of your hair becomes a primary necessity, protecting hair from the sun, sea, chlorine and sand is more difficult. But to avoid faded hair colour, you can wear trendy accessories that look amazing during the summer. Sporting a silk or cotton headband on the beach or even in town is a simple and glamorous way to protect your hair (and head) from the heat. Wide-brimmed straw hats make you feel like a real diva; bandanas tied at the nape of the neck for those who love the 50’s pin-up style; and again, ultra-chic triangular scarves fixed to the sides of the head with a few hairpins. The look ignites your personality, and your hair will love you all the more for it.
