How To Prevent Your Colour From Fading
When deciding to dye your hair, you’ll need to choose between demi, semi, and permanent hair dye. Here’s a brief summary of each:
Semi-Permanent Dye: This dye coats only the surface of your hair, providing color without penetrating deeply. It typically lasts for several washes.
Demi-Permanent Dye: This dye uses a peroxide developer to slightly penetrate the hair shaft, making it a longer-lasting option than semi-permanent dye.
Permanent Dye: This dye removes existing color, depositing new color deep into the hair shaft, resulting in a long-lasting change.
What Does Hair Dye Do to Your Hair?
Applying hair dye isn't as simple as layering color over your existing shade. For the pigment to set permanently, the dye must break through the cuticle, the protective barrier of the hair. The ammonia in the dye lifts the cuticle, causing it to swell and allowing the color molecules to penetrate the shaft. If you want to lighten your current color, peroxide acts as an activator to remove the existing color first, enabling the new color to be deposited on the newly lightened strands.
Unless there is an allergy to an ingredient in the dye, coloring your hair is usually straightforward. Problems arise when dyeing is done too frequently without a proper care plan. Over-processing can lead to weak, brittle, and dry hair. Continuous color treatments can fragment keratin, an internal hair protein, into smaller pieces. As your hair loses protein, it becomes weaker and more prone to breakage. This is why professional coloring by a stylist is crucial for maintaining healthy hair.
Preventing Damage and Maintaining Health
Trying a new color doesn’t have to mean enduring damage. Keeping your hair healthy between color sessions involves using the right products and avoiding excessive styling. By extending the time between color sessions, you lessen the frequency of lifting and potential damage. Ensuring your strands are properly hydrated and strengthened is key. Use deep conditioning treatments, avoid excessive heat styling, and choose shampoos and conditioners specifically designed for colored hair to maintain your hair’s health and vibrancy.
By following these guidelines, you can enjoy beautiful, vibrant color without compromising the health of your hair.
Preventing Colour Fading:
1. Pre-Dye Preparation
Healthy Hair: Ensure your hair is healthy before dyeing. Trim split ends and use deep conditioning treatments to nourish your hair.
Clarify: Use a clarifying shampoo a day before dyeing to remove product buildup. This helps the dye adhere better to your hair.
2. Choosing the Right Products
Quality Dye: Use high-quality hair dye brands known for their longevity.
Color-Safe Shampoo and Conditioner: Invest in shampoos and conditioners specifically designed for colored hair. These products are formulated to be gentler and help preserve color.
Avoid Alcohol: Products that list alcohol as an ingredient can dry out your hair and strip the color from the strands quicker.
3. Washing Techniques
Wait Before Washing: After dyeing your hair, wait at least 48-72 hours before washing it. This allows the color to set properly.
Cool Water: Wash your hair with cool or lukewarm water. Hot water opens up the hair cuticle, which can cause the color to fade faster.
Less Frequent Washing: Try to wash your hair less frequently. Aim for 2-3 times a week to avoid stripping the hair of its natural oils and color.
Use a filter: Installing a filter on your shower head will cut down on your hair’s exposure to minerals like iron and lime, and even small amounts of chlorine, which are way too harsh for artificial hair color to be subjected to on a regular basis.
4. Styling and Maintenance
Heat Protection: Use heat protectant sprays before styling with hot tools. Excessive heat can cause color to fade.
Avoid Sun Exposure: Protect your hair from prolonged sun exposure by wearing hats or using hair products with UV protection.
Minimize Chlorine Exposure: If you swim, wear a swim cap or use a leave-in conditioner to protect your hair from chlorine, which can strip color.
5. Regular Touch-Ups and Treatments
Root Touch-Ups: Regularly touch up your roots to maintain an even color.
Gloss Treatments: Use hair gloss treatments to add shine and boost color vibrancy between dye sessions.
Hair Masks: To elevate your hair care routine to match your hair color's high maintenance needs, stock your shower with a couple of hair masks, the less dry and brittle the hair is, the better the colour will hold.
6. Diet and Health
Healthy Diet: Maintain a healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals that promote hair health, such as biotin, vitamin E, and omega-3 fatty acids.
By following these steps, you can significantly extend the life of your hair dye and keep your color looking vibrant for longer.