Having your hair coloured is such a wonderful treat, you leave the salon confident, fresh and with a beaming smile! But, what about the days, weeks, months after? Not many consider the maintenance needed to keep that salon fresh colour vibrant and full of life. It’s no surprise that many of us mention at our next salon visit that our colour faded after just a few washes. Here’s what we could be doing wrong at home and how to prolong hair colour…
How Hair Colour Works
Before we dive in, a little science lesson: For colour to work, hair needs an alkaline to open the hair cuticle and allow colour molecules to penetrate the hair cortex. The most effective and widely used alkaline is ammonia. There has been much criticism of ammonia in the industry for many years. However, it has been found to be safe, non harmful and highly effective. In fact, many colours without ammonia are less vibrant and long lasting. We choose to use a low amount of ammonia; enough to get the most impeccable results and not so much that there are any concerns over the ingredient or enough to damage the hair. To see why ammonia is necessary, and preforms best in professional hair colour, read our blog.
Prolong hair colour
WASH LESS FREQUENTLY
We all know we should be using colour saving haircare, but do we know how often we should be using it? It’s advisable that we only wash our hair 2-3 times per week. If you’re a daily shampooer, it’s no surprise you colour isn’t lasting! Aside from longer lasting colour, it’s important for our scalps to release natural oils and for our hair to absorb these for nutrients and strength. If you wash these away too regularly, your hair will be brittle, dull, and in no condition to be coloured. When washing always use a mild shampoo specifically formulated for coloured hair such as INSIGHT’s Coloured hair range.
ELIMINATE SULPHATES
Sulphates, known as SLS or SLES strip away the scalp and hairs natural moisture. Hair becomes extremely dehydrated, the cuticles disturbed and raised, leading to escaped colour. All of our ranges are SLS and SLES free to ensure minimal disruption of the bodies natural moisturising process, and are therefore a forceful defence of colour fading.
AVOID HEAT WHERE POSSIBLE
Colour and heat are not friends! Coloured hair tends to be dryer than natural hair, and more prone to damage; adding heat makes it even more fragile and susceptible to colour fading. Heat drains colour molecules from the hair as it opens up the cuticles. It’s hard to avoid completely, but we suggest lowering heat settings on styling equipment and in the shower! A cool to cold rinse after washing hair closes the cuticle to prolong hair colour.
CHOOSE PRODUCTS WITH UV AND HEAT PROTECTION
Hair colour, and hair health deteriorates due to heat and UV; as we discussed above. Protect your hair, and prolong hair colour using simple styling products such as Insight’s Heat Defence Spray for heated styling and Protective Hair Spray for UV exposure. Both protect from aggressors and nourish hair at the same time!
USE COLOR PROLONGING MASKS
Coloured hair needs more TLC than non coloured. A natural colour extending mask can make the world of difference to prolong hair colour. Try our Protective Mask; It protects the hair fiber from external aggressions, enhances the brightness and vibrancy of colour, and deeply nourishes with Organic Macadamia Oil.
HEALTH IS WEALTH
We’ve looked at external aggressors like heat and environmental factors wreaking havoc on our colour, but what about internal aggressors? Our health plays a large part of our hair journey, coloured or not. Vitamins are essential for healthy hair that holds colour and bursts with life. Eating a balanced diet rich in iron, zinc, B Vitamins, vitamin C and D will stand you in good stead for healthy hair that prolongs colour.
GET MOVING
Along with things going into our bodies, we need to think about how we use our bodies! A great way to prolong hair colour is to exercise! Can you believe it? Exercise keeps blood and oxygen flowing throughout our bodies, including out scalp. Add adequate exercise into our routine and you’ll have a better chance at locking in that colour, adding shine and minimising breakage.