No matter what product you use, all hair colors fade with time. But there are ways to slow down the fading. If you want your hair color to be long lasting, then you need to keep certain things in your mind. Enlisted here are a few tips.
1. Go for the right choice of color
There are numerous number of hair color shades available in the market. It ranges from the simple brown, black to burgundy, plum, exotic red, chestnut, auburn, etc. Usually you have to keep in mind your skin tone, your natural hair color and the color of your eyes before you decide on a particular color. Hair stylists recommend using hair colors that are within three or four shades as that of your natural color of your hair. This way the color sticks on easily and is easier to maintain as well.
Generally dark colors like red, purple fade much quickly than other light colors.
2. Washing of hair
Try to avoid frequent washing of hair as it results in quicker fading of hair color. If you have the type of hair that gets sticky on skipping hair washes, go for a cold shower. Hot water leads to opening up of the hair cuticles making it prone to quicker fading. Remember to use shampoo and conditioner that would help the color to stay longer.
3. Stay away from the sun
Just stay away from the sun since it can easily bleach your hair especially if you have just dyed it. Be protected by wearing a hat or cap, if you have to go out in the sun. You can apply hair spray that contains UV filters. This really works out when it comes to hair color fading because of the sun. You can apply the hair spray even if it is not sunny.
This bleaching concept holds good for chlorine water as well. So you need to watch out while swimming in the pool. It is better to have a shower with cool water before getting a dip. Do not forget to wear your swimming cap—make sure your hair is well tucked into the cap.
A lot of heat, in general, is going to get the color off your hair. So it is better not to use hair dryers, hair straighteners or curling irons. Also, do not perm your hair for a while after dyeing.
After your hair wash, gently squeeze out dripping water rather than rubbing it with your towel.
4. Process of dyeing
Do not wash your hair before coloring it. If you have washed it, try to wait for at least two days before applying the hair color. This way, you will let the natural oil in your hair to remain, which in turn helps the color to permeate properly. If you want to get your hair colored, you can buy the hair color product and simply follow the instructions at the back of the carton. However, it is best advised to go to a salon to get your coloring done evenly.
Let the dye, dry by itself rather than using blow dryers.
5. Choice of products
Get advice from a hair stylist on what product to use on your colored hair. There are a lot of shampoo and conditioners that help in retaining the color. Make sure you see the color-treated/color-enhancing/color-retaining labels on the carton.
6. Maintenance is important
It is obvious that the root of our hair grows in our natural hair color. So you need to regularly touch up these roots. You can do this once in every two to four weeks of time.
You can also do a strand test—apply the color to a strand of hair and let it be so for a day or two. This way, you will get to know how long it takes for the color to develop completely.
As it is already mentioned, damaged hair cause faster fading of color. So make sure that you take utmost care of your hair.
Temporary semi-permanent and permanent hair color types are available in the market. So if you want the hair color to last for long, it is quite obvious that you need to go for the permanent hair coloring. Remember, dyeing on unwashed hair holds the hair color longer than washed hair.
