Caring for colored hair: a practical guide

The three rules that do 80 percent of the work: wash less often and with lukewarm water, use sulfate-free shampoo and protect the hair from heat. Everything else is an improvement on these three bases.

Washing: less often than you think

Every wash rinses a little of the color away. If you wash every day, the color fades noticeably faster. Two to three washes a week are enough for most hair, and hot water opens the hair cuticle and releases the pigment, so lukewarm is the right choice. Dry shampoo between washes is an ally, not a cheat.

Products: what is worth it and what is marketing

Sulfate-free shampoo and one hydrating mask a week are the two purchases that are truly worth it. For lightened hair, balayage, shatir, ombre or highlights, add a purple shampoo once a week against yellow tones. Do not overdo it: used every day it dulls the shine and turns the tone sour.

Heat and sun

A flat iron and hot tongs on lightened hair are the combination that ruins the color faster than anything else. If you often need heat styling, a heat-protectant before the heat is not an option, it is a condition. In summer, a hat or a spray with UV protection keeps the tone, especially for the lightened highlights that the sun turns yellow.

The mistakes we see most often

• Daily washing with hot water, then a complaint that the color left in three weeks.
• Purple shampoo every day, until the highlights take on a grey cast.
• A root touch-up at home over salon color; the correction costs more than a touch-up done well.
• Forgetting the cut: burnt ends are not healed with masks, they are cut. A light haircut every two months keeps the hair alive.

When to come back to the salon

For full coloring, the root becomes visible around the fourth to sixth week. For balayage and shatir or ombre there is no root line, so most clients come back after two to four months, often just for toning, which revives the color without new lightening. If you are not sure what you need, send a photo and get the answer before you book.