Keep Red Hair Color from Fading

Red hair is gorgeous. Unfortunately, dyed hair tends to fade if you don't take proper care of it. This article will give you some pointers on how to keep red hair from fading and help your dye job last longer.

10 Second Summary

  • Don't wash your hair 2 days after dyeing it.
  • Wash your hair with sulfate-free, color-safe shampoo and conditioner.
  • Rinse your hair with cool water.
  • Use thermal protectant when heat styling your hair.
  • Avoid the sun and consider using a UV protectant spray when you do go out.
  • Consider a color depositing shampoos to refresh the color.

Steps

Using a quality dye

  1. When you dye your hair, get it professionally done. Hair color sold in department stores contains aluminum, which coats the hair and prevents the color from holding well. Also, stylists pretty much know what they are doing; red is the trickiest color to keep up with. You want to make sure you have someone who knows what they are doing.
  2. Always lighten the eyebrows just a touch if you're going at least three shades redder than your usual color. This ensures that the color looks real.

Taking care with washing

  1. After dyeing your hair, do not wash it for two whole days. This may seem hard, but you can get a shower-cap to wear while bathing, or just use baby wipes if you don't want to risk it. (Oh, the sacrifices we make for beauty...)
  2. When you do wash your hair, use color-safe, preferably sulfate free shampoo and conditioner, and wash it in cold water. If you can't bear to take a cold shower, simply rinse with cold water after you've shampooed and conditioned your hair. Alternatively you can keep your hair dry in the shower and wash it in the tub or sink in cold water after your shower. This prevents your whole body from being cold and makes the cold water more bearable.
  3. Use Aveda madder root color conditioner. This conditioner is a great one to use about once a week to keep color vivid and bright. This shampoo will stain your hands so you may want to use gloves, or wash your hands right after application. This does not have conventional fragrance; it does not stink.
    • Place generous amounts of this conditioner in your clean hair. Have a dance party for as long as you want.
    • Wash the conditioner out. The longer you leave it on, the better the color. Leave it in for 20-30 minutes but you can do up to an hour.
    • Enjoy the brighter redness.

Protecting the hair color

  1. Stay away from the sun. It will lighten the hair up. If you must be in the sun a lot, use a UV protectant spray or mask on your hair. Some brands have a UV hair spray protector.
  2. Use baby powder. Baby powder is your best friend. No, really. It keeps your hair smelling fresh, and because you shouldn't wash your hair every night (every other night-or even every 3 nights for those who are willing to go the extra mile on this) it keeps it from feeling oily and gross, and also makes the roots look slightly fuller. Another option is using a specific brand of shampoo for oily hair and scalps.
  3. Always use thermal protectant when blow drying, straightening, or curling your hair.
  4. Color depositing shampoos/glazes are great for refreshing color. For times between coloring (for bright unnatural reds) brands such as manic panic are good to stain the hair and keep it bright.



Tips

  • There are some really great products out there made specifically for women who dye their hair red, one of which is Aveda's Madder Root Conditioner. Use it once a week on your hair, leave it on for about 8 minutes, and rinse it out. Bumble and Bumble also has a dry shampoo out for redheads, but it is quite pricey.
  • If you are taking good care of your hair, you can put some of the hair dye into your conditioner to keep it bright for the time being until your next dye.
  • If you are a natural blonde or are going to be outside a lot during the summer, try dying it a slightly lighter shade in the summer to make the lightening of your hair slightly less noticeable.

Warnings

  • Always try to re-dye your hair before your roots become too noticeable. Roots are trashy! No one wants that!

Related Articles

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Keep_Red_Hair_Color_from_Fading&oldid=356621"