How to Make Your Dyed Hair Fresher and Last Longer?

Most women are worried about their hair colour not lasting for long. Whether you have your hair professionally coloured or you use an at-home hair colouring kit, you want your colour to last as long as possible. Unfortunately, there are many things that can cause your colour to fade, including as washing your hair the wrong way or failing to keep it moisturized. Environmental factors such as heat, sun, and pool or ocean water can also leach the colour from your hair. By making small changes to your hair care routine, though, you can make the colour last longer- and if it starts to fade, you can use at-home treatments such as glazes or root touch-up kits to help freshen it up.

You can spend a pretty penny on the perfect shade for your tresses. So you want to make sure you don't wash all that cash and colour down the drain. What can you do to keep that colour where it belongs?

When you dye your hair, the pigments are held captive inside the hair strands. But anything that can lift the hair shaft's cuticle, allowing pigment particles to escape, can fade that pretty colour. One of the biggestcolour-stealing culprits? H2O. Plain water dilutes the pigment and causes it to fade faster. But before you vow to never wash your strands again, try these pigment-protecting tricks from Chandra Hair:

• Wait to wash your hair. To keep your hair colour looking fresh as long as possible, the dye needs to settle in your hair. Washing your hair too soon after you colour it can rinse some of the dye out so your hair colour fades more quickly. For the best results, avoid washing your hair for at least 24 hours after you dye it.
  
  If you feel the need to clean your hair after dying it, just rinse it with cool water and scrub your scalp gently with your fingertips.
  
  

• Shampoo Your Colour-Treated Hair Less Frequently. To prevent water from washing away your vibrant colour, the answer is simple: Wash your hair less often. To retain those natural oils that help condition your colour-treated hair, shampoo just two or three times per week, and never more than every other day. This will help your colour last longer and help maintain health in your coloured hair.
  
  Washing hair frequently causes the strands to swell and the colour washes away slowly. Good quality colour enhancing shampoos are a better choice.
  
  

• Conditioner first, shampoo second. Once you've soaked your hair, run conditioner through it and put the shampoo directly on top of the conditioner. This protects your hair, creating a natural barrier between your colour and the shampoo, while still removing excess oil. Do what you'd usually do, but in reverse.
  
  Want to keep your dye job looking salon fresh? Mix some of the dye into your normal conditioner to stop it from fading.
  
  

• Change your part. Switching up your part can make roots look less obvious. Chandra Hair recommends flipping hair so it falls in a different direction, or creating a zig-zag part, which helps break up the root area, making re-growth less apparent.
  
  

• Avoid overexposure to the sun. When you step outside without protection, you’re putting your hair at risk for fading. When the sun hits your dye job, it causes a chemical process called oxidation, which makes the colour fade. If you can’t limit your exposure, apply mild and good quality shampoos.
  
  Constant exposure to the sun can cause your hair colour to fade. Use UV protection on your hair before going outdoors to prevent colour fade. Also, wear a hat to protect your hair as well your face from the sun’s harmful rays.
  
  

• Don’t Overuse Hot Tools. Staying away from your hot tools the first week after colouring your hair will also help prevent the colour from fading. Hot tools such as blow dryers and straighteners actually speed up the process of colour fading. While these tools are sometimes necessary, it is best to stay away from them the first week or so after you colour your hair.
  
  
• Upgrade your water. Additives like chlorine that are used to purify tap water play havoc on hair. The tap water can be upgraded by showerheadsdesigned to remove hair colouring agents.
  
  
• Add a glaze. Treating your hair to an at-home glaze is an easy way to stretch some extra mileage out of your colour between touch-ups. Try a gloss to boost both shine and brightness every other week.