Color Treated Hair Ideas

Coloring your hair is an easy way to change your look. However, the harsh chemicals in hair dyes when used on a regular basis can cause hair to become dry, brittle and straw-like over time. Color treated hair ideas include ways to minimize color fading so that your hair color looks fresher longer.

Shampoo and Conditioner

Keep your colored treated hair clean. Many people feel that if they have color treated hair, they cannot wash their hair often or the color will fade. This is true to some extent, but not washing your hair often enough can result in sebum (scalp oils) and styling product buildup. This can make hair look dull and greasy. Instead, wash and condition your hair every other day. This gives your hair ample time to recuperate and keeps scalp dryness to a minimum.

Another option is to use shampoo specifically designed for dyed hair. Brands like Redken, Clairol and Pantene all have shampoos for color treated hair. These shampoos contain intense moisturizers that keep color treated hair hydrated and they keep your ends from splitting and getting brittle.

Condition your hair. Besides using a regular conditioner, apply a deep-conditioning cream or mask to your hair every week. Stay away from hot oil treatments, because they strip hair color.

Styling Products

There are also styling products made specifically for color treated hair. Garnier Fructis Color Resist Mousse is an inexpensive styling product that helps keep color dyed hair healthy. John Frieda also has a product line that caters to specific hair colors such as blonde, brunette and red.

Use styling products sparingly. Excessive amounts of hairspray, creams or gels can make hair look dull and leave large amounts of buildup. A good way to avoid over-styling is by reading the recommended amount of product to use on the back of the bottle.

Try to keep heat away from color treated hair. When blow drying, only dry your hair about 80 percent of the way and let the rest air dry. This will keep your locks shiny and healthy by avoiding excessive heat damage. Instead of using a curling iron to curl your hair use foam rollers. They cause minimal damage to your hair and don't use any heat.

Ultraviolet rays are extremely damaging to color treated hair. The sun can fade your color and make your hair look lifeless. Use a hair sunscreen, like Clarins Sunscreen Spray or Ocean Potion Shine and Shield Hair Protectant Mist.

Touch-Ups

Over time you may notice that the ends of your hair are darker than the roots. This is because the ends of your hair are typically drier than the roots, since oils from the scalp don't always make it down the hair shaft to the ends. Dry hair absorbs more color which makes your hair slightly two-toned.

Before touching up your color treated hair, use a deep conditioning mask on just the ends. Your hair should be unwashed and free of any products that could alter the dye pigment. Another way to avoid darker ends is by purchasing a demi-permanent hair color and applying it only to the lighter areas of hair. This will darken the roots, and since it is demi-permanent, it will fade and blend into the rest of your hair.

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