Hello, gals! 🙂

I’m aware that dull, color-treated hair is a problem every other woman faces up to. It seems to be an inevitable process: sooner or later, the color fades, hair loses shine, becomes dry, dull, weak. Strands are more fragile, let alone the tragic hair ends. How to stay away from a helpless-looking hairdo a few weeks after coloring? Before making a salon appointment to have hair colored and cut (3, 6 or preferably 9 inches…), read the post. It may save your hairdo from disaster 🙂

Why hair coloring causes hair damage?

Coloring is a chemical process – you treat your hair to ingredients that aren’t beneficial. The dye must open hair cuticles and penetrate deeply so the components can’t be too gentle. Increased hair porosity may get even higher within just a few weeks if you fail to care for your hair properly. Open cuticles let the dye get washed off hair. To be honest, it’s not just the color that goes away. You can say goodbye to hydrated hair as well. All in all, what’s the best care like?

What’s the best color-treated hair care – 4 game-changing remedies

1. Get the right shampoo and conditioner

What I mean is that products for color-treated hair aren’t all the same and don’t have the same quality. That’s why, make sure that the products are free of weighing down silicones and dehydrating alcohols which hugely weaken and dehydrate hair after a longer usage. So, look for shampoos and conditioners for color-treated hair containing fine-quality ingredients, as natural as possible.

A moisturising shampoo makes a good choice. Color-treated hair conditioners are rich in ingredients enhancing the color and sealing hair cuticles. They create a protective coat on hair surface which protects from damage. Regrettably, blonde hair tends to get brassy so treat it to a special hair toner which intensified blonde shades.

I have my hair colored brown. Apart from a rinse-out conditioner, I also use a mousse conditioner – lightweight, non-overburdening, perfectly penetrating hair structure and nourishing.

2. Apply a mask for color-treated hair once a week

Surely, hair masks are must-haves. Not only for those of you who have their hair colored. Repair is an extremely important element of hair care for color-treated strands – the mask should fix the damage and make sure hair cuticles aren’t highly raised. The right product keeps the color from fading.

You must stick to the same rules that you follow while choosing a shampoo or conditioner: the bigger the number of synthetic chemicals and alcohols, the worse the effects. Reach for high-quality products and read the mask’s list of ingredients carefully.

Natura Siberica Mask is my favorite now. I’ve got a few of them, not all of them are dedicated to color-treated hair yet they are second to none when it comes to nourishing, regeneration effect; natural, having an amazing scent.

3. Oil your hair at least once a week

What does the at-home hair oil treatment involve? It is like applying a hair mask… a far better one 🙂

To do the treatment, you don’t need a drugstore mask. You need a natural oil or a good blend of oils – natural, free of parabens and going along with hair porosity (after coloring, hair usually has medium or high porosity).

Hair oil treatment doesn’t work on hair only – it also affects bulbs and scalp that are important as well. You apply a natural oil to scalp, massage it gently, then, you spread the oil on hair lengths. You can apply the oil to damp or dry hair. After 15-30 minutes, you rinse the oil out and wash hair with a shampoo.

After that, I usually skip the conditioner and protect hair ends with a bit of the oil. Nanoil for high porosity hair has been my favorite recently and I don’t think any other oil is going to top it.

4. Remember about heat protection for your hair

I don’t mean the sunlight yet it is quite hard on hair as well. Remember that every blow dry routine deprives your hair of water – that’s why it is so important to protect strands (especially when your hair is color-treated) from heat emitted by a blow dryer or flat iron. When it comes to straighteners, to me, they are totally destructive, depriving hair of all water reserves as well as irreversibly breaking disulfide bonds in the hair matrix – it is impossible to bind them back together or repair. So, if you’re into silky smooth hair – cut down on straightening as much as possible, use it on rare occasions. On a daily basis, go for mild, smoothing conditioners and heat protectants that are necessary; apply them to damp hair before a blow-dry routine. Natural oils work as excellent protectants, saving hair from temps, taming flyaways, boosting shine and nourishing.

Do you know other good patents for color-treated hair care? Do you have a recipe for a great DIY hair mask for color-treated hair? A black tea rinse is my secret – I use it for final rinsing so my hair has a saturated color which doesn’t fade.