Ask the Experts: How Do I Maintain My New Hair Color?

Ask the Experts: How Do I Maintain My New Hair Color?

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You’ve already done the hard part. You’ve taken the plunge and colored your hair at home. You grabbed the appropriate type of hair dye and the shade you selected is just right. All that’s left is maintenance. OK, maybe it seems like the hard part is just beginning, but never fear – Julia Youssef, Vice President of L’Oréal USA Technical Center, is here to arm you with the tips you need to keep your new color vibrant and true. It’s easier than you might think.

Know Your Foes

In the struggle to maintain your hair color there are plenty of adversaries to face. Everything from frequent shampoos and heat styling to environmental factors like pollution and sun can cause color treated locks to lose their luster. And, of course, salt water and chlorinated pools go straight to the top of Youseff’s proceed with caution list. But you don’t have to throw in the towel and become a hermit just yet.

 

Pledge Your Allegiance to Proper Hair Care

Youseff finds the best way to fight color fade is to give your strands extra TLC. “To help prevent fading, use mild color-compatible shampoo and conditioner which cleanse hair without stripping, fading or dulling color. Some also contain UV filters that keep color truer longer.” Try one of these UV protection providing products: Matrix Biolage Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner, or Kérastase Bain Chroma Riche and Masque Chroma Riche.

 

Be Prepared

Reapplication may be required every three to four weeks to preserve your desired shade, but don’t go overboard. Instead of your original full head application, Youseff says, “Apply the color to your hair following the instructions for a touch-up application. This is important because if the hair color mixture is always applied to the whole head for the full processing time, the hair will over absorb color which can result in a darker than expected color result. Repeated full head application will also overprocess the hair which can cause fading.”

 

Do you have any other at-home hair coloring questions for our pros? Let us know below.

 

Photos: Thinkstock

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