As we all know, bright hair can be fairly high maintenance, depending on what colour you are going for. It requires a lot of care but on the flip side, the least you do to your hair the better. There are weird things that can happen and you can forget about the hair straightener or swimming. But don’t we just LOVE them too much to give them up?!

Here are our tips for looking after your colour so that you get the most out of it.

Washing: Wash your hair with a professional, salon only brand shampoo. Supermarket and drug store shampoo’s are too high in detergents and will strip your colour very quickly, sometimes in the first wash. Salon shampoo’s (and I’m talking from a hair salon, not one of those ‘salon shops’) are designed to be a lot more gentle and most of them these days are made without colour stripping sulphates. They may cost more, but if you are spending a decent amount on getting the colour in your hair, why would you wash it with something that is going to strip it out. As a stylist of mine once said, why would you buy an expensive dry-clean only coat and shove it in the washing machine?

Washing your hair in as cold water as you can stand will also help. If you want to do a little test, turn the shower to hot, stick your bright colour under and see the colour flow out of the water in front of you. Turn it down and you lose very little.

Sometimes your hair will fade quicker after the first appointment if we have bleached it, but should last longer the second time we’ve topped up the colour. This is pretty normal as hair is drier after bleaching, no matter how careful we are, so sometimes loses its colour faster after this first appointment. If you feel it has washed out too fast, please get in touch, we are happy to help!

Dry shampoo: will be your best friend as washing your hair as little as possible will keep your colour in longer. I use Evo Water Killer. It lasts all day (and sometimes all of the next day) unlike some other brands which you have to use several times a day. Its also non-dusty or flakey and doesn’t cause irritation like some other brands I’ve used.
It is also amazing for adding a little volume as it has a small amount of styling powder in it. You know how your hair gets flatter when its greasy? But some dry shampoo’s make it look cleaner but still flat? Well Water Killer is the answer to these problems.

Conditioner: Use it. You may have fine hair and have heard the old fashioned myth that skipping conditioners will give you more volume but its a lie. Shampoo opens your cuticle, conditioner closes it. If your cuticle is left open, yes you may have slightly more volume because your hair will be rougher but ultimately it is just damaging your hair and letting out the colour.

At Goldirocks we have CUSTOM coloured shampoo called Evo Fabuloso Pro. Which means your stylist can mix your conditioner to ANY colour you need (blue, green, pink…anything!). This deposits some colour back into the hair every time you wash it, leaving it fade slower and more evenly. It makes a huge difference.

Keep it cold: Unfortunately you are going to have to make a choice between your straightener or curling iron and your bright hair colour. Heat removes colour very fast. There are a couple of great video’s online of vivid hair artist, Guy Tang, ironing a piece of coloured hair. You can see if visibly fading a shade or two immediately.
Blow drying is fine. Try and use a low heat and a heat protection cream or spray.

Keep it healthy: The healthier your hair, the longer its going to hold any colour, not just vivids. Insist on your stylist using an in-bleach treatment such as Bond Fusion or Olaplex and take home a good deep conditioning treatment to use once a week or so.

We never lighten our clients hair too fast and always use Bond Fusion. Lightening it too fast in one appointment only blows out the cuticle and can even burn the hair, damaging it too much to hold on to any colour. Its like makeup….what happens when you put foundation over your skin if its dry? It doesn’t look great right?

Swimming: No. Chlorine AND salt water both fade hair very fast…or turn it a strange green colour. If you have to swim, wet your hair down with fresh or tap water first so its saturated. Saturated hair is like a sponge, its impossible for it to soak up too much more water, therefore keeping most of the salt or pool water out. Then apply an oil or leave in conditioner (such as Keune Satin Oil or Evo Happy Campers, which is specially made for swimming and sun). This will help seal the hair. Also try and wear a swimming cap also.

Be patient: As a client, being patient is one thing you can do to help us get your perfect colour. It may take a few appointments to get light enough for the colour you want, especially if its grey or pastels. But you will thank us in the long run. Your hair will be healthier and hold its colour for longer. Its tempting to try and get it done as fast as possible but it wont work. Also comes the temptation of doing it at home. As your stylist before you do this as some bright hair colours that are available are either impossible to get out of the hair or go funny colours when they fade, which often leaves you back at the beginning, having to now bleach out the weird colour your home job has left us with, even if they are marketed as ‘temporary’ or ‘semi-permanent’

No more coconut oil: Coconut oil is something people have been doing lately to repair their hair and soften it BUT for some reason, we have found that it also strips colour! This one is a mystery, but just be warned.

Weird things: There are on some occasions, things that happen that are a little weird and can be caused by the water you have in your home or just genetics. Water that has a high mineral content (such as some water in the countryside) or copper piping can cause your hair to fade very fast or go weird colour.

Occasionally there are also clients who’s hair just does not hold colour. Its not often but it has happened where I’ve re-done a clients hair a couple of times, they are doing everything right, using the right shampoo etc, and it still disappears. Sometimes it happens without even having washed their hair. So be prepared just in case you are one of those people.

If you take all this advice you can enjoy up to 5 or 6 weeks of beautiful bright hair colours. But you still must be prepared to get them ‘topped up’ every 4 or 5 weeks or so. Its a lot cheaper than the initial service as it doesn’t require bleaching, and is a lot quicker but is still an added cost to bright hair.

If you have any problems with your hair colour, please let us know as soon as you notice them. If it washes out too much within a week or so of your appointment and you are following all the advice on this blog, we will top up your colour for free! So get in touch!