Experimenting with your hair color can be a fun way to shake up your look or get through a stifled style period. (Landing on the specific shade you want can also be a source of stress, but once you land on a decision you’re happy with it’s pretty close to the best feeling.) While it’s much cheaper than shelling out for a new wardrobe, getting coloring your hair is still an investment, and you want to make sure it lasts as long as possible.
The number one trick to ensuring that happens: considering your aftercare routine — like which color-safe products to buy, how often to go in for touch-ups, and what to know before you wash your hair to prevent any fading. That’s right, washing your hair is often framed as a key cause of fading color, but it turns out, the secret to washing your hair after you color it is less about when, and more about how.
To help explain, we asked a colorist for everything you need to know about washing after dyeing.
How Long Should I Wait to Wash My Hair After Dyeing It?
“Lots of people believe that the color needs to set in your hair for a few days after coloring — that’s actually just a myth,” Sydney Palmer, a hair-color specialist at Estetica Salon & Spa in St. Paul, MN, told POPSUGAR. “The hair color doesn’t set in any more than it already has if you wait to wash it.”
Jade Kromer, a hair-color specialist at Juut Salon Spa in Minneapolis, MN, agreed. “Washing your hair right after you color it really isn’t the problem,” she said. “Focus more on what products you’re using, rather than time in between shampoos.”
Why Is My Color Fading?
When it comes to hair dye, it’s much more important to prevent the dye from leaching out than it is to let it “set” in your hair initially. Each strand of hair is surrounded by the cuticle, which is what traps the color in. When you wash your hair, particularly in hot water, you risk opening up the cuticle and letting the color bleed out. Palmer recommended washing colored hair in cooler water: “That makes your hair cuticle stay closed and keeps your hair color trapped inside the strands of hair. Warm water makes the cuticle more likely to open and let the color out, which is why color fades so fast.”
How Can I Keep My Hair Color Vibrant?
If a cold shower doesn’t sound appealing to you, you can also wash your hair less frequently, and try to avoid water that’s steaming hot. If you choose what’s known as a “fashion color” for your hair, such as bright pink, orange, or purple, Kromer recommended washing just once a week, and using dry shampoo in the meantime. These colors typically require bleaching the hair, which can make cuticles more porous, and therefore more likely to leak color in the shower.
If you just have highlights or lowlights instead of full hair color, you can be a little more lax about water temperature, Palmer said. Less pigment in the hair means that the temperature of the water matters less. In addition to how frequently you wash your hair and the temperature, what you wash it with can make a big difference in how long your color lasts.
“The type of shampoo, conditioner, and products you use at home are the ultimate reason why your color is going to last or fade,” Kromer said. “Drugstore shampoos may feel like they’re getting your hair and scalp really clean, but they can have chemicals in them that are linked to fading of professional hair color. If you invest in your products, you’ll realize how much more life you’ll get from your color.” Some drugstore brands of shampoo and conditioner can contain synthetic ingredients like sulfates, parabens, silicone, and other ingredients that strip hair of its color. When you invest in high-quality hair care, you’re investing in your hair color and overall hair health. Palmer also recommended watching out for clarifying shampoos, which are “great for getting your scalp clean, but more likely to strip hair of its color.”
Should I Wash My Hair Before I Get It Dyed?
“Yes, but there’s really no need,” Palmer said. Your colorist will have done that for you. If you head straight from the salon to the gym and need to wash your hair afterward, don’t fret — just use cooler water and quality products for your hair type. Palmer recommended washing no more than three times per week, with cooler water and the right products. Another tip for avoiding dullness is to regularly use a hair color mask like Sol de Janeiro’s Triple Brazilian Butter Hair Repair Treatment Mask ($36) or Shu Uemura’s Color Lustre Treatment Mask for Color Treated Hair ($69).
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