vivid hair care guide
With vivid hair comes great responsibility, because these colors only stay bright and vibrant for so long. If you’re thinking of switching natural hues for something with a little more pizzazz, here are some tips to keep your color from fading while also keeping your hair as healthy as possible.
Good color starts with healthy hair. One more time for those in the back. GOOD COLOR STARTS WITH HEALTHY HAIR. Now, while bleaching your hair is definitely damaging, it's a necessary evil in order to achieve a bright, vivid color. Unhealthy, damaged hair will not hold color well, maybe not at all. You may make it from black to platinum in one appointment but you will lose hair in the process. Be patient. Make sure to nourish your hair. At-home hair masks and in-salon repair treatments are your new BFFs. Make sure that your hairdresser is using them when you go in for lightening services.
After healthy hair, the next most important thing is high-quality hair color. I highly recommend Joico Vivids and Wella Color Fresh CREATE. These act more like a conditioning color than a regular hair color, so they are safe to use even on damaged hair, but as stated before, extremely damaged hair has a hard time holding onto color, so it's best not to use it on hair that has been damaged multiple times but color treatments and heat styling.
Rinse with cool water. Since warm water opens the hair cuticle allowing the color to escape. Your entire shower doesn't need to be ice cold, but colder is better when it comes to vivid hair color. Cold water also helps reduce bleeding if you have more than one color, light and dark tones, platinum with vivids, or special effects vivid colors and natural highlights. When the colors bleed they can dull each other down or cancel each other out, leaving you with a muddy, faded color. Because bright, vivid hair fades, it’s important to think about that when deciding on the color you choose. Blue tends to fade to gray/green tones, purples fade to silver and pinks will fade to peach/orange. These are all fabulous colors, just remember, as long as you have the confidence to go with it, you can pull off any color. Some just require different makeup (if you wear it) and that is half the fun!
Avoid shampoos with sulfates. Sulfates are a huuuuge hair color murderer. Sulfate free shampoos can be kind of tricky to find sometimes, but they’re definitely worth switching to. I recommend AG Cosmetics Fast Food and Colure Super Luxe or Richly Moisturize. Even when using sulfate free shampoo, you should attempt to cut back on shampoos per week. Shampoo strips your hair of its natural oils and artificial color.
Become one with dry shampoo. Every time you wash your colored hair, it will fade. If you want it to last longer, rely on dry shampoo to get you through the week. Try skipping washing every other day and use a dry shampoo on the opposing days. My dry shampoo of choice is Sebastian Dry Clean Only, AG Cosmetics Dry Shampoo, Batiste, or Evo Water Killer. When you shampoo, only apply it to the roots, where your hair is more greasy, and avoid the ends of your hair since that’s what normally fades the fastest.
Mix some color into your conditioner. There are lots of things you can do to help your color last longer, but the fact remains that those amazing colors just don’t last. Hair color fades with every single wash. What does this mean? The color will always be changing. You have to learn to embrace the faded shades. I tend to get the most compliments when I feel my color is in need of freshening! My vivid color brand of choice, Joico created their Color Butter (color conditioner) in the past couple of years and it comes in 6 colors so far. These last about 5-10 shampoos and can help you stretch that vivid color through to your next appointment, and keep it looking amazing. They aren't super pigmented though so if you're feeling really drab, a trip to the salon is probably your best bet!
Avoid heat styling. Buuuut....if you can't avoid it, use a heat protecting product! I highly recommend AG Cosmetics Firewall, BB Cream and Set It Straight, or Colure Blow Dry Cream. I generally will also add some Colure Nourishing Hair Oil to the tips which helps protect the color as well.
Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Just skin, the sun isn’t great for your hair color. AG Cosmetics BB Cream has both UVA and UVB protection, as well as protecting your hair from other environmental damage.