How to Maintain Hair Color at all times
This post is sponsored by hair.com, powered by L’Oreal. As always, though, thoughts and opinions are my own.
Let’s talk hair! Because I get endless DMs about my color, and I’m always obsessively pinning messy waves or the perfect color – so it’s clear we’re all psychotic about it. And while I might be specific about how I like my hair to look, that doesn’t mean you’ll find me in the salon monthly for color updates. I prefer to keep my salon visits to a minimum because I like my hair color to be as low maintenance as possible. This is why it’s crucial to know the secrets to maintaining hair color with little to no effort.
+ Lived-in color
Let’s raise our glasses to whoever made the whole grown-out root trend a thing because it’s honestly a life-saver! By getting ‘lived in’ color, which is exactly what I request from my colorist, you’re saving yourself the need to get touch-ups often. I like some natural root to show and then I ask for hand-painted highlights that look slightly grown-out, with face-framing pieces in the front. Nothing drastic. Natural, lived-in hair that looks good as your hair grows out.
+ Less washing
It’s taken me legit years to be able to go 4-5 days without washing my hair but once I trained my hair to get to this point, it was heaven. When you wash your hair more often than it really needs, it can cause the oils on your scalp to over-produce to compensate for a lack of hydration. But, when you start to skip those washes, you can help to train your scalp to slow down that over-production of oil. Sounds complicated, but I swear it worked for me! Try to go at least a couple days without washing and push the limit when you can. I spray on Redken’s Deep Clean Dry Shampoo starting on day three or four to get rid of oil and nastiness. Pro tip: apply the dry shampoo at night and then sleep in it for extra texture.
+ Use quality products
Unless you don’t care about your hair color (which you probably do if you’re reading this), you need to invest in your hair, starting with shampoo and conditioner. I switch things up but usually have Kerastase Genesis Collection’s Shampoo & Conditioner in my shower. Not only are the ingredients salon-grade, but this specific combination was created to treat hair fall due to breakage. The entire Genesis Collection, was created with ginger root, caffeine, edelweiss native cells and arginine, to provide a magic combo of strength, softness, moisture and shine – plus less breakage from brushing! So not only will the quality ingredients help your hair’s overall health, but you’ll be losing less as well. Genius, right?
+ Heat protectant
Once you’re washing your hair less, you’re likely using less heat on it which is a double bonus. But for the times when you do need to blow dry or spruce up your waves, you NEED to be using a heat protectant! My protectant of choice is the Kerastase Blonde Absolu Cicaplasme, a hyaluronic acid heat protectant. I spritz this one before any type of heat and it leaves my hair smooth and bouncy, plus it unifies damaged areas of colored hair (aka makes any damage or dry ends look flawless).
+ Mask
Just like face masks are a crucial part of my skincare routine, same goes for hair. I use the Kerastase Nutritive Mask about once a month, especially if I’ve recently had it colored or have been out in the sun often. This mask is loaded with nutritious ingredients for your hair and mine soaks it up. If I’m in a hurry I’ll use it in the shower but if I’m being extra boujee, I’ll draw a bath, apply the mask, do a little face mask, sip some rosé and call it a beauty spa night. I rinse before getting out and might even shave my legs if Paul is lucky!
For the record, you can get all of the products I mentioned (minus the rosé) from hair.com powered by L’oreal. It’s a one-stop shop for all things hair and the legit thing is that it’s all been backed by professionals so you know it’s good stuff.
What’s your secret to long-lasting color? All of the above?