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25 Tips & Tricks for Color Treated Hair

March 26, 2013

Tips & Tricks for Color Treated Hair
Hi my loves! I have a fun post today, to say that I color my hair a lot is probably the understatement of the century. I often wonder, with the hell I have put my locks through, how the heck I even still have hair left to color. I have naturally light, pale blonde hair and my mother twitches every time I mention changing it, “People would kill for your color!!”, she tells me. My go to hairdresser, who has since moved on completely abandoned me for bigger and better things in a different state would tell me “You’re CRAZY! Women pay big bucks for your color, why don’t you let it be?” and really… I don’t have an answer. I get bored, emotional, angry or whatever and I take it out on my hair. I like to change it.

Blonde Hair

That blonde right there minus the extensions to make the side ponytail is my natural color. However, I have been messing with it for years, since I was 16 to be exact. The day I turned 16, I walked into CVS and bought a box of the cheapest ‘red’ (more like maroon, seriously it matched my catholic school uniform) dye I could find and went home and started the long road to where we are now. It was horrible, I really wish I had a picture of the mess I made of my pretty blonde hair, I looked like I poured a bottle of Kool Aid on my hair and the worst part is, I thought I was soooooo cool. I didn’t learn though, no matter how many times I dyed it, missed the blond, tried to get the blonde back and turned my hair orange or green (yeah that happened) I kept on going whether doing it myself from a box, buying stuff from Sally’s or going to a professional my hair has been blonde, brown, red, pastel. I’ve had highlights and low lights and I did the whole darker color underneath thing for awhile. In that time, I have gathered some tips and tricks to take care of my color treated hair sometimes while only hanging on to a hope & a prayer that it won’t fall out & do my best to keep it healthy.

color treated hair
{{I am in NO way an expert, I’m not a licensed cosmetologist  I have no training. These are tips that work for  ME. If you do any of this and your hair still falls out, I’m sorry, I’ve been there globs of hair in the tub and it sucks}}
1. Get a TRIM – The best way, to keep your hair healthy is to cut of all the dead crap!
2. Dye it Dirty – I found that it’s better to dye dirty hair rather then clean, I feel like my hair keeps it’s ‘health’ better if I dye it when it’s dirty, product and all.
3. Get a GOOD Shampoo & Conditioner – I’m talking, find one specifically for “Color Treated” hair. If you’re going blonde, I recommend using a purple shampoo especially if you do it at home and look like a brassy freak. I use Shimmer Lights from Sally’s. If you’re brown or red, try and find a sham/cond combo specifically for your color. I like John Frieda.
4. Keep It Fresh – I use the Shimmer Lights, because it’s a lightening treatment as well so it helps the color from fading & when my hair is darker, I add the color dye to my shampoo and conditioner so when I wash and condition it’s depositing color. (That’s probably not good, but whatever) They do sell color depositing shampoos, like the ones from John Frieda I mentioned.
5. Hair Masks!! – Invest in a good mask, a deep conditioning mask with restorative properties!! Check out my {{Hair Heroes}} for a look at what I love.
6. Cold Rinse – Want your color to last longer? Stop taking scolding hot showers, rinse your hair with cooler temperature water and it won’t fade as fast.
7. 2nd Day Hair – or 6 Day Hair  whatever floats your boat, obviously the less you wash your hair, the less the color will fade. You can still shower obviously, just stay away from the shampoo, a dry shampoo like my favorite from Suave, is a great alternative.
8. Avoid Sulfates – Grab a sulfate free shampoo & conditioner, sulfates strip the color from your hair & it’s an ugly word. I won’t pretend to tell you why, because I don’t know. It’s just what I’ve been told. (remember, I’m no expert, this is just my way)
9. OILS!! – Argon, Moroccan or macadamia, I don’t care which. Get one & add it into your hair care routine, it will do wonders to help extend the life of your color as well as keep it shiny and healthy. Here is one I lurveeee.
10. Leave In Treatments – After I color my hair, I usually find that it spends a lot of time, when wet, in a tangled mess state so a leave in treatment will help to comb it out.
11. Heat Protectant – You’re already compromising the health of your pretty virgin locks by dyeing them, so get a heat protector if you plan to curl it, straighten it or blow dry it to prevent even more damage.
12. SPF! – Yup, that’s right they make SPF for your hair. If you color, especially in the summer, when you’re lounging on the beach all day, get a spray in SPF to protect your colored locks.
13. Avoid Chlorine – Speaking of summer, if you plan to jump in any pools (especially you blondies, green hair isn’t cute) before you get in wet your hair and add either a leave in conditioner or regular SULFATE free conditioner to help the chlorine from affecting your dye job.
14. Stay Dirty! – I feel like you’re all gonna think I never wash my hair haha. Immediately after coloring wait, at least, 48 hours before washing it so you can make sure all the color has deposited. I usually wait like 4 days.
15. Less, is more – I don’t always follow my own advice, but don’t color your hair more then once in a six week period, it’s essentially killing. (I wish someone would have told me that at 18, when I went from dark brown to pale blonde in 3 days.)
16.  Ooops! – If you are an at home wannabe hair stylist (and I use that term lightly) like myself, your local drugstore and most beauty supply shops sell stripping agents and other fun stuff that will ‘help’ you get that awful dark chocolate brown almost black color mistake out of your hair. Hair stylists will tell you, you’re an idiot and this is horrible for your hair and doesn’t work. I did it, I didn’t go bald, and my hair was blonde again. I lived to tell the tale. (That doesn’t mean I didn’t cry for an hour though)
17.  Moisturize!! – Grab a moisture treatment, I lurveeee Aussie’s 3 Minute Miracle, it has literally saved my hair.
18. Get Healthy First! – If you know you’re going to color your hair, start using masks and conditioning treatments a few weeks before so that way your hair is strong and ready to go before your get it colored.
19. Vitamins – This one may sound weird, but I take Biotin because it helps with hair growth, and therefore makes your hair healthier & in turn helps keep it healthy after you dye it.
20. Get A Comb! – Use a wide tooth comb while your hair is wet (or dry even) instead of a brush to prevent breakage.
21. Clarify – If you do have the misfortune of turning your hair green, either from chlorine or a $2.50 box of dye from the clearance rack botched dye job grab a clarifying shampoo which will help or a red based toner should do the trick and help you get the green out.
22. Vinegar – Use 1 tbsp of vinegar and use it as a rinse, it helps keep your color fresh and restores the hairs natural shine.
23. You DON’T even know – Seriously, don’t think (like me) that you can walk into a drugstore and buy a box of dye and all will be well with the world. It probably won’t, at home dyeing is not for the faint of heart, scary things that you won’t even think about can happen.
24. Be Careful – Do some research, whether you’re going to do it at home or get it done professionally. Research the dye, the salon, the stylist.. just research everything to prevent any mishaps.
25. When all else FAILS? – Rock a wig 🙂 (see below)
Wig
 

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Comments

  1. Seriously you are so cute! I LOVE the fist photo of you in the collage with the short hair and “cotton candy” colored hair… LOVE!! You are too stinkin adorable!! Great tips girl. I am with you, I get bored with my hair too.. and Well because it grows back and can be changed I love to change it up often. (Not as often as you I can see! LOL but change is good!) ♥

  2. Sharing this! Cool to see all styles and colors your hair went through. Btw, you have such a nice smile. 🙂

  3. I have to echo the sentiment regarding your natural hair colour – it is amazing, and must be to easy to dye! As an excessive home-dyer I am jealous ;D

    These are some great tips, and I wish I had picked up some of these when I was a little younger. Hair tragedy solidarity <3

  5. Great tips! I used to color my hair all the time – I’m not as a fanatic about it now that I’m older. My daughter though, she really needs to read this post 🙂

  6. Seriously you are so cute! I LOVE the fist photo of you in the collage with the short hair and “cotton candy” colored hair… LOVE!! You are too stinkin adorable!! Great tips girl. I am with you, I get bored with my hair too.. and Well because it grows back and can be changed I love to change it up often. (Not as often as you I can see! LOL but change is good!) ♥

  7. Sharing this! Cool to see all styles and colors your hair went through. Btw, you have such a nice smile. 🙂

  8. This was an awesome post. I always get a ton of crap for dying my hair all the time, glad I’m not the only one who likes to change it up.

  9. Fantastic post Love. Ive recently gone back to my natural color to try and grow it out after all the dying ive done the past few years (like from Dark brown, blond, red etc). My biggest no no is the fact I hate having my hair trimmed and never do it. I have an irrational fear of scissors near my face lol. Its been over a year. Oops:) xx

  10. Fantastic post Love. Ive recently gone back to my natural color to try and grow it out after all the dying ive done the past few years (like from Dark brown, blond, red etc). My biggest no no is the fact I hate having my hair trimmed and never do it. I have an irrational fear of scissors near my face lol. Its been over a year. Oops:) xx

  11. I have to echo the sentiment regarding your natural hair colour – it is amazing, and must be to easy to dye! As an excessive home-dyer I am jealous ;D

    These are some great tips, and I wish I had picked up some of these when I was a little younger. Hair tragedy solidarity <3

  13. Great tips! I used to color my hair all the time – I’m not as a fanatic about it now that I’m older. My daughter though, she really needs to read this post 🙂

  14. Thanks for the tips! Last year, I had my hair bleached and dyed red the very first time. I wanted to go lighter but if I did, I’m going to kill my hair further. Decided to go darker (coz’ I have natural black hair) until my hair is healthy enough again. 🙂

    This is useful!

    xo Kisty
    kisty.net

  15. LoL Ohhh Ange 🙂 The joys and pains of hair color. I’ve had blonde, red, and brunette, but I always go back to blonde. I had strawberry blonde as a little girl, but it’s gradually gotten darker every year since. It’s like a mousey brown now. Everyone laughs at me because I want to be totally grey so I can easily get that pretty pale blonde shade. Thanks for sharing all your tips..the wig thing really isn’t such a bad idea 😉 xo

  16. This was an awesome post. I always get a ton of crap for dying my hair all the time, glad I’m not the only one who likes to change it up.

  17. Thanks for the tips! Last year, I had my hair bleached and dyed red the very first time. I wanted to go lighter but if I did, I’m going to kill my hair further. Decided to go darker (coz’ I have natural black hair) until my hair is healthy enough again. 🙂

    This is useful!

    xo Kisty
    kisty.net

  18. LoL Ohhh Ange 🙂 The joys and pains of hair color. I’ve had blonde, red, and brunette, but I always go back to blonde. I had strawberry blonde as a little girl, but it’s gradually gotten darker every year since. It’s like a mousey brown now. Everyone laughs at me because I want to be totally grey so I can easily get that pretty pale blonde shade. Thanks for sharing all your tips..the wig thing really isn’t such a bad idea 😉 xo

  19. These are really good tips! I’ve been colour treating mine as well 😉 i have been a brunette, a ginger and a redhead so far! Going back to my natural blonde colour now :p x

    fashionistainthedark.blogspot.com

  20. These are really good tips! I’ve been colour treating mine as well 😉 i have been a brunette, a ginger and a redhead so far! Going back to my natural blonde colour now :p x

    fashionistainthedark.blogspot.com

  21. Ohhhhh, I could probably write a whole blog post on the scary things I’ve done to my hair with home box kits!!!!

    I agree with your no-wash tips. I used to wash my hair daily and always though “ugh!” when people said to follow the two-day rule, but I’ve found that after a few weeks of toughing it out my scalp actually started producing less oil.

  24. You are a gorgeous brunette! Awesome tips, I have been thinking about going lighter since my hair is a little crazy right now but I may just leave it up to the professionals xx – Boho Vanity

  25. Nice wig girlfran! I am trying to bring my hair back to life after a total bleach out last summer. My hair is FRIED! I wish I could change up my hair all the time, but I am scared I will go bald. I use Enjoy hair oil…smells so good!

  26. Ohhhhh, I could probably write a whole blog post on the scary things I’ve done to my hair with home box kits!!!!

    I agree with your no-wash tips. I used to wash my hair daily and always though “ugh!” when people said to follow the two-day rule, but I’ve found that after a few weeks of toughing it out my scalp actually started producing less oil.

  29. You are a gorgeous brunette! Awesome tips, I have been thinking about going lighter since my hair is a little crazy right now but I may just leave it up to the professionals xx – Boho Vanity

  30. Nice wig girlfran! I am trying to bring my hair back to life after a total bleach out last summer. My hair is FRIED! I wish I could change up my hair all the time, but I am scared I will go bald. I use Enjoy hair oil…smells so good!

  31. I love all of you different hair colors! I wish I could do that! Thanks for all of the tips!

  32. I love all of you different hair colors! I wish I could do that! Thanks for all of the tips!

  33. I think an important tip that you should add, and which has completely saved my hair, is to stop using the drugstore boxed dyes. I buy the developer and the dye separately (the boxed drugstore developer is 40, which is really stronger and REALLY damages your hair). I use ION and haven’t looked back since. It’s essentially the same process as the salon dye without the $70-$100 labor fee. Just make sure you buy a pre-treatment and a post-treatment conditioner, which are very cheap.

    I love your blog and you have some amazing tips I can’t wait to try out. You have just found a new reader 🙂

  34. Hiya, Advice from you thanks would it be possible if you can let me know what is the best way to stop Hair dye from fading stripping away. As am using natural Onion juice on the hair scalp for new hair re-growth, and because I have gray hair it showing up to quick….Any suggestion please can you let me know look forward in hearing from you.

    Thanks

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