Tips to Preserving Your Hair Color in Between Salon Visits

A common concern I hear frequently from my clients is that, “My color just never lasts!” or they ask, “How can I better keep up with my hair color between visits?”  

These are my FAVORITE problems to help you all with!

Preserving toners, vivids, and all over colors is very important for everyone to do at home while waiting 4-6 weeks until their next appointment. The biggest piece of advice I can give is that the quality of the products you use between visits is the key to keeping your color fresh and bright. It is SO important to use professional products to help extend the longevity of your hair color. One thing I love most about Redken products (and there are many things that I love!!) is that all of their shampoos and conditioners are color safe. They are literally made to cleanse your hair completely and thoroughly, while simultaneously keeping your color safe and bright. So, even if you’re like me and need to shampoo your hair every day, if you are using a color-extending shampoo, you are in the clear!

Now let’s talk specifically about blondes… When you get highlights, a balayage, an ombre or any lightening services done on your hair, you almost ALWAYS will get a “toner” too. The purpose of a toner is to simply tone your hair to the specific shade of blonde that you want it to be. So if you want cooler tones, warmer tones, “honey” blonde, “caramel highlights”, whatever your preference- that is what the toner is going to do for you. Toners are NOT permanent colors but instead what we call “demi permanent” colors, meaning they WILL gradually shampoo out of your hair (usually within 4-6 weeks OR 20-ish shampoos).

The good thing about blondes is there is an easy fix to help with the “brassiness” that can happen between salon visits. Purple shampoo is truly a blonde's BEST FRIEND!! You can use this as many times a week as you feel it is needed but you will probably only need to use it once every week or once every other week. For a quick fix- put it on in the shower while your hair is wet or you can even apply it on dry hair for a more dramatic and/or longer fix. Leave it on for 5-10 minutes and that should do the trick!

The last thing I want to add to this is that heat protectants also play a huge role in preserving your hair color. You should be- and I cannot stress this enough- using a heat protectant on your hair EVERY TIME you put ANY kind of heat on it (blow drying, flat ironing, curling, etc). There is not a single time that you should pass up this step. Heat is hard on your hair in general but can also alter your color if you aren’t protecting your hair properly before styling. I recommend using a “lotion” type protectant that you put in wet hair before blow drying, then going in with a “spray” iron protectant before using any type of hot tool.

I hope this helped and gave some clarity on how to preserve your hair color between visits! 

Feel free to ask questions in the comments below and I hope to see you in my chair soon!

-Cat