I have heard it over and over from clients, of every hair color, that their color fades and clients everywhere are asking.... "HOW CAN I STOP MY HAIR COLOR FROM FADING!!!" When you walk out of the salon your color is beautiful & vibrant, then by the time you come in for your next service your color looks so blasé!!!
Whether youre a brunette, blonde, redhead, or a mixture of all these, any hair color can suffer from fadage. I am going to answer the why, who, what, where, and whens of color fading and how to help it.
I have some simple solutions and tips to help.
First lets start with what is causing these issues.....
Environment. The Sun, first and foremost, is our biggest opponent in this battle to keep hair color fresh. The sun bleaches EVERYTHING, even your hair color! And YES, even in the winter, the sun is out. Walking to the "L" without any protection on your hair is considered 'sun-exposure'. This sun-exposure is what plays a huge role in our hair color fading problem. Also, the air is filled with pollutants, especially in Chicago, because we are a huge city and the air is not the fresh as the green pastures/rolling hills of the countryside. Think of when you first wash your car it looks beautiful, clean, and shiny, right? Then we drive around all day and once we're home, if you were to swipe your car with your finger it would be filled with dust and dirt! This is what happens to our hair as well these pollutants and chemicals and the dirty environment can effect our hair texture which in turn can fade our hair color.
We have a few prodcuts at SALON ENVY to help with the UVA/UVB rays that effect our hair color. It is by Kerastase and there a few different types but one is a spray that you spritz on before you blow dry your hair. This is an awesome protectant against those harmful rays that are ruining our color. They also make UV protectant shampoo and conditioner within this line. "It gently cleanses and helps repair the hair fiber that has been exposed to environmental aggressions. This light, balancing cleanser provides hair with easy detangling and long-lasting softness, while preserving color radiance."- Says kerastase.comWater. The water we wash with effects our hair color. Tap water is full of different chemicals and minerals that are unhealthy to consume and also unhealthy for our hair. The cholrine is very strong and cholrine is very harsh on the hair cuticle. Also these chemicals that are on the hair to begin with before your color service may effect how the color takes. I recommend "SUNDAY SHAMPOO" from bumble & bumble to rid your hair of these minerals and
chemicals before you get your hair colored. You can use this the day before your color service, shampoo twice, which will help remove some mineral build up on the hair shaft. It is a great detox from our hair products, those harsh minerals and chemicals, and also any other build up & pollutants from the environment.ALSO!!! The temperature of our water effects color life. Hot water opens the hair cuticle and makes the hair color fade out faster. Try to use as cool as you can water. The cooler the better! Cooler water also helps with shine and makes the hair feel silkier by closing the cuticle and sealing the conditioner.
Cleansers. The shampoo we wash with will either help your hair color life or ruin it! Shampoo and conditioners are SOOOOOOOO important! Alot of shampoos and
conditioners contain salts and sulfates and will fade our hair color. We spend all that $money$ on our hair to get it colored then we shampoo our money down the drain with stripping products. Talk to your stylist about what you are using if you experience fading. I will go into detail later about a line we carry at SALON ENVY by bumble & bumble to help your color, especially since they are 30% off right now and if you're like me, love to bargain shop. :)Heat Styling. Heat styling + color treated hair = color fadage. This doesn't mean you can't
heat style.... It just means use a thermal protecter BEFORE you heat style. Heat styling includes everything but not limited to.....blowdrying, using a curling iron, flat iron, & hot rollers. Kerastase makes awesome thermal protectative products called "thermiques". There is one for each type of hair, normal-dry, very dry, color treated, color damaged, fine-thin hair, and coarse-curling hair (see below). Ask your stylist for which one fits you best.
Porous Hair. Color treated + heat styling= porous, highighted hair=porous, over -processed hair color=porous. Porous basically means opened cuticle. The hair cuticle is
opened more than average and won't take hair color normal because of this. This type of hair also will fade on ends and typically feel dry and damaged. Porous hair splits more often than normal hair and can have some breakage. This needs to be addressed by your stylist and will start with caring for your hair with shampoo, conditioner, and styling products to help rebuild and soften your damaged hair cuticle.
The BEST (in-between color services) help out there for fading is, as I mentioned above, the color support shampoos and conditioners by Bumble & Bumble.
30% OFF ALL of our BUMBLE & BUMBLE color support shampoos and conditioners.
Color Support Shampoo must be used with the conditioner. It is formulated without moisturizers that coat hair and hinder color absorption, leaving hair without the softness we've become accustomed to. For the same reason, avoid using any other shampoo before using Color Support Conditioner, as it may leave a barrier that will render color-enhancing properties ineffective.
Who: Anyone who colors their hair.
When: Use every second washing.
How: Wet hair, lather shampoo in palms, massage through and rinse thoroughly. Follow with Color Support Conditioner.
GOLDEN BLONDE COLOR
Moisture, shine, strength, fade prevention, color balance. Keep the warm glow of summery tones (and sunny highlights) golden.
For Golden Blondes: Keep the warm glow of summery tones golden - this low pH, extra-mild formula avoids stripping, neutralizes oxidation, smoothes the cuticle & subtly enhances color.
Jennifer Anisten has golden blonde highlights and low lights. She is a great example of the hair color that would use this shampoo to keep her color over all looking beautiful and a soft golden blonde color.
COOL BLONDE COLOR
Mild cleanse, shine, strength, fade-prevention, color balance. Keep blonde bombshells to silver foxes cool (not gold or brassy).Keep blonde bombshells to silver foxes cool - this low pH, extra-mild formula avoid stripping, neutralizes oxidation, smoothes the cuticle & subtly enhances color.
Victoria Beckham has a cool blonde color. This shampoo is awesome for platinumb blondes to keep all yellow and unwanted golden tones out.
WARM BRUNETTE COLOR
Mild cleanse, shine, strength, fade-prevention, color balance. Keep spicy highlights and warm, woody tones from cooling down.
Keep spicy highlights & woody tones from cooling - this low pH, extra-mild formula avoids stripping, neutralizes oxidation, smoothes the cuticle & subtly enhances color.
Jessica Alba is a great example for a warm brunette color. It can be lighter like hers, or even a darker brunette with some warm hughes.
COOL BRUNETTE COLOR
Mild cleanse, shine, strength, fade-prevention, color balance. Avoid that gradual reddening (its maddening!)
Avoid that gradual reddening (it's maddening!) - this low pH, extra-mild formula avoids stripping, neutralizes oxidation, smoothes cuticles & subtly enhances color.
Megan Fox is a great example of a cool brunette. She is dark and doesn't have warm tones in her hair. Kim Kardashian is another celebrity that keeps her hair dark and this shampoo will keep the warm tones out and keep your color looking dark and rich.TRUE RED COLOR
Mild cleanse, shine, strength, fade-prevention, color balance. Help both orange and blue-based hues stay true (of all the tones, red fades fastest).
Help orange and blue-based hues stay true - this low pH, extra-mild formula avoids stripping, neutralizes oxidation, smoothes the cuticle & subtly enhances color.
Julia Roberts is a great example of a redhead that would use this shampoo. It will keep her red looking VIBRANT and SHINY!
Sharon Osbourne is another celebrity with red hair I wanted to show because her red is a BLUE red and the picture above is a Orange red. The red shampoo by Bumble & Bumble works for either type of red head keeping your color perfectly RED!
