Hair maintenance: how to keep your colour for longer

There’s nothing quite like salon-fresh hair colour for lifting the spirits (not to mention the complexion), but if you find that root-free vibrancy dulls and fades quicker than 4G at a music festival you’re not alone. Time to deploy a colour contingency plan, with help from award-winning hair colourist and balayage expert Jack Howard, who says, ‘Maintaining your colour after you’ve left the salon is a challenge simply due to daily aggressors such as the sun, pollution, mineral-rich water and even wind, which can all work against you.’ Luckily, Jack has given us his top tips for extending the life of your chosen shade, but points out it pays to be strategic with your colouring technique too in order to eke out as much time as possible between appointments.

‘For all over colour, the further you step away from your natural hair colour the more obvious the demarcation will be and generally six weeks is your limit,’ says Jack. ‘But when it comes to highlights there are so many options to ensure that the colour grows out more softly such as baby lights (very fine, delicate highlights) or easy lights which give a more lived-in feel. Even during lockdown my balayage clients still felt good about their colour as the regrowth was very subtle.’

Washing less is not something we usually advocate – unless it comes to coloured hair that is. From the very moment you step out of the salon it’s time to be a little more sparing with lathering up. Experts advise waiting as long as possible after colouring – at least 72 hours. This is because the dyeing process opens up the cuticle layer (where the dye resides) so you need to allow time for the cuticle to close to avoid any dye escaping down the plug hole. To keep your colour for longer try to avoid washing every day and switch to dry shampoo for those in-between days.

Now, more than ever, is the time to employ some clever cleansing by tailoring your shampoo to your hair colour. While bleach and highlights remove colour from the hair via oxidation, dyeing deposits pigment into the cuticle, so both need slightly different strategies when it comes to shampooing. For bleached hair (if your hair has been dyed a lighter shade than your natural colour, it will have been exposed to some kind of bleaching agent), the key is to find a shampoo that will neutralise any brassy tones that creep in over time. ‘I always recommend a violet shampoo to offset yellow tones and to keep blondes looking bright. For brunettes, a blue shampoo will help to kill any orange tones,’ says Jack.

For darker shades, it’s all about colour preserving shampoos to fend off fading. Avoid clarifying shampoos or those designed to eliminate dandruff as they can strip colour as well as flakes and instead, opt for sulfate and detergent-free varieties, being careful to focus the shampoo on your root area rather than the coloured mid-lengths and ends. For those living in areas of hard water it may even pay to invest in a shower filter to avoid the minerals fading and discolouring your hair. 

Safeguarding your colour means protecting it from UV light just as you would your skin. ‘Sunscreen and anti-pollution sprays are fantastic,’ says Jack who recommends that you spritz, even on cloudy days or when working inside, especially if you sit by a window. Chlorine is another colour-fading culprit so if you enjoy swimming make sure you apply a protective mask beforehand or at the very least wet your hair first with non-chlorinated water in order to make it less porous.

Hydrated hair holds onto colour better than dry, damaged hair. As the colouring process already makes hair more porous by opening up the cuticles, it’s important to use a conditioner to flatten the cuticle back down in order to avoid any dye seeping out. Apply a deep conditioning treatment a few days before bleaching or highlighting to ensure your hair is in peak condition and invest in a reparative mask to future-proof your colour afterwards. If your hair is particularly dry and damaged due to the colouring process, co-washing (cleansing your hair using a specially-formulated conditioner) might be a gentler alternative.

Heat of any form is the enemy to long-lasting colour. Washing your hair in hot water lifts up the outer cuticles, allowing colour to sneak out, so keep your showers on the cooler side and finish with a blast of cold if you can bear it. The same goes for heated appliances so it’s imperative that you use a heat protection product before styling.

If all else fails and fading is a forgone conclusion, or if you’ve got glaring greys, it may be time to try a temporary cover-up. Root concealers are great for when you just can’t get to the salon and even spritzing a regular dry shampoo can do wonders, as oily roots tend to be darker, making re-growth more obvious. ‘Playing around with your parting can also help,’ says Jack, who points out that some people tend to have more greys in certain areas.