Color-Treated Hair: After-Care Tips

Colored Hair Requires Proper Care

Love wearing your hair in different colors? Here are some after care tips for color treated hair.

Keep out of the sun to keep your color radiant longer. Wear hats, and apply serums or styling products that offer sun protection. The sun is not the only heat you should be wary of. Styling tools like curling irons and flat irons can deeply damage colored and brittle hair.

A healthy diet is not only good for the skin but is essential for the continuous replenishment. You need to eat protein-enriched food and make it a staple in your diet to support hair regeneration, drink lots of water to keep your body hydrated.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a big plus. Get enough sleep and avoid excessive smoking or drinking. The key thing to remember for colored hair is to get enough moisture.

Hair dyes will dry the hair, and hair follicles immensely, so be sure to use shampoos specifically made for color-treated hair. Watch out for harmful ingredients in your shampoo too.

Here are common cleansing ingredients you should consider avoiding;

  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
  • Ammonium Xylene Sulfonate
  • TEA Lauryl Sulfate

Opt for shampoos and conditioners that contain extra moisturizers smooth down the frizz, leaving your hair silky smooth.

Also, hair masks are popular for a reason. It deeply moisturizes hair leaving it shiny and more manageable. Mask treatments involve applying the product from root to tip, and waiting minutes for it to soak in.

DIY hair mask recipes can be found all over the internet, the natural the better. Aloe vera, coconut milk are popular choices.

Olive oil is a good moisture mask treatment for normal hair but I would recommend Argan oil for color treated hair for it is found to contain 700 mg per kilo of tocopherols that is twice the amount found tin olive oil.

The tocopherols (vitamin E) are potent antioxidants that help the cells combat free radicals. Argan oil also alleviates dehydration and loss of elasticity. The oil has been proven effective in preventing and treating severely damaged hair.

The Argan oil Hair Mask

  • Apply Argan oil topically, massaging on to scalp.
  • Concentrate on the roots and skin. Avoid drenching the hair with the oil.
  • Cover with a shower cap. Wrap a hot towel over the cap and leave in for about 10-15 minutes.

A deep conditioner can also be used once a week and it should provide long lasting moisture for 7 days. A mask a week is highly advised to help maintain the vivid color and lock moisture in your hair.

Optional: You can keep the towel warm with a blow dryer on the lowest heat setting for 60 seconds. Remember heat will allow treatment to penetrate deeper.

Having a hard time getting excess oil off your hair? Lemon juice can effectively rinse stubborn oil out of hair.