When it comes to hair maintenance, I’m not sure what I love more: the actual feeling of walking out of the salon and feeling amazing, or the knowledge that I was able to extend the time between my salon appointments just that liiiittle bit more. (Because this coffee addiction won’t pay for itself!)
Maintaining your hair in between appointments is important not just for the financial benefits, but also for the health and happiness of your hair. Case in point: the less you need to actually apply color or lightener to your hair, the happier your hair will be.
Right? Right.
So, how should you maintain your hair in between appointments? Well, I’ve got 10 tips juuuust for you 👇
1. When you’re washing your hair, make sure the water is lukewarm.
Cooler water keeps the hair cuticle sealed, and color protected. Hot water actually opens your hair’s cuticle, which can lead to a faster color-fading process.
2. If you can’t wash your hair in lukewarm water, wait until the end of your shower to shampoo and condition.
Moooost people don’t love taking a cold shower, I get it, no problem. Just save the shampoo and conditioner till the end of your shower, turn the water down to a cooler temperature, and get your suds on!
3. Try to minimize how often you wash your hair.
Washing every day is not only harsh on your hair color, it’s harsh on your scalp and can dry out your hair. The ideal amount of time to wait between washes is 2-3 days. Obviously, If you are an avid athlete, that can make you feel a little grimy - so do what you can. At a minimum, try to at least go one day between washes, if you can do more--great!
4. Use heat protection!
I may sound like a broken record, but heat can cause your hair some serious damage. Yes - even if all you do is blow dry. Using heat protection is crucial to the preservation of your color, and --again, heat expands-- if your hair cuticle expands your color will fade. If you need a quick and easy product recommendation, check out my favorite heat protectant and leave-in conditioner here!
5. Use a deep conditioning mask at least once per week.
Especially if you color treat your hair, this is a great way to keep it feeling healthy and addressing any specific issues you may be having, ie. damage, frizz, or dry ends. Deep conditioning treatments/masks are more concentrated than your regular conditioners and will pack more of a punch, AND the more often you do them the better your results will be.
6. Implement a bond builder in your weekly routine.
Your hair needs a little bit of extra help rebuilding bonds after having those bonds broken down during the coloring process. Bond builders are not the same as your regular hair masks, which means that you need to use them in conjunction with your deep conditioning treatments. For a great pre-treatment option reach for Olaplex No. 3 before you shampoo, OR the newest addition to Olaplex, No. 8 which can be used after you in place of your conditioner. and it is a bonus moisturizing mask as well.
7. Make sure you’re using salon-quality shampoo and conditioners.
If you’re opting for specific products because they’re cheap and affordable, take a look at the ingredients. You can spend a ton investing in your hair and getting every service done while in the chair, but if you head home and use drugstore shampoos and conditioners, those can actually reverse the progress and work you had done.
8. Protect blonde and highlighted hair with leave-in conditioner, hats and products with UVB protection.
Blonde hair is far more porous, and therefore more susceptible to being harmed by the sun, salt water and chlorine. Before heading out in the sun, or pool try to wet your hair and spritz your leave-in conditioner from roots to ends (hyperlink Magic Myst). Hats and products with UVB protection can be great, as well!
9. When heat styling, don’t go higher than 350 degrees.
Heat will reopen your hair cuticle, which allows more opportunity for your hair color to fade. Keep those heat styling tools at 350 or below, please! If you find that a lower heat isn’t cutting it, you can also keep an eye out for products that offer a specific level of heat protection. Ask your stylist for recommendations!
10. Minimize how often you use heat to style.
Try to keep things to one heat styling process per day. So, if you blowdry your hair one day, try to reserve curling or straightening it for another.
I’ll let you take things from here 😌
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