How to: Stop Your Colour Fading Before Friday

Tue, 21 August 2012 9:18AM

At some point over the course of the weekend, hopefully you reclined, relaxed and left the work to someone else.

Were you getting a pedicure? Perhaps you were at the dentist, or simply waiting for your partner to vacuum under your slipper-clad feet.

Or you may have been getting your colour done?

Saturdays are mad for a salon visit. Love the stuff. And as colour can eat up your day and spit you out into dusk – albeit with fabulous foiling work – it’s a big investment of both time and money.

So look after colour once you have it done, Primpettes! You do not want it to fade before Friday.

Look at Lea Michele here. She no doubt has a stylist at her disposal, but those highlights definitely need looking after on a daily basis.

Here are some top tips from James Pearce at Barney Martin Hairdressing on how to keep colour strong – for more than a week.

Scenario #1
You’re booked in for this Saturday, and you want to give your hair the leg up it needs to really take the colour well.
Do you:
a) Actually put your leg up on your head?
b) Wash your hair … well! “Sometimes a deep cleansing shampoo will open the hair up and remove any impurities,” says James. He adds that this may also allow darker colours to achieve a more even result. “Be sure to arrive at the salon with not only clean, but also well-cleansed and dried hair. So really rinse out any conditioner and let it dry naturally or otherwise. With dry, clean hair, your colourist can get the exact shade of your roots and work from there. Dirty, oily hair will appear darker at the roots and be harder for them to work with.” They will have to wash and dry your hair before even attempting the colour process – meaning you most definitely won’t be home for Australia’s Funniest Home Videos.
Try: TRESemmé Deep Cleansing Shampoo, $11.49, 1800 061 027

Scenario #2
You’ve allowed two hours in-salon to go ‘Jessica-Biel Brunette’ and you are are currently ‘Anna Faris-fair’. Will it be fab for your lunch date?
a) Yes, you can leave early – but you may look like Mr. Snuffleupagus by the end of entrée.
b) “No, because to go dark, your colourist has to open the pigment and add new artificial pigment. Any good colourist will take this slowly to see how the hair adjusts,” says James. “When we take the hair lighter we open the cuticle and remove (via oxidation) natural or artificial colour pigments. During this process of oxidization or lightening, the cuticle is open and the hair shaft is swollen, allowing easy removal or conversion of natural and artificial colour pigments. Problems can occur if the hair is already coloured – as it will take colour differently and you may have to go dark slowly over a few visits – or if your hair is coarse and damaged, it may take to different areas faster, resulting in an uneven look. This slowly, slowly process can drag on, so don’t promise your attendance anywhere too soon. A rush job is going to look like one.”

Scenario #3
You’ve just spent your last cent on this morning’s hair colour appointment, there’s no way in Alice’s Wonderland you can afford colour saving shampoos!
a) Smash the piggy bank Primpettes. The few extra dollars you deposit into the pharmacy for a colour saving shampoo and conditioner may be the best investment you make. “Colour saving shampoos and conditioners work to close the cuticle as tight as possible, preventing colours from washing out completely,” says James.
b) Fine. Wash your hair with Omo, you might as well.
Try: Salon Confidential Colour Lock Shampoo & Conditioner, $9.95 each, 1300 854 484

Scenario #4
You’ve had so much colour, you’re clever enough to try an extreme colour change at home.
a) Sure thing! And tomorrow you can attempt to realign your steering, fix the plumbing and repair your leaky roof. Who needs an expert?
b) Stop right there. Colouring hair is the best investment you can make in beauty. “So much can go wrong, like taking colour from dark to light too quickly if you’re not an expert,” warns James. Some other mane misdemeanours are: “overlapping bleach when doing the re-growth touch ups as this will cause the hair to break, chemical straightening after colour which also sees it head for the drain. Also, never colour from blonde to dark without having the hair treated professionally, or it will go green.”
Try: Wella Colour Save Mask, $34, 1300 885 002

What do you think Primpettes?

Will you invest in a good colourist and colour saving shampoo now you’ve heard the worst-case scenarios?

ecb x

Posted by: ecb

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Tags: barney martin hairdressing, coloured hair, hair, hair tips