Make Your Hair Color Last Longer

These days I find it really hard to make regular hair appointments for either color or cuts. I've always been more of a spontaneous appointment-maker anyway.

So after I decided I didn't want highlights anymore, I found a great new colorist at Charles Ifergan Naperville who really understood my base color and helped me get a great shade on. She recommended that in-between color appointments I use a color enhancing or depositing shampoo and conditioner. That's a great tip! Particularly if you need to keep red redder, or keep your brunette from turning brassy.

Now, although the colorist was recommending I try a product that the salon carries, I was already planning on checking out Aveda's clove shampoo and conditioner (recommended for brunette and honey shades) and thus I passed with some excuse I came up with (teehee).

Aveda has some amazing shampoo and conditioner combinations to help keep any hue of color vibrant, or give it that much needed kick. I used the clove shampoo and conditioner today. It left my hair a bit frizzy, but I think everyone's hair reacts differently to products, so it's best to test it out on one's own hair before taking my example to heart.

I can tell there was a little color deposited, but it's very subtle. I think it will help me from turning reddish or brassy and help lengthen the time between hair color visits.

Another trick to try, to preserve hair color, is sulfate-free shampoo and silicone-free conditioner. Sulfates are great detergents but not so great when it comes to cleaning oils but leaving hair color in the strand. Silicones tend to coat the hair and seal it, which is great for shiny-looking hair, but not so great for the internal hair structure which requires access to air and nutrients to be at optimum health.

One of my favorite shampoo and conditioner combinations, is one that I've reviewed before: L'Oreal Everpure. Here is the official website, where you can  request a free sample. L'Oreal recently added to their Everpure line by adding Everstrong--another sulfate free product line that's great for weak or processed hair as it coats the hair in nutrients that supposedly enrich the hair with just the first use. I think this line is meant to compete with the strengthening line Fructis puts out. I tried Fructis a few years ago and didn't like the results on my hair.