How to make a temporary haircolor last longer
Hi guys
During the summertime, we like to experiment with different haircolors but we don't want our hair to be colored forever. That's why we're using temporary haircolor. It's also less damaging than a regular color. The bast way to color your hair is with a temporary colored leave in conditioner. It will nourish your hair as well!
All my info comes from reading the blogs and tips of the temporary haircolor brands I used, from research and from personal experience!
I'm not going to name brands that have been doing aweful jobs with the coloring, but make sure to check reviews first. I used a color on my sister that should've lasted for maximum 10 washes. Well, it lasted for over 8 months... and it also damaged her hair.
First of all, if you're looking for a temporary haircolor, you can search for a couple of things that will be important. I always work with products that are cruelty free and vegan friendly. But you can choose whatever product you want, just make sure that it's as natural as possible. Don't go for those major brands (that also test on animals...). It's better to have a shampoo that's sulfate free. A lot of people don't know this, but are allergic to these chemicals.
The coloring process
Before using the color, don't use hairconditioner. Why? This will make your hair sleeker, but silkier...and the product won't be able to stick to your hair too well. So just wash your hair with only shampoo. Then dry your hair with a blow dryer to make sure the hair is extremely porous and to remove excess water.
Then you use the color treatment. Leave it in for about 30 minutes. You can also use the blowdrier to heaten up the haircolor, to make it set better. If the color didn't work out that well in 30 minutes, you might need a bit more time. Try leaving the product in for about 45 minutes then. It's totally okay to leave in the product for a bit longer, since it's a conditioning treatment as well. Don't do this with regular haircolors though!
I also like to work with virgin hair. I'm afraid of pre bleaching the hair, since it can damage your hair..so I don't do this. But hey, feel free to do so!
Afterwards, you just rinse the product out. Another tip here is to not wash your hair for at least 72 hours. With this tip, the hair will have much more time to soak in the color, without washing it off. Just go for dryshampoo for a couple of days. This is also a great tip for permanent haircolorings!
After a couple of days, when you want to really wash your hair... Go for a colorprotecting shampoo. Harsh shampoos will make the color fade way faster. DO NOT use "Head and shoulders", this is a super agressive shampoo and will make your color fade. Maybe, if you didn't like the color, you can use this shampoo to take the color out faster...
And also; after shampoo'ing and using conditioner, make sure to rinse with colder water afterwards. It will close your hairfollicles and this will make your haircolor set for a longer time.
Then a bit about styling your hair. When using heat, always use a heatprotectant spray. Even when your hair isn't colored. I can not say this enough! You really don't want to damage your hair even more with using heat!
When searching for a good heatprotectant spray, it might be helpfull to search for a product that's also a sunscreen for your h
air. There are multi usage sprays out there, that will protect your hair from sun exposure as well. And if it's sunny where you are, maybe try to wear a hat as much as possible. The sun will make your haircolor fade much faster.
Another tip, for the summertime is to try avoid making your hair wet while swimming. Swimming in the pool with chlorine water will make your haircolor fade away because it's like a bleach. And seawater is salty, salt is also bad for your haircolor. If you can, try wearing a swimming cap. If yo don't want to wear this, make sure to always rinse your hair with natural water afterwards.
Normally, a good leave in color will take up to 10 shampoo times, before it's fully faded. If after like 5 showers the color isn't as vibrant as you want it to be anymore, then you can use a bit of coloring again.
So these were the tips I can give to you! Were they helpful?
Also here are a couple of good brands for CF and vegan temporary haircolor: Manic Panic, I Heart Revolution, Aveda, Limecrime, Kevin Murphy, Arctic Fox,...
X Steph