Yes, hair colour is something we all love! It doesn’t just make you look funky, and hip and fashionable, in fact, the right hair colour, can make your face look 10 times brighter, without makeup!
About a month ago, I got myself ‘dusted rouge’ – shades in Red Violet, Violet red and Chocolate Violet, From Schwarzkopf and I’m in love with it. But as much as I love my hair colour for the sass and spunk it lends to my look, the post-color care for my curly hair, is of utmost importance! Because, no matter what they say, chemicals do damage your hair and curly hair, even more so!
But having said that, just because you have curly hair doesn’t mean you can’t experiment or have fun with your hair!
So here are a few very simple tips and tricks, which I’ve put together after talking to global hair styling experts Bony Sasidharan, National Key Accounts manager at Schwarzkopf India and Jordan Alexander, Director of Special Projects at Olaplex Worldwide.
These few things that I’ve listed here will make sure that you colour your curly hair with confidence, and keep them looking prettier, and healthier, than ever!
#1: Find the right stylist – Do your research!
While there are some amazing stylists out there, not everyone understands curly hair a 100%! You need to find someone who is amazing at working on curly hair, because being a curly yourself, you know how differently it behaves from all other hair textures!
#2: Avoid Pre-lightening / Bleaching:
While this is not a post-colour tip, I wanted to include this because it is extremely important to know this! Bleaching can dangerously harm all types of hair, but curly hair, even more so. Because our hair by nature is more dry and prone to frizz, bleaching can damage the hair fibers making the appearance even more dry. So, while the colour when it’s fresh looks great, as it starts to fade out, your hair stars looking unhealthy and damaged!
What I’ve done here, is without pre-lightening! So, it’s not impossible to get a beautiful bright colour on virgin black hair…! Just talk to your hair dresser and make sure he knows exactly how subtle or popping you want it!
#3: Use a ‘Plex’ that re-builds your fibre bonds!
There are treatments that are available in the market now, which when added to your hair colour, work on re-building your hair’s broken fiber bonds, and strengthening your hair, thus, minimizing the damage done to your hair. If you’re pre-lightening your hair, this is especially important.
Schwarzkopf already has ‘Fiberplex’ added in all their newer range of hair colours, which makes sure that you don’t have to worry about whether or not your stylist has added it. If you’re using hair colours from other brands, ask your salon to add ‘Olaplex‘ in your hair colour.
Post your colour, you can also opt for regular olaplex treatments, which is like a hair spa that works on re-builing your damaged fiber bonds. Alternatively, there is an ‘olaplex no.3’ which is a in-home treatment which you can DIY every once a week or once in two weeks, depending on the damage that the hair colour has caused. The price of the product is slightly high – INR 2500/- for a bottle that lasts 5 – 6 times (on my hair length), but I think it’s worth it instead of going to the salon for the treatment every time. You will find Olaplex in India at Jean Claude Biguine salons, Looks Salons, and a few others as well.
#4: Wash less often:
Bright colours bleed and run each time you wash your hair! The more number of times you shampoo, the more it runs! Hence, wash not more than twice a week! My hair colour, is typically supposed to last for about 25-30 washes! It’s now up to me, how long I can make it last!
#5: Use a sulphate free shampoo and Conditioner specifically meant for coloured hair!
While there are some amazing sulphate free shampoos and silicon free conditioners (which I personally love to use), once you’ve coloured your hair, make sure you’re using products that are designer for colour treated hair. They’re milder and work on helping your colour last longer.
I’m currently using the Schwarzkopf Professional’s Bonacure Hair Therapy – Colour Freeze Shampoo and Conditioner. It works on balancing the PH levels of your hair to bring it to an optimum level, to lock in the colour pigments.
#6: Cold Water Wash only!
As you probably know, and it’s something I’ve always said… heat is bad for curly hair! And well, hot water, is heat too, right! So never wash your hair with hot water! Cold water, may sound scary… but is going to protect your hair quality and your colour – both!
#7: Avoid the SUN
Another form of heat you need to save those curly locks from! And UV rays are, in fact, one of the biggest culprits in making your hair colour fade out earlier! So, make best friends with hats and scarves!
You may also use a sunscreen for your hair. For example, I’ve been using the re-charge protein from Cadiveu Professional’s Sol do Rio range. It has UV protection for your hair, and also rebuilds and repairs it! It’s available at most Jean Claude Beguine Salons.
#8: Do not use heat on your curls!
I know I’ve already said that, but this basically means NO HAIR IRONS and NO HAIR DRIERS! Even if you use a diffuser, use it on a very low heat setting and not more than twice a week…! And whenever you do use it, for styling, make sure you at least use a heat protector! I use one from Wella’s EIMI range, what works brilliantly.
Hope you found these helpful. Do let me know if these work for you or if you have any other queries in the comments below.
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Muuaahh
Sonal
