Yahoo Finance These Are the 8 Best Products for Color-Treated Hair
Getty Images
No matter whether you're a salon regular or prefer to take the DIY route, maintaining your hard-earned hue is a universal desire. And one of the easiest ways to do so? Using the right types of products. "When looking for products for color-treated hair, it's really important to know exactly what you're looking for," explains Kristen Fleming, color director at 3rd Coast Salon in Chicago, Ill. "Highlighted or lightened hair really needs reparative or strengthening formulas, whereas single-process colors need things that will help lock in the dyes and keep the color shiny and vibrant."
Ahead, 8 top-notch product picks to help keep your hair color—and hair in general—looking better than ever.
RELATED: 7 Best Dandruff Shampoos for Color-Treated Hair
Olaplex No4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Fleming says this is her favorite shampoo for hair that’s been highlighted, balayaged, or bleached. These processes can quickly take a toll on your tresses, leaving them weak or brittle—which in turn can make your color look dull and lackluster. This formula touts a unique technology that works to actually repair the protein bonds that are broken when hair is damaged/lightened. Fun fact: There’s also an in-salon treatment in this line, which many colorists incorporate as part of any hair lightening service.
Kérastase Reflection Bain Chromatique Sulfate Free Shampoo for Color Treated Hair
For brunette, red, and blonde single-process colored hair, Fleming recommends this shampoo (as well as the accompanying conditioner and mask). “They help lock in the dye and leave hair shiny and reflective,” she says. Credit, among other things, a non-stripping, sulfate-free formula. Top tip: Fleming suggests using cooler water to rinse out your shampoo and conditioner. It helps close the cuticle, the outermost layer of the hair, to further up the shine factor.
EVO Fabuloso Colour Boosting Treatment
This color-depositing conditioner comes in eight different shades, the perfect way to add back lost pigments to hair color that’s starting to look faded or lackluster. They also make a custom version you can get at the salon, which will be mixed up by your colorist with pigments specially made to keep your color truer for longer. “Use it once a week, leaving it on for three to seven minutes, to help maintain your color in between appointments,” says Fleming, who’s a fan.
Matrix Biolage ColorLast Deep Treatment Pack Multi-Use Hair Mask
Stronger, healthier hair will be better able to retain color for longer. Not to mention that the healthier your hair is, the better it’s going to look—it’s as simple as that. Enter this treatment. Just one use leaves your strands up to three times stronger and with 70 percent less breakage, a great choice for any and all dyed hair. Orchid and apricot seeds in the formula keep color-treated hair nice and hydrated; bonus points for the lightweight, easy-to-use packaging.
Schwarzkopf Glossify Customizable Color Gloss, Clear
Ideal to use in between coloring sessions (be they at-home or in the salon), this clear gloss is the perfect way to impart mirror-like shine and refresh any shade. Just one use delivers results that last up to 30 washes; the formula also comes in five tinted shades if you want not only shine, but also a little extra pigment.
Unite 7Seconds Detangler
This multi-tasker protects from both heat and UV rays, two common culprits that can damage the hair and cause color fading, says Fleming. She recommends using it regularly post-washing, before blow-drying, and also notes that it’s great to use if you’re going to be at the beach or pool; you get sun protection and it acts as a coating to seal out damaging salt or chlorine-rich pool water.
Sun Bum Blonde Hair Tone Enhancer
If you have cool blonde or gray hair, incorporating a purple-toned product into your hair care routine can be invaluable. Why? Think back to that color wheel from elementary school art class—purple falls opposite yellow and orange, meaning it quickly neutralizes these tones, which, in cooler, lighter hair makes it read as brassy and dirty. This leave-in formula not only has violet pigments for that reason, it’s also packed with protective antioxidants, frizz-fighting argan oil, and strengthening blue spirulina. Mist it onto damp hair, working it through roots to tips with either a comb or your fingers.
John Frieda Blue Crush for Brunettes Blue Shampoo
Blondes aren’t the only ones whose shade can turn dingy or brassy. Brunettes are susceptible to unwanted yellow or orange tones, too, and this sudser is the perfect fix. Color-correcting and balancing blue pigments neutralize brassiness after just one wash. Try using it weekly, leaving it on for up to five minutes before rinsing, depending on how brassy your brown looks.
RELATED: 7 Top Hair Colors for Spring 2021, According to Hairstylists
