How to take care of dyed hair - Garnier How to take care of dyed hair - Garnier

How to Take Care of Dyed Hair

Achieving your perfect hair color is a big step! Now you need to keep it vibrant and healthy by using the right hair care techniques and products. Whether your color change was dramatic or subtle, nourishing ingredients are key to preserving shine and softness. Follow these expert color-treated hair care tips from Garnier to maintain hair color that looks and feels like the day you dyed it.

The Quick Checklist for Dyed Hair Care

  • Time between dyeing and first shampoo: 2-3 days
  • Frequency of shampooing dyed hair: 2-3 times/week
  • Time before root touchup/recolor: 4-6 weeks (permanent dye)
  • Wash water temperature: Lukewarm (never hot!)
  • Rinse water temperature: Cool
  • Styling tool temperature: Low
  • UV protection: Limit sun exposure and cover your head when outside. Look for shampoo, conditioner, and stylers with UV filters

How to wash colored hair without fading - Garnier

How can I Wash Colored Hair without Fading?

The best shampoo for color-treated hair is a gentle, color-safe, and formulated with moisturizers, antioxidants, and UV filters. However, avoid choosing a shampoo that contains parabens, sodium chloride, petrochemicals, DMDM hydantoin, sulfates, and silicones.

What’s the Best Way to Condition Dyed Hair?

Maintaining peak moisture is key to keeping your color vivid and your hair soft. The hair conditioning routine below yields amazing results without much effort or time.

Every day
Every wash
Every week
01
Every day
Apply a daily leave-in conditioner/moisturizing styler, especially if you have wavy, curly or coily hair. Bonus points for treatments with built-in UV protection.
Go to product
Whole Blends
10-in-1 Miracle Nectar Leave-in Treatment
10-in-1 Miracle Nectar Leave-in Treatment
02
Every wash
The best conditioner for dyed hair is specifically formulated for color-treated hair. Apply from mid-lengths to ends after every shampoo and leave on for as long as directed.
Go to product
Garnier Fructis
Color Shield Conditioner
Color Shield Conditioner
03
Every week
Don’t skip your weekly mask for a deep conditioning treatment to boost shine and softness. If your hair is bleached, a bond-building treatment does wonders for preventing brassiness.

Since the scalp produces natural oils, it’s best to apply conditioners and leave-ins from the mid-lengths down to the ends. See our article on conditioning color-treated hair for even more info.
Go to product
Whole Blends
Honey Treasures Repairing Mask
Honey Treasures Repairing Mask

Can I Style Dyed Hair as Usual?

Another important aspect of color care is drying and styling your hair with as little heat as possible.

Drying

  • Let your hair air-dry as often as you can. Frequent blow-drying tends to do more than simply dry your hair, it can also dry it out and cause damage.
  • After washing, gently squeeze out water with a soft microfiber cloth. Rubbing with a regular terry towel causes too much friction and may lead to breakage.
  • If you must use a hairdryer, apply a heat protectant spray beforehand and keep the setting on low.

How to dry colored hair - Garnier
How to style dyed hair to prevent fading - Garnier

Styling

  • Keep hot styling tools on the lowest temperature setting to minimize color fading.
  • Once styled, reduce the heat with a cool-shot finish to reduce fade and breakage, lock in shape, and amp up shine. This is done by using the cool setting on your hair dryer.

How can I Protect my Color-treated Hair?
Sun
Water
01
Sun
UV rays from the sun are harmful to color-treated hair and a known cause of fading and weakening dyed strands. You can prevent overexposure while outside by covering your head, washing with a UV-filter shampoo like Color Shield, and applying a sun-protection leave-in. Read more in our article on protecting hair from the sun.
02
Water
Salty ocean waves, hard tap water, and chlorinated pools3 can all be bad for your new dye job. One of your best defenses is to rinse your hair with fresh water both before and immediately after you go for a dip. Wearing a swim cap is also recommended.

When can I Recolor my Hair?

For optimal hair health and strength, wait at least four weeks before recoloring with a permanent hair dye and at least six weeks if using a bleach or lightener. To keep your previous color consistent, focus the dye on your roots for the first 20 minutes, then comb it down through the lengths for the final 5 minutes to refresh the ends.

Even if you did not have a reaction the last time your colored, don’t skip the 48-hour patch test. It’s also a good idea to redo a strand test to figure out the best processing time for your hair and shade.

References

1 Lee Y, Kim YD, Hyun HJ, Pi LQ, Jin X, Lee WS. Hair shaft damage from heat and drying time of hair dryer. Ann Dermatol. 2011 Nov;23(4):455-62. doi: 10.5021/ad.2011.23.4.455. Epub 2011 Nov 3. PMID: 22148012; PMCID: PMC3229938.

2 Locke B, Jachowicz J. Fading of artificial hair color and its prevention by photofilters. J Cosmet Sci. 2005 Nov-Dec;56(6):407-25. PMID: 16538296. 

3 Elaine K Howley. Tips for Protecting Color-Treated Hair from Chlorine. U.S. Masters Swimming, October 2, 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What ingredients should I avoid when caring for color-treated hair?
  • What’s the best way to dry and style colored hair?
  • How long before it’s safe to dye my hair again?

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