When to Wash Your Hair After Colouring to Make Sure It Lasts

Experimenting with your hair colour can be a fun way to shake up your look or get through a stifled style period. While it’s much cheaper than shelling out for a new wardrobe, it’s still an investment, and you want to make sure that fabulous color lasts as long as possible. Washing your hair is often framed as a key cause of fading color, but it turns out, the secret to washing your hair after you colour it is less about when, and more about how.

I Just Got My Hair Coloured; Should I Wait to Wash It?

“Lots of people believe that the colour needs to set in your hair for a few days after colouring – that’s actually just a myth,” said Sydney Palmer, a hair-color specialist at Estetica Salon & Spa in St. Paul, MN. “The hair colour doesn’t set in any more than it already has if you wait to wash it.”

Jade Kromer, a hair colour specialist at Juut Salon Spa in Minneapolis, MN, agrees. “Washing your hair right after you colour it really isn’t the problem,” she told POPSUGAR. “Focus more on what products you’re using, rather than time in between shampoos.”

My Colour Is Fading. Why?

When it to hair colouring, it’s much more important to prevent the dye from leaching out than it is to let it “set” in your hair initially. Each strand of hair is surrounded by the cuticle, which is what traps the colour in. When you wash your hair, particularly in hot water, you risk opening up the cuticle and letting the colour bleed out. Palmer recommended washing coloured hair in cooler water: “That makes your hair cuticle stay closed and keeps your hair colour trapped inside the strands of hair. Warm water makes the cuticle more likely to open and let the colour out, which is why colour fades so fast.”

What Can I Do To Keep My Hair Colour Vibrant?

If a cold shower doesn’t sound appealing to you, you can also wash your hair less frequently, and try to avoid water that’s steaming hot. If you choose what’s known as a “fashion colour” for your hair, such as bright pink, orange, or purple, Kromer recommended washing just once a week, and using dry shampoo in the meantime. These colours typically require bleaching the hair, which can make cuticles more porous, and therefore more likely to leak colour in the shower.

If you just have highlights or lowlights instead of full hair colour, you can be a little more lax about water temperature, Palmer said. Less pigment in the hair means that the temperature of the water matters less. In addition to how frequently you wash your hair and the temperature, what you wash it with can make a big difference in how long your colour lasts.

“The type of shampoo, conditioner, and products you use at home are the ultimate reason why your colour is going to last or fade,” Kromer said. “Drugstore shampoos may feel like they’re getting your hair and scalp really clean, but they have chemicals in them that are linked to fading of professional hair colour. If you invest in your products, you’ll realise how much more life you’ll get from your colour!”

Palmer agreed. “You’re not going to buy a Bentley and then put used brakes in it,” she said. Drugstore brands of shampoo and conditioner often contain synthetic ingredients like sulfates, parabens, silicone, and other ingredients that strip hair of its colour and can even be dangerous. When you invest in high-quality hair care, you’re investing in your hair colour and overall hair health. Palmer also recommended watching out for clarifying shampoos, which are “great for getting your scalp clean, but more likely to strip hair of its colour.”

Can I Wash My Hair Before I Get It Dyed?

“Yes, but there’s really no need,” Palmer said. Your colourist will have done that for you. If you head straight from the salon to the gym and need to wash your hair afterward, don’t fret – just use cooler water and quality products for your hair type. Palmer recommended washing no more than three times per week, with cooler water and the right products. Another tip for avoiding dullness is to regularly use a hair colour mask like Sol de Janeiro’s Triple Brazilian Butter Hair Repair Treatment Mask ($36) or shu uemura’s Color Lustre Treatment Mask for Colour Treated Hair ($69).