Hair Care - Facts and Techniques You Need to Learn

I started my career as a beautician at seven when I opened my own bedroom salon. I painted nails, braided hair, and I even applied makeup like a pro. You can say that I have always had an interest in beauty, and I naturally attended beauty school immediately after I graduated high school. When the time came to find a job, I started my own salon with a small loan from my mother. I wanted my salon to be special, so I worked with clients to teach them what I knew about hair care techniques. Throughout the years, I have learned that most people know very little about their hair. They believe that the hair needs to be washed every day and they also think that conditioner is enough to treat dry locks. I started this blog so I could educate the public on a larger scale about hair care.

Keeping Your Sun-Kissed Locks: 3 Ways To Protect Highlights In Your Hair

Beauty & Fashion Articles

Beautiful locks can make a world of a difference to your overall complexion. If you want to give your hairstyle a little lift and add some color and depth to your hairstyle, consider getting highlights. The highlight color most suitable for your complexion will depend on your skin tone, hair color and eye color. For example, those with dark skin, hair and eyes will generally do best with deep cognac and milk chocolate highlights. Trust your hair colorist to mix a highlight color that will suit you best. Once you've found the perfect color, you'll want the highlight to last. This means you'll have to spend some time and effort in maintaining your locks. Here are 3 tips to consider.

Tone with Blue or Purple Shampoo

Although your highlights may have looked amazing when you stepped out from the hair salon, the colors will fade with time. This can be due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from just general wear. Regardless, to maintain the color of your highlights, you'll want to use a colored shampoo regularly to preserve, tone and protect the colored hair. The colored shampoo should be used in conjunction with a normal shampoo.

Generally speaking, you'll have two options to choose from: purple or blue. Whether you should use a blue or purple shampoo will depend on what your natural hair color is. If you are looking to neutralize yellow tones in blonde or gray hair, you should use a purple shampoo. On the other hand, neutralize brassy, orange tones to lightened brown hair with blue shampoo.

Shower with Cold Water

Water is color's worst enemy, which is why your hair colorist will generally recommend that you avoid washing your hair too often. If you have to wash your hair, grin and bare through the discomfort of using lukewarm or cold water. Cold water is the better of the two options and will allow you to best preserve the dyed colors in your highlights.

Hot water will actually lift the outer cuticle layer of your hair, allowing the color to bleed out and fade. In fact, the hotter the water is, the more color you will lose. If you wash your hair with hot water often, you'll find your highlights losing their original tone and hue, and you'll need to go in to the salon for a touch-up or for a toning session more frequently.

Test Your Water Supply

Another tip that is not as widespread is to test the water supply for copper before even using it. Copper in the water supply can turn blonde highlights green. If there's copper present in the water supply, consider installing a filter for your shower in order to prevent copper from depositing to the surface of the hair shaft.

If you notice that the copper is having an effect on your blonde locks, you can try giving your hair an acidic hair rinse. Return your blonde highlights to their former glory by dissolving 6 to 8 aspirin tablets in a glass of warm water, and letting the solution set in your hair for 10 to 15 minutes before washing it off. You should be able to see an effect immediately. 

Conclusion

There are plenty of other different ways that you can protect and preserve the colors in your hair highlights. Speak to a hair colorist if you are concerned about fading or other issues, and make sure you implement the above tricks and tips in order to keep your sun-kissed locks for longer periods of time. If worse comes to worst, your hair colorist will recommend that you get your hair toned more frequently in order to preserve the colors you want.

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25 May 2016