Purple shampoo is holy water to blondes, but what’s the secret in how to keep brown hair from fading? It’s one of those things you don’t consider when dying your hair, especially if you wear halo hair extensions, but fading should be expected even with permanent dye jobs!
If you just entered the world of hair dye or you’re noticing too much change in your hair colour to consistently match your halo, you’ll wanna add these to your haircare routine to keep dyed hair from fading.
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How Long Does Hair Dye Last?
Firstly, get to know the difference between semi permanent dye and permanent hair dye to manage your dye fade expectations.
Semi permanent dyes are more common than permanent dye jobs and this is often what your salon will use on you. Different brands will offer different time frames before the colour washes out, but typically you’ll get 6-8 weeks of good, vibrant colour depending on your care and how good the dye is. The reason these fade faster is because these colourants actually sit atop your hair shaft, like a coating. Making them much easier to wash away.
With permanent hair dye, these attempt to hold colour a little longer, but despite the name “permanent”, these magic makeover liquids are not actually forever. Unlike semi-permanent, permanent dye consists of 2 parts: developer and colour. The developer essentially bleaches your hair strand and opens the shaft up for the colour to penetrate deeper into your cortex.
Although you’ll get a longer lasting shade compared to semi permanent dye, any artificial colouring to the hair (bleach not included) will fade to a varying degree.
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How to Keep Brown Hair From Fading
1. Use Colour Protectant Haircare Lines (Not Just Shampoos!)
New to dark hair dye or a jet black vet, one of the first things you learn in how to make semi permanent dye last longer is to use a colour protecting shampoo and conditioner. There’s no magic ingredient in these making your colour last longer, instead, it’s what it doesn’t contain: sulfates.
Choosing shampoos and conditioners that are colour-safe is easy enough, but don’t forget to get your heat protectant and leave-in conditioners on board with the mission too. These are some of our favourites, but the other products in their line are a go-to too!
2. Try Colour Depositing Shampoos
A fresh take on the age old sulfate-free shampoo tip, colour depositing shampoos and conditioners are an amazing way to boost your hair colour if it’s faded a little or you want to balance the tones.
These aren’t super long lasting or totally colour-changing either, so it’s a relatively low-stakes game. We love EVO’s Fabuloso Colour Boosting Treatment, for its easy shower use and subtle boost.
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3. Wash Your Hair Less
Just one more reason to not wash your hair so often! Even the best colour-friendly shampoo and conditioner aren’t able to protect from total fading; if you missed the why above, it’s because even permanent dye doesn’t completely alter your hair colour the way bleaching does–it’s a colour added on top.
Hard water, heat from your shower, along with your shower products will slowly fade your colour so it’s best to hold off on wash day for as long as possible. If you’re still learning to love your second, third, or fourth hair days, dry shampoo could be a good option or try incorporating oily hairstyles.
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4. Use Bond Builders
Blessed be bond builders for hair! These intensely reparative hair treatments are gold for extending the life of your hair colour. When hair is moisturized, your colour will automatically look more vibrant. But what makes these better than your conditioner is that they’re able to coat your strands and lock in your colour–meaning you’ll get a shiny, vibrantly coloured protective barrier.
Use these weekly to bi-weekly to strengthen your hair and add some elasticity back in locks after a harsh dye job.
5. Add in UV-Protecting Sprays
Blondes are traditionally the ones we see getting a helping hand during the summer months with whole lines devoted to anti-brassiness. But really, all processed hair is subject to brassiness and warming when you add strong UV rays and chlorine.To keep dyed hair from fading every time you step out, incorporate a UV-protecting spray, leave-in conditioner, or wash duo. One of the best is Wella's Invigo UV Hair Color Protection Spray for the way it blocks UV rays, chlorine, and just about anything else summer is made of. If you’re looking for something different in your routine, we’ve got a whole list of products to protect hair from sun damage too.
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