Gone are the days when we only reached for the packet or bottle of hair dye when it was time to hide those annoying grays! These days, people of all ages and all walks of life seem to be having heaps of fun coloring their hair red, blue, purple, blond, and every other color you can think of, even….. grey! Oh yes, a headful of grey/silver stresses is actually quite the trend today, isn’t it? However, whatever colour or shade you go for, surely you’ll know by now that there can’t be anything more unattractive than a washed out or stale dye job. Learn how you can take good care of your dyed hair at home, and keep it looking gorgeous for longer. Here are 10 points to remember.

1. Don’t immediately wash your just-dyed hair
In fact, give your hair some time (3 days, or, a minimum of 48 hours) before shampooing it. Your color will less likely be washed off, and will take longer to fade away.

2. Pick an ideal shampoo
Once you color your hair, it’ll need special care with ideal shmpooing products. This is due to your hair structure being weakened, leaving it more susceptible to dryness and breakage. Pick a high quality, color protecting shampoo and go easy with the amount you use. You might also want to consider decreasing the frequency of your shampooing.

3. Don’t skimp on hair conditioner
A specially selected hair conditioner will help to nourish, hydrate, and protect your coloured hair from dryness and breakage, so don’t forget to include it each time you shampoo your hair.

4. Try a dry shampoo
Freshen up with a gentle, color-safe dry shampoo to soak up the grease, dirt, and product build-up from your hair between shampoos. This will be way gentler than frequent wet-shampooing, and will help your hair color last longer.

5. Avoid exposure to hot water
Hot showers tend to damage coloured hair, so, if you really must have a hot shower, use a shower cap to protect your coloured hair.

6. Limit the use of heated styling tools
Styling tools such as curling irons, hair straighteners, and blow dryers tend to meddle with hair cuticles and damage the outer protective layer of your dyed hair. If you still need to use them, protect your hair with a protective styling serum first.

7. Regular deep conditionings will help!
Once or twice a week, pamper your color-treated hair with a deep-conditioning treatment or hair mask to add lustre and shine to your coloured hair. As there are various products out there, methods may vary, so just follow the instruction on the package/bottle/jar.

8. Use leave-in conditioners for continuous protection
Leave in hair conditioners are great for color-treated hair for not only does it nourish your hair, but it also leaves a film of protection to protect your hair from external damage. A leave-in conditioner with sun protection factors will be an added bonus to keep your hair safe from the damaging UV rays of the sun.

9. A healthy diet helps!
Don’t underestimate the powers of a healthy diet in maintaining a lustrous head of hair, especially when your hair has been colour-treated. Nutrients such as protein and iron help to build keratin and keep your hair strong and healthy. Make lean meat, salmon, green leafy vegetables, soya beans, whole grains and nuts part of your daily diet if you wish to keep your dyed hair looking great.

10. Space out your other treatments
Avoid double or multiple treatments at a go. If you’re colouring your hair, postpone any other hair treatments such as straightening, or perming for another time, preferably a week or more after your colour treatment. It would be great if you can request for low-ammonia and botanical-rich products for these treatments too.