AND HOW NOT TO FADE AWAY

Keeping your colour fresher for longer requires a little bit of love. These innovations and insights will help

A FEW DROPS OF HAIR OIL WARMED IN THE HANDS AND WORKED THROUGH AS A DETANGLER PRE-BLOW DRY, WILL COAX OUT KNOTS AND GIVE SHINE TO DAMAGED BLEACHED HAIR. WE LIKE JO HANSFORD COLOUR CARE ILLUMINOIL, £29.

A bespoke approach

Recognising that colour fade is a complicated business, Charles Worthington’s new Colourplex haircare is the opposite of one-size-fits-all. Cleverly customisable, it’s split into categories that get right to the heart of what’s troubling your colour job. If condition is an issue, Protecting Shampoo (which comes in variants of Blonde and Brunette, £6.99 each) creates new bonds within the hair shaft to replace those broken down by dye, and shuts down cuticles to prevent colour from leaching out. When dullness sets in, Enhancing Shampoo, £7.99 (again, one for brunettes, another for blondes) does the above, but also refreshes colour and shine by way of a small amount of pigment. And if unwanted warmth has set in, Toning Shampoo in either Violet, £6.99, Ultra Violet or Blue, £7.99 each, neutralises the red or brassy tones that can develop in brunette, blonde, grey or platinum hair.

AND FOR REDHEADS?

John Frieda comes to the rescue for fiery types. Radiant Red Red Boosting Shampoo, £6.99, coats each hair with a water-repelling film, replacing the natural barrier that’s often stripped away by colouring and lightening. The corresponding Red Boosting Conditioner, also £6.99, deposits a semi-permanent dye complex through the most damaged areas.

IF YOU LACK THE PATIENCE FOR SALON HIGHLIGHTS, L’ORÉAL PROFESSIONNEL INSTANT HIGHLIGHTS, IN WHICH SIX LEVELS OF LIGHTENING CAN BE ACHIEVED IN MINUTES, COULD UNLEASH YOUR INNER BLONDE.

A SENSITIVE ISSUE

While reactions to hair colour are rare, they happen often enough for the big brands to do something about it. Clairol’s solution is an innovative new molecule known as ME+, now used in Nice’n Easy At Home Hair Dye, £6.49. Simply put, most reactions involve the ingredient paraphenylenediamine (or PPD), and ME+ adds an extra ‘arm’ to PPD so the immune system doesn’t see it as a threat (although you’ll still need to do a patch test). On a more frivolous note, the new formula has a soft floral scent and the non-drip cream makes colouring a breeze. It’s what we’d call a win-win-win.

Tools down

Colour and curls aren’t mutually exclusive, but vetoing heated tools for the first week after a new colour will lengthen its life. Beyond that window, thermal protection (while it may feel an extraneous step) really does help. Lore Originals Prepare + Protect, £21.50, (from a beautiful capsule collection we’re rather in love with) conditions, detangles, and has the added bonus of refreshing flat hair in between washes (see above).

FIGHT FRIZZ

The porosity created by colour processing means that ambient moisture is absorbed more readily, leaving hair puffy and unmanageable. Misting Colour Wow Dream Coat, £22, over damp hair before blow-drying creates a ‘raincoat’ around each strand and, according to the most frizz-susceptible member of Red’s beauty team, creates a glossy, swinging lock-down that withstands the wettest and/or hottest conditions. A bottle full of brilliance.

WASH LESS, LAST LONGER

Ah, how we love dry shampoo – the volume and hold, the nonchalant texture, that extra half-hour in bed… and the way it keeps our colour true. How so? Hot water lifts the cuticle to send colour swirling down the plughole, so the longer you can hold out between shampoos the better (there’s a case here, too, for warm showers rather than hot). The best dry shampoos leave no chalky residue, so suit even raven-dark tones. New Evo Water Killer, £21, has substance without stickiness, plus a clean and pretty smell.