how to get healthy dyed hair

How To Keep Dyed Hair Healthy| Expert Tips

Have you dyed your hair for more years than you can remember? Or you are about to embark on the exciting world of vibrant colour? Either way, it’s never too soon or too late to protect your hair colour investment.

Thinking about your colour-treated hair as an investment is a great place to start. When you spend time and money on your hair, you want it to look as good as possible for as long as possible.

Take good care of your hair, and colour treatments can last longer. Your hair can look more vibrant, healthy and shiny.

Can Dyed Hair be Healthy?

female model with dyed afro hair

I’ll start by tacking a question I am frequently asked about dyed hair. Can dyed hair be healthy?

Caring for colour-treated, dyed, bleached or highlighted hair is an important topic here at Ogario London HQ. I have dyed, coloured and highlighted many heads of hair in my salon, and I can answer that question with a big YES.

Yes, dyed or coloured hair can be healthy. It’s a question of how you treat it. I have years of experience helping clients to maintain colour-treated, highlighted, and bleached hair.

Keep reading to discover my tips on how to keep dyed hair healthy.

Healthy Dyed Hair in 7 Steps | Overview

Long Hair Care Routine

Styling Products for Dyed Hair| Styling Mist for Glossy Finish

Styling Mist for Glossy Hair

Targets Damaged Hair to Add Shine

Healthy Dyed Hair in 7 Steps | In Detail

1. Choose a Gentle Shampoo

Curly Hair Washing

A moisturising shampoo is excellent for dyed hair. During the process of dying your hair, the chemicals penetrate the hair’s outer layer so that the inner layer of the hair can absorb the colour. Once the chemical process has taken place, the hair is, to put it bluntly, damaged. That leaves hair prone to becoming dry. You can read more about what it means if the cuticle breaks in my blog on how to get rid of split ends. But essentially, what I recommend is that you use a gentle, moisturising shampoo.

2. Hydrate your Hair with a Deep Conditioner

Hydrated hair can hold onto colour pigments more effectively.

Choose a deep conditioner with high levels of moisturising ingredients before your colour appointment to give your hair the best chance of absorbing the colour.

The best way of achieving long-lasting colour results is by having a great foundation. That means your hair should be hydrated before your colour appointment at the salon.

Use a hair mask treatment once a week, every week.

A deep conditioner will help replenish your hair following a colour treatment. Treat your hair once a week and you will be amazed at how long your colour lasts. Plus, your hair will be easier to style and manage.

As well as using a weekly hair mask before colouring, use one regularly afterwards to keep hair hydrated, so it holds on to colour for longer.

Apply a treatment hair mask once a week for three weeks before your colour appointment. That will help to repair any damage, infuse the hair shaft with moisture and help seal the cuticle. The smoother the cuticle, the more hair colour pigment can cling on and stay put.

Think you don’t have time to deep condition your? Think again! Check out my blog for ideas on how to make time for your weekly hair mask.

3. Condition Dyed and Colour Treated Hair to keep it Healthy

Long Hair Tips | Conditioning

Once you’ve left the salon, swinging your freshly coloured tresses, make it your mission to condition your dyed hair. Aftercare is essential for maintaining colour. Condition every time you wash your hair. Never skip. If your conditioner is not working for you, find one that does.

4. Gently Squeeze the Water out of your Hair before you apply Conditioner

After shampooing and rinsing your hair, use a small towel and gently squeeze out the excess water from the hair. This is one of the best things you can do for your hair in preparation for conditioner. If you leave in excess water, you can watch your conditioner slide down the plughole as it slips out of your hair. By towelling out the water the conditioner stays on the hair so that you get more from your product.

5. Avoid Washing Hair in Hot Water

Heat, whether from the sun, the hairdryer or your hot water tap, damages hair. That makes heat one of the biggest culprits for drying out hair. You can’t avoid all heat, but you can wash hair at a tepid temperature to help reduce heat damage.

6. Give your Hair a Break

Female with long blonde hair holding a hair dryer to lift her hair

Dyed hair can become dry and damaged with excessive heat.

I recommend:

Try air-drying your hair at least once a week.

Turn down the heat on the hairdryer. If you are rough-drying your hair before styling, try a cooler temperature.

Reduce drying time. Most of us are more likely to over-dry hair than not! Drying your hair probably takes less time than you think. Try reducing the amount of time you dry your hair by 1-minute each time you dry.

I think most people can reduce the time that hairdryer heat is applied to the hair and get better results.

7. Choose the right Styling Product for your Hair

Keep Dyed Hair Healthy

Give your hair protection and added moisture as you style. Choose multitasking products. Styling Mist for Volume, for example, is a leave-in conditioner and a hair volumizing styling product.

Styling Mist for Natural Hold and a Glossy Finish is a favourite with my clients who have dyed or coloured hair. They love it because it gives an extra moisture boost to the hair, making it easier to style.

Add Moisture to Dyed Hair | Styling Mist for Volume

Styling Mist for Volume

Hair Volumizer

Healthy Dyed Hair | Frequently Asked Questions

You may be reading this blog and thinking about dyeing your hair for the first time.

Colouring or highlighting your hair for the first time is a big step.

Whether you are making a radical change or enhancing your natural colour, it’s exciting. But it’s also a big commitment.

You have to give a lot more thought to caring for colour-treated hair. There are roots to consider, dry ends to manage, over-lapping colour to avoid, and different hair textures.

When you colour your hair adopting a different mindset for taking care of your hair helps. That may sound daunting but keep it simple. 

Follow my tips above, and if you have more questions, keep reading to see my answers to FAQs for dyed hair.

I want to Keep my Colour for Longer. How do I Maintain Colour-Treated or Highlighted Hair?

smiling female model, long brown dyed hair with highlights

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

If I were to have a hair mantra, this would be it. Adding moisture is the best thing you can do for your dyed, coloured or highlighted hair.

My hair is Dry, Brittle Hair after Colouring. What can I do?

Brittle Hair

When hair becomes dry and brittle, it’s been through too much. You may even be experiencing some breakage. It’s time to take a breather and reflect. Of course, you can overdo it with colour treatments. Hair dyes are strong chemicals, and if you overlap the colour treatments too often, they cause the hair to become brittle and, worse, break. There may be other factors. If you are using heated styling tools on dyed hair or not adding sufficient moisture, the combined effect can take its toll on hair. Once you’ve got to the point of hair becoming brittle, it’s time to reduce the heat as much as possible and get into a routine of regular, weekly deep conditioning treatments. Follow my tips above and go to my blog on how to fix damaged hair for further advice.

Hair elasticity is a term that you may have come across. It’s the opposite of damaged or broken hair. When hair has elasticity, it has stretch. That means that your hair has the right balance of moisture. I’ve written a blog all about how you can improve hair elasticity. Find out how you can improve the elasticity of your hair.

What's the best treatment or deep conditioner for colour-treated or bleached hair?

The best treatments or deep conditioners for colour-treated or bleached hair get moisture to the core of the hair. My preference is for water-based deep conditioners. Argan oil is perfect for smoothing and nourishing the hair, but when you want to get to the heart of the problem, pro-vitamin b5 is my go-to for deep conditioning.

Plant-based pro-vitamin b5 is proven to penetrate the hair cuticle to add moisture. It puts back the moisture that hair dye takes away. I’ve put it at the centre of my hair care formulations.

Restore and Shine Hair Masque awarded Best Hair Mask in the Beauty Bible Awards, is a treatment or deep conditioner that replenishes colour-treated or bleached hair.

How do you keep your hair healthy after dyeing it?

Healthy Hair Checklist

Keep hair healthy after dyeing by following the simple steps I’ve outlined above. I’ve summarised some of the key points below.

  1. Choose a gentle, moisturising shampoo.
  2. Always condition the hair after shampoo.
  3. Gently squeeze excess water out of the hair before you apply the conditioner.
  4. Give your hair a break from the heat to help keep dyed hair healthy.
  5. Choose moisture-boosting styling products.

What's the best hair repair treatment for damaged hair?

Restore and Shine Hair Masque is a hair mask treatment developed to bring damaged hair back to its lustrous best. But remember, treating damaged hair is a journey, not a one-off event. I recommend getting into a weekly routine of treatments. Hair, like your skin, likes regular attention, so keep adding moisture. Little and often works best for repairing damaged hair and keeping dyed hair healthy.

How Do I take care of Dyed Hair?

Care for dyed and colour-treated hair by creating a good routine that you can commit to following.

If you’ve invested time and money in a colour treatment, it makes sense to protect your investment.

Build your own hair care routine, incorporating conditioning and deep conditioning. Commit to some of the small changes I’ve highlighted in this blog. Those small changes can make a big difference in keeping your dyed hair healthy.

Keep Dyed Hair Healthy | Shop the Blog

Restore and Shine Hair Masque

Deep Conditioner Treatment for Dyed Hair

Styling Mist for Volume

Styling Mist for Volume

Hair Volumizer

Styling Mist for Glossy Finish

Styling Mist for Glossy Hair

Targets Damaged Hair to Add Shine

Healthy Dyed Hair | About the Author

Norris Ogario

Norris Ogario

Norris Ogario is founder and Creative Director of Ogario London. Developed in his London salon, the Ogario London haircare products reflect his belief that hydration is the key to fixing most hair problems. Hydrated hair can be styled with ease. Plus, hydration leaves hair shiny and healthy. Norris has over 35 years of hair know-how. With expertise in all hair types; from dry hair to fine or grey hair, from frizzy to damaged or bleached hair, curly hair and afro hair, Norris offers his expert advice.

I write about all aspects of healthy hair, from preventing frizzy hair to stopping split ends. Plus I share salon tips and techniques for looking after all hair types.

Good nutrition is vital for hair health and shine.

Give your hair the right foundation with the best foods for hair growth. Discover more in my blog, Healthy Hair: Choose the Best Foods for Hair Growth.

Get all the know how on adding moisture to dry hair. I cover all aspects of treating dry hair in my blog, Salon Know-How: How to Moisturise Dry Hair.

Leave In Conditioner with Argan Oil for Hair

Add moisture to your with a leave in hair conditioner. Find out why a leave in conditioner is the best choice for hair styling. Choose from hair volume products to a leave in conditioner spray.

Expert Tips for Curly Hair

Discover why getting into a routine with a deep conditioner can transform your hair. Plus, discover how applying your products in the right way can improve product performance.

Expert Tips for Shiny Hair

For maximum hair shine, the cuticle must be smooth. Discover my expert tips for how to get shiny hair.

How to Look After Grey Hair

Discover how to look after grey hair. From choosing the best grey hair products to the best hairstyles for grey hair. Or from how to enhance grey hair to how to soften coarse grey hair or how to transition to grey hair, go to my Ultimate Guide for Caring Grey Hair

Taking Care of Bleached Hair and Fix Damage

If you have bleached hair and want to regain your shine, read my blog, How to take care of Bleached Hair. You’ll find everything you need to know about taking care of bleached hair, from the best hair mask for bleached hair to how to fix hair damaged from over-bleaching

Dry Hair Treatment

Get expert tips and advice on how to use a dry hair treatment in my blog, Dry Hair Treatment: Essential Hair Care

About Us

Ogario London is a salon developed range of natural hair care products. Because we are passionate about our products, delivering the best results is at the heart of what we do. Do you have questions about our products? Or, would you like advice on the best products for your hair type? Maybe have another question about how to look after your hair? If you do, please get in touch at info@ogariolondon.com.

As Seen InHair Mask Review

Beauty Bible Recommends Ogario London Hair Masque Hair Treatment

Restore and Shine Hair Masque was awarded best hair mask in the Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible Awards. As an independent hair care brand, we are incredibly proud to be recognised alongside some of the industry’s biggest haircare brands. Because I spend time ensuring that our products deliver the best results, I couldn’t be happier to get this review and win this prestigious award.

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