Whether you have radiant red hair, balayage, platinum blonde hair, or even something more daring, you probably already know your hair needs a little more TLC.

But how can you choose the best shampoo for color-treated hair when there are so many options available?

For most products, a “color safe” label means it’s free of any harsh chemicals that can cause your hair color to fade.

In this blog, we’ll discuss ingredients you should avoid at all costs and those you shouldn’t want in your hair products when your hair is colored.

How Does Hair Color Treatment Work?

Have you ever considered how awesome it is that you can actually alter the color of the hair you inherited? It’s an enjoyable way to spruce up your appearance or bring out your natural color. But how does it work?

The differences between semi-permanent, demi-permanent, and permanent hair color must be understood in order to comprehend the science behind hair color treatments.

• Semi-permanent hair color contains color molecules that coat the outside of your hair and typically lasts several weeks, depending on how frequently you shampoo. Although it fades with each shampoo, it’s great for enhancing or refreshing your natural color.
• With only a slight penetration of your hair’s cuticle, demi-permanent hair color uses the same formula as semi-permanent hair color. It lasts a little bit longer as a result. However, it cannot lighten hair. It is another excellent color-refresher and can also cover gray.

• Through oxidation, highlights eliminate pigment from your hair. The color you end up with depends on how long you leave the “oxidation agent” (usually bleach or hydrogen peroxide) on your strands. In the same way, bleaching your entire color can leave you with a yellow tint if it is applied for too long. It follows that bleaching your hair first, followed by tinting it, is the process if you want to look platinum blonde.
• Ammonia and an oxidizer are typically combined with a coloring agent to create permanent hair color. This formula alters the melanin in your hair strands by allowing color molecules to pass through the cuticle of your hair. The most damage to your hair can be caused by these because they last the longest.

Ingredients That Are No-No for Color Treated Hair

Sulfates are the first ingredient to stay away from in shampoos and other haircare products. Some people have a link between these chemicals and cancer. Parabens are another thing in this context that needs to be mentioned specifically.

Both parabens and sulfates are fairly abrasive and help lighten the color of hair. They are frequently found in drugstore shampoos and frequently in high-end haircare products. These are at the top of the list of ingredients to avoid in shampoo for colored hair.

The enemy of hair and hair color, then, is alcohol. It’s surprising how frequently businesses nevertheless decide to include it in their products. The cause is the growing demand for hair products that give volume and body to hair.

Be cautious of these ingredients the next time you pick up a volumizing product off the shelf.

If you use an alcohol-containing shampoo over a long period of time, your hair will become dull, dry, and brittle in addition to quickly losing its color.

Contrast the aforementioned alcohols with those that are used as full fatty alcohols, such as cetearyl and benzyl alcohol, which are components that are advantageous for product penetration and other features of products used for hair and skin care. Like benzyl alcohol, they may be natural and not even be classified as alcohol.

How to Maintain Your Color-Treated Hair?

If you want your color to last, you’ll need to put some TLC into it, whether you visit a salon or use an at-home treatment. The health of your hair is impacted by all chemical processes, which decrease its elasticity and raise the risk of breakage, dryness, and split ends.

Therefore, if you discover that your hair still doesn’t feel the same weeks after coloring it, know that you’re not the only one. Just rev up your daily schedule!

The Argument for Sulfate-free Shampoos

Detergents typically make up 15% of each bottle of traditional shampoo. Their responsibility is to remove debris and oils, usually sodium- or ammonium-lauryl sulfate and sodium- or ammonium-lauryl ether sulfate, leaving strands gleaming clean.

These same detergents, though, can also remove the color molecules from the hair cuticle. On the other hand, the types of cleaning agents added to color-treated and sulfate-free formulas typically contain kinder dirt busters that won’t fade hair color.

Conclusion

A color-safe shampoo is made up of a variety of components, to sum up. These variables include what is and is not listed in the ingredient list of the product. Avoid parabens and sulfates when looking for a color-safe shampoo because these ingredients are known to damage colored hair irreparably. Additionally, after being bleached or dyed, some ingredients add moisture and protection to the hair. You can avoid making as many costly trips to the salon by using shampoo that is color-safe.

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