Is there anything more bittersweet than finding "the one", your perfect Red Shade and seeing your perfect shade fade away? Whether it's an Extra Light Copper or a Deep Dark Red, these vibrant hues can vanish faster than a reality show romance. But wait, it's not time to rethink your Colour! Our expert tips, featuring some easy tricks and hacks, will help you preserve your Red Hair Colour's allure and intensity for as long as possible. Plus, we'll show you how to revive that vibrant feeling if it's already lost.
What makes a vibrant Red Hair Colour fade?
A lot of your Colour fade can be attributed to your Hair routine and lifestyle, including overwashing, styling, and environmental factors like sun exposure, swimming, and sweat.
How to slow your Red Hair Colour from fading
Wash Your Hair Less Frequently: Try to reduce the frequency of washing your Hair.
Avoid Certain Shampoos: Stop using clarifying or anti-dandruff shampoos that strip your Colour.
Choose the Right Conditioners: Don’t use conditioners or treatments tailored for Brunette or Blonde Hair on Red Hair Colours.
Protect from Sun Exposure: When you're outside, wear a hat to minimise sun-induced fading.
Limit Swimming: Avoid swimming, as maintaining your Red Colour requires more effort than swimming a 400m race.
Be Mindful of Heat Styling: While heat styling isn’t your worst enemy, excessive blow drying, straightening, and even heat-protective products can affect your vibrancy.
Signs your Red Hair Colour needs a pigment boost
Your Red Hair Colour is a Lighter, paler version of itself.
Your Red Hair Colour isn't as bright, turning to a more Natural Shade.
Your Red Hair Colour appears flatter.
Your Red Hair Colour reflect doesn't glisten in the sun.
How to refresh your Red Hair Colours vibrancy
When you're about to touch up your Regrowth, it’s the perfect time to assess your Colour to see if it needs a pigment boost. Hair Colour needs vary—some may require a refresh with every root touch-up, while others might only need it every second touch-up.
When touching up, you will notice your freshly covered Regrowth gets that lovely Copper glow or a brilliant Plum Red hue, while the lengths look dull. Don’t succumb to Colour Build Up's sneaky tricks by applying the Colour through your lengths—it will cause build-up that strangles your Hair's vibrancy. Instead, use the Colour Top Up Technique.
Colour Top Up Technique
Prepare Your Colour Mixture: Use your usual Red Hair Colour and Developer mixture.
Apply to Regrowth: Apply your Red Hair Colour mixture to your Natural Regrowth and set your development timer.
Prepare your Colour Top Up Colour Mixture: Adjust your Colour mixture as needed based on the Developer used.
Apply to your ends: During the final 20 minutes of development time, apply your Colour Top Up colour mixture like a gloss through your ends.
Wash Out: Once the development time is complete, wash out as per the Colour’s instructions.
How to choose the products in your Colour Top Up Colour mixture
The products in your Colour Top Up mixture will differ based on the Developer you used on your Regrowth.
When you have used a 30 or 40 Volume Developer: Create a new Colour mixture, using the same Hair Colour Shade you applied over your Roots with a No Lift Developer.
When you have used a 20 Volume Developer: Add a splash of water to your leftover Hair Colour mixture.
When you have used a No Lift Developer: Use your leftover Hair Colour mixture directly through your ends without any changes.
Hot Tip:
Try to wait a few days before washing your freshly Coloured Hair. This allows the Colour pigment time to penetrate and settle.
Follow some of our regular customers' recent Red Colour applications.
Sarah is Colouring her Natural Dark Blonde with an Pale Apricot Blonde and 40 Volume Developer. Keeping her Pale Apricot Blonde and 40 Volume Developer on her Natural roots, she uses an Apricot Blonde and No Lift Developer through her ends to freshen up her pale Copper hues.
Emma's 7 Medium Blonde is free of Greys, so she is using 6.22 Intense Violet and No Lift Developer over her roots. After waiting until there were 20 minutes left on the clock, she applied the remaining Colour mixture through the ends of her Hair.
If you notice Colour Build Up or your ends are Darkening, follow these steps
Address Build-Up: If your ends are overlapped with Colour and your vibrant Red appears darker, it’s time for a deep clean. Do 1-2 applications of Colour Remover to strip away the latest layers and achieve an even, Lighter shade.
Wait and Re-Colour: Wait at least 48 hours before re-Colouring.
Touch Up Regrowth: Apply your chosen Colour and Developer to touch up your Regrowth. For example, use 8.44 Intense Copper Blonde with 30 Volume Developer over your Natural Light Brown Regrowth.
Lighten Lengths: For the lengths with recently removed Colour, opt for a Shade Lighter. A Strawberry Blonde Colour Cocktail (a mix of 8.44 Intense Copper Blonde and 9.3 Light Golden Blonde) works well. Use this mix with No Lift Developer to ensure a lighter, brighter result without darkening.
Future Maintenance: For future touch-ups, use the normal Colour Top Up Technique when needed. Choose 8.44 Intense Copper Blonde and No Lift Developer, following the same technique.
If you've been Colouring with a Dark hue like 4.56 Deep Plum Red and notice Buildup through your ends, use a Colour Remover to strip the excess Colour pigment.
When it's time to reColour, follow these steps:
Cover Roots: Apply 4.56 Deep Plum Red with 20 Volume Developer to cover your roots.
Restore Ends: Apply 5.56 Intense Plum Red (a shade lighter) through your ends to restore your beautiful Colour.
The effort is well worth it for a vibrant hue that turns heads.
