<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" The chemistry that transforms hair from a mousy brown to a deep chocolate brunette, or from a graying blond to a golden honey, may seem like magic. In truth, it&amp;#039;s a torture test that leaves hair dry, dull, and rough \u2014 the very qualities that, ironically, make haircolor look drab. But if you&amp;#039;re one of the 70-plus percent of American women who cover their grays or brighten their natural hue, don&amp;#039;t worry: This is one test you can pass with flying (hair)color. Some easy changes in your hair-care habits, along with pro-recommended products, will renew your tresses&amp;#039; shine and vibrancy and restore your faith in your favorite box of color&amp;#039;s ability to work magic. Don&amp;#039;t Drown It &amp;quot;Color&amp;#039;s worst enemy is water,&amp;quot; says New York City haircolorist Ruth Roche. In fact, the latest research shows as much as 80 percent of color fade is caused by water alone, not shampooing or scrubbing, says Jeni Thomas, Ph.D., senior scientist for Pantene. Here&amp;#039;s why: Dye strips the strands of their outer lipid layer. Like the natural oils found on your skin, lipids make hair feel soft and smooth, and their loss has a cascade of negative effects. For starters, hair becomes more porous, which is why, in the shower, colored hair absorbs and releases water easily. As it exits, water takes along with it some color molecules, explains Thomas. Your dye job, whether applied at home or in a salon, winds up literally going down the drain. To minimize this water-induced fading, take these precautions:  Think twice about becoming a redhead Red dye&amp;#039;s large-size molecules leach out more quickly than those of any other hue. Whatever color you choose, stay within a few tones of your natural shade: Going from brunette to blond, say, requires bleaching, which makes hair especially porous and prone to color fade.  Avoid excessive rinsing in the shower &amp;quot;Once you&amp;#039;ve shampooed and conditioned, don&amp;#039;t tilt your head back and let the water just run over it for several minutes,&amp;quot; says Teca Gil-lespie, a scientist with P&amp;amp;amp;G. And if you like to wake up under the faucet in the morning, try to spare your hair. Stick to lukewarm or cooler &amp;quot;Heat makes dye leach faster: the hotter the water is, the quicker the color loss,&amp;quot; explains Thomas. Use a color-protecting shampoo They&amp;#039;re specifically formulated to be both gentle and protective, says Redken haircolor consultant David Stanko. Try Tresemm\u00E9 Color Revitalize Shampoo ($4.50, drugstores). Steer clear of clarifying shampoos \u2014 which can be harsh and stripping \u2014 except on the day before your color appointment. &amp;quot;If you&amp;#039;re going for gray coverage, use one to remove silicones, waxes, and hairspray resins,&amp;quot; says Stanko. &amp;quot;Otherwise, instead of penetrating the hair shaft, some of the hair dye may attach itself to those coatings and then wash out, making your color fade faster.&amp;quot;  Wash your hair less frequently Refresh on your off days by flipping hair over and spraying a dry shampoo at the roots to soak up oil. The new Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo ($3, drugstores) is colorless, so unlike most, it won&amp;#039;t leave a white residue.  Beat a Dry Spell If you feel your locks are fit to start a brushfire, the culprit, again, is that missing lipid layer. Your own scalp oils normally rely on hair&amp;#039;s fatty layer as a transport system, says Thomas. Without it, they don&amp;#039;t distribute themselves well down the length of the hair shaft. What&amp;#039;s more, conditioners like silicones don&amp;#039;t adhere evenly. So if you&amp;#039;ve been dutifully conditioning with no results, it&amp;#039;s not your imagination \u2014 most of that conditioner has been rinsed down the drain. In short, your new hair chemistry demands conditioners specifically for color-treated hair. P&amp;amp;amp;G has developed a liquid crystal polymer that helps colored hair act, chemically speaking, like uncolored hair so conditioning agents adhere once more to the strands. You can find it in Pantene Color Hair Solutions Color Preserve Conditioner, which comes in Volume, Smooth, and Shine varieties ($4 each, drugstores) and Sebastian Professional Color Ignite Single Tone Conditioner ($17, salons). The new Ojon Color Sustain Color Revealing Conditioner ($23, Sephora) pairs oil from the Ojon nut, which analysis at the DWI University of Aachen in Germany shows is chemically similar to hair&amp;#039;s own natural lipids, with fade-fighting Tahitian monoi oil. A bonus from these and other conditioners formulated for color-treated locks: Regular use creates a protective barrier that helps prevent dye molecules from washing out. To maximize the benefit:   Condition every time you shampoo, even if you have fine hair. &amp;quot;You really want to make sure you condition the longest part of your hair. The tips can be years old and have the most damage, whereas the roots are only a couple of months old,&amp;quot; says Gillespie. Start at the ears and work your way down to the tips.    Rinse it out at the end of your shower Start with a shampoo, then condition, using a wide-tooth comb to gently detangle. &amp;quot;Most women need a nickel- to quarter-size dollop of conditioner. It&amp;#039;s best to leave it in for the duration of your shower, since the steam increases the benefit,&amp;quot; says Stanko. Use a mask once a week, and leave it in while you shower. Its intense conditioners boost moisture. Try Aveda Color Conserve Strengthening Treatment ($26, aveda.com). Guard against heat damage &amp;quot;Flat irons run up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In essence, they cook your hair. Its moisture evaporates right out,&amp;quot; says Stanko. So before you reach for your flat iron, curling iron, or blow-dryer, spray on a heat-protective product. Try John Frieda Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat Protective Styling Spray ($6, drugstores). Consider a leave-in conditioner Since you&amp;#039;re not immediately rinsing it out, as you do with a standard conditioner, a leave-in stays put and does its job. Try Garnier Fructis Color Shield Instant Color Sealer Lightweight Leave-In ($6, drugstores).  Turn on the Shine If you&amp;#039;ve ever enjoyed a compliment on your shiny, smooth hair, thank your cuticles. These protein layers are like fish scales or shingles across your hair shafts, and when they&amp;#039;re lying flat, light bounces off them uniformly and the even reflection produces shine. Haircolor&amp;#039;s first task is to lift those layers up, using ammonia, so it can penetrate to where the permanent color molecules reside. Once your cuticles are roughed up, they scatter light, which makes hair look dull. As Thomas puts it, &amp;quot;The haircoloring process creates the very environment that makes it hard for that color to really come through.&amp;quot; These steps can smooth down your cuticles (also key for protecting the color molecules once they&amp;#039;re in the shafts) and help get the shine back:  Patch up the cuticles &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s an old saying: Once a steak is well-done, you can&amp;#039;t make it medium rare,&amp;quot; says Stanko. &amp;quot;You can&amp;#039;t completely reverse damage, but a product that delivers ceramides, hair&amp;#039;s intercellular glue, can help replace what might be missing.&amp;quot; Try L&amp;#039;Or\u00E9al Paris EverStrong Overnight Repair Treatment ($9, drugstores). Daily conditioning, in turn, helps the cuticles lie flat. Cut back on the use of hot tools Not only does heat dry out hair (see above), but it also picks away at its proteins, another cause of rough hair texture. If your hair isn&amp;#039;t frizz-prone, follow Thomas&amp;#039;s advice: &amp;quot;Let your hair air-dry till it&amp;#039;s slightly damp and then, after you&amp;#039;ve spritzed on a heat-protection spray, use a blow-dryer and a big, round brush to smooth out your style.&amp;quot; Air-drying increases frizz, so if it&amp;#039;s a concern, blow-dry straightaway, but avoid washing and styling every day. Add gloss with a serum or shine spray They both bounce back light for a shiny effect, but just a smidge will do: Too much of either leaves hair greasy. Try Redken Color Extend Shine Enrich ($16, salons) or Nexxus Phyto Organics ChromaLife Firm Hold Shine Spray ($16, salons). Bonus: Stylers like these for colored hair also contain UV filters to fend off sun-induced fading. Get into glazes This clear (rather than colored) demi-permanent salon process does for hair &amp;quot;what a topcoat does for nails or a clear gloss does for your lips \u2014 it adds instant shine,&amp;quot; says Stanko. &amp;quot;Blond hair, in particular, dulls more quickly than any other color and can benefit from this boost.&amp;quot; While the salon version lasts about four weeks, an at-home glaze, which you rub through hair like a conditioner in the shower, can add shine until your next shampoo, when it&amp;#039;ll wash out. Try Aveeno Living Color Shine Glaze ($7.50, drugstores). Keep it up Unfortunately, a hair&amp;#039;s cuticle doesn&amp;#039;t stay put; styling (like back-combing) and daily wear-and-tear rough it up. &amp;quot;Down and up it goes. It&amp;#039;s a cycle you have to stay on top of, which is why conditioning with every shampoo is essential,&amp;quot; says Gillespie.  Consistent care comes with a big payoff: Healthy hair not only looks smooth and shiny, but it takes color more evenly than damaged hair \u2014 so next time you tackle a dye job at home or head to the salon, your new &amp;#039;do is likely to look that much brighter. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/hair/tips/a19108/dyed-hair-care-tips/?src=shelter_footer>