Today’s post is a bit more practical and significantly more superficial than most of my other posts.

As many of you know, I recently dyed my hair red.

red hair care

TA-DA!

Maybe it’s because I was born with cheese-doodle colored hair and thus have natural ginger tendencies, but I think it really suits me and I can’t imagine changing it any time soon. I abso-freaking-lutely love it.

That being said, I’d like to take a moment to share a poem about my freshly dyed hairz with y’all:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

‘Tis a bitch to maintain

My red hair hue.

SERIOUSLY, anyone who has ever dyed their hair red or is at all familiar with hair color knows that red dye fades ridiculously fast. So imagine everyone’s surprise when my hair color seemed to intensify over time, rather than fade. I started getting a lot of questions asking about my secret, so I thought I’d share it with y’all, since it is applicable to anyone who deposits color onto their hair (sorry blondes — to my knowledge, this technique doesn’t work with the bleaching process.)

First, I try to follow these basic rules to preserve the intensity and tone of my color:

  1. Wash your hair with lukewarm or cool water, not hot
  2. Shampoo and condition with color safe products
  3. Don’t wash it too often — go at least every other day, if not more!
  4. Keep your hair hydrated — dry hair doesn’t hold color as well as healthy hair

So that’s all pretty mainstream knowledge, right? Right.

The real secret lies in my homemade color depositing conditioner. Almost immediately after I left the salon with my original dye job, I went out and bought a color depositing shampoo, thinking it would help preserve the bright red hue. To be honest, I was not thrilled; my color faded fast and the tone began to shift. Being a little ballsy and mostly just curious, I did some googling to find out the scoop on homemade color depositing hair care. I came across a few different suggestions, mixed ’em up and slathered them on, and here I am, with super intense, glossy color nearly three weeks after my original dye!

Homemade Color Depositing Conditioner Directions

Ingredients and tools:

  • Deep conditioner, or a conditioner that’s thick enough to not drip off your hair. Or now that it is exists and is the BEST PRODUCT EVAR, use Olaplex.
  • Semi or demi permanent, ammonia-free dye. I use Ion Brilliance demi permanent color from Sally’s Beauty Supply and have really liked the results. Note: my formula does not require developer, so don’t buy any.
  • Vaseline or similar emollient
  • Mixing bowl and utensil
  • Gloves (if you want to avoid stained hands)

Directions

  1. Mix the color and conditioner together at a 1:3 ratio (that is, one part color to three parts conditioner) — make enough to saturate all your hair, but don’t make all of it because it will not keep
  2. Gently wash your hair with shampoo, then towel dry
  3. Apply vaseline or some other protectant to your hairline to keep color from staining
  4. Begin adding the color to your roots, working your way down the ends of your hair — saturate evenly
  5. Leave on for 15-40 minutes

Play around with it! If you want the color to be more intense, use a 1:2 ratio, or a permanent hair color, or leave it on longer.

I do this at least once a week, if not each time that I wash my hair. My color looks amazing, I can correct the shade if I’m unhappy with how it’s fading, and I have not seen any damage to my hair. In fact, it looks shinier and feels healthier than ever before, probably because it’s being deep conditioned weekly. The absence of a developer and using an ammonia free dye keeps the solution from ravaging your hair. That being said, if for some reason your hair can’t tolerate it, obviously don’t keep doing it!