If you love a good POP of color in your curls like a good share of us do, then this is for you. If you’re scared to color because you don’t want to go bald (trust me, I’ve been there too) this is for you.

Before we get started let’s briefly go over what exactly happens to your hair when you dye it and the few different types of dye. Then we’ll jump right into those tips for managing your colored tresses so they remain healthy and you can reduce breakage. Yes, it is possible to have healthy color treated hair and I’m here to help you.

There are a few different types of dye out there. There’s temporary, semi permanent, demi-permanent, and permanent. Temporary hair dye just coats your hair strands and washes out immediately.

Semi permanent doesn’t have ammonia and doesn’t require the color to “Develop” (usually ammonia or peroxide, used to open the shaft to allow color to penetrate). The color itself doesn’t completely penetrate the shaft, so it eventually washes out after about 8 washes.

Demi-permanent usually has some ammonia or peroxide (developer) to allow for a deeper penetration of the hair shaft than a semi permanent, but doesn’t contain as much as would a permanent color.

Last but not least, permanent hair color, has developer and usually an oxidizing agent. This removes all natural pigmentation from your strands which naturally reduces the keratin in your hair. With that keratin loss, your hair is more susceptible to damage.and if you’re like me and you have fine strands you’ve got to work overtime to keep those curls alive. So let’s jump into my best tips.

I’ve colored my hair consistently for about 10 years straight. In 2015 I stopped coloring it, grew all the color out, and wore my virgin hair color. In February of this year (2019), I chose to dye my bra strap length hair blue which required my hair to be bleached. It’s been almost about 9 months and I’ve experienced minimal to no damage to my hair at all, so let me tell you all the best tips I’ve learned along my color journey.

1. DEEP CONDITION : I can’t repeat and s t r e s s this enough, even if you don’t have colored hair, you should be deep conditioning weekly. I noticed immediately when I slacked during Rylie’s newborn stage and I could literally feel my hair drying and getting fragile. Deep condition with a protein treatment and moisturizing masque or treatment. Remember colored hair is both fragile and dry, you’ll need to include both types of treatments to keep the integrity of your hair. Don’t be shy either, give those ends some extra tlc.
2. TRIM REGULARLY : Staying ahead of damage prevents it from escalating and breaking more. If you dust your ends every 4 weeks or whenever you notice damage, you stop split ends from becoming split strands. Sporting damaged hair is bad enough, but it looks even worse when it’s chemically treated, just cut your losses sis.
3. PROTECT YOUR ENDS : Protect those ends like your life depends on it, because your hair’s life does. Be careful of harsh weather, sun, and winds by moisturizing and sealing your ends regularly. For some that may mean daily, for others 3-4 times  a week. Seal and tuck your ends if your style allows and when you go to bed. If you don’t have a satin pillowcase and/or head scarf, bonnet, slap cap, whatever, I need you to go buy one IMMEDIATELY, you know better than that.
4. BE GENTLE : You don’t need to be extra dramatic, just do the basics: don’t be rough detangling, pay attention to wool and cotton scarves, turtlenecks, coats, etc. in the colder temps, avoid super tight styles,

It’s possible to have healthy color treated hair, you just have to take care of it.

**If you ever feel stuck in your hair journey, need product suggestions, or just starting out, be sure to register for a curl consultation here!

Tags : bleached hair, color treated hair, colored curls, colored curly, curl consultations, curls, curly hair, deep condition, hair, hair color, hair dye, hair journey, hair tips, healthy hair, healthy natural hair, natural hair, regimen