Destin Hair Color Aftercare by Bill Trotter, Hairstylist

You’ve just spent a good amount of money and time in your hair stylist’s chair and love your new color. There are some simple rules to follow up at home to keep your color fresh and vibrant.

First, you must use a no sulfate free shampoo. Sodium laurel sulfates are just detergent. It is a bottle of soap. Read the bottle carefully. Advertisers use tricky wording to throw you off your path. Some shampoos say, ‘Color safe’, ‘For color treated hair’ and even ‘gentle enough for colored hair’. These are lies. Read the back of the bottle, the first ingredient will be water, followed by sodium laurel sulfates (soap), and usually Ammonium Chloride ( a preservative). These three ingredients make up 80% of shampoos on the market.

Use shampoo that is zero sulfates, includes organic paraben, and is sodium chloride free

What you want to see clearly and in plain sight printed on the front of this bottle of shampoo is, zero sulfates, sulfate free or organic paraben, sulfate and sodium chloride free. They may be a bit more in price but will keep your hair color longer and more vibrant.

Conditioners do not contain these chemicals so use whatever conditioner you like. I prefer natural oils like Moroccan oil, Argan oil or Macadamia oil. These are the only oils with molecules small enough to penetrate the hair’s cuticle layer and moisturize your damp hair. Oils only go on the very dry ends of your hair. Use just a teardrop in your hands and evenly distribute throughout the damp pre-shampooed mid-shaft and ends. A little bit goes a long way so use these oils sparingly. Oils that I advise not to use are coconut oil, palm oils or olive oils. They are just too heavy for your hair and will make it look dirty and greasy.

Secondly, the sun will fade your new hair color. If you are going to spend the day at the beach or pool, wet your hair then take a good teaspoon of your sunscreen and work it through your hair, comb through well and put into a ponytail. This is a little trick I learned years ago. You will need to shampoo it out later at home. It may even take several shampoos to make you hair feel clean again but your color will be safe. Finish styling with whatever products you like.

My last note is that we do not have to shampoo our hair everyday. This will dry your hair out and deplete it of its natural oils. Most of my color clients only shampoo twice a week. If your hair is super curly and coarse like mine, you can wet it in the shower every day and just run some conditioner through it then style as usual.