How To Maintain Red Hair Color

I enjoy bold colors in makeup and clothing, but only recently have I began to apply that to my hair. On several occasions I got creative and tried various colors, but for some reason when it came to red I chickened out. I avoided red hair because I didn’t know how to maintain red hair color. Having red hair has been the most fun so far and I should of come around sooner. Read on to get my experience on keeping my red hair looking vibrant.

Professional Hair Color Is Recommended

Due to adulting and my tight budget (more about my budgeting tips here ) I always try to do things that won’t cost me a lot. My first attempt at making my hair red at home was a fail. I used a semi-permanent rinse which didn’t show against my natural off black hair. The second time at home I had a little more luck, I used a box color that had a lightening solution included to lift my natural black color. Long story short my hair ended up copper and it was terrible.  Once I saw a professional I got the exact shade of red that I wanted, I’m never going back to box color again.

Red Color Will Disappear From Your hair

Red hair color is very delicate. The red pigment has lifted on me several times. For example, after a weekend at the beach or when I wash my hair. You can avoid having your hair out at the beach, or never wash your hair, but that’s no way to live. So live your life but be sure to follow the next step.

Put The Red Back

Ok, this may sound weird but it’s crucial to keeping your red hue. The sun, time and hair washing take away some red pigment each time your hair is exposed to one of those activities. To put the red back you have to incorporate red hair care products into your routine. I wash my hair with a red shampoo and conditioner, then deep condition with a red conditioner. Red hair care products are PH balanced and also add some red pigment back in.

Be Gentle And Consistent

As with any color treatment, it makes your hair more fragile. Now isn’t the time to be a lazy natural, you have to have a weekly hair regimen and ALWAYS deep condition weekly. Take care when detangling and don’t use water that is too hot or products that don’t cater to your hair color.

Figuring out how to maintain red hair color is easy as long as you keep everything I mentioned in mind.

I intend on keeping my hair red for a while until I choose a new color. Right now I’m using the shampoo, conditioner, and deep conditioning treatments for red colored hair by Joico. They have a line for many different  colors and their red items keep my hair looking pigmented until I can make it to my hair stylist for a professional color touch up.

Giveaway alert!!! One lucky reader will also win a red shampoo & conditioner set by Joico. Here is how to enter:

-Follow @smartsagittarius and @joico on Instagram

-For an extra 2 entries comment below on this blog post

Giveaway Rules: Only open to residents of the United States. No giveaway accounts or spam accounts excepted. Contest begins 5/14/18, ends midnight EST 5/16/18. Winner will be selected at random. Winner will be notified via blog comment, Instagram comment or Instagram Direct Message. If winner doesn’t respond back within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen at random.