How can I look after my hair colour at home?

We know that everyone loves the feeling of walking out of the salon with fresh, rich and glossy colour. You’ll want to extend that fresh-hair-feeling as long as possible, which is why your home haircare routine is key to keeping your colour looking great for longer.

If you find your colour tends to fade quickly, start looking dull or not lasting as long as you would like, you might be able to implement a few important changes into your haircare routine to help achieve longer-lasting results.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through some of our top tips for taking care of your coloured hair at home, to help you keep your colour looking fantastic for longer.

Start with colour-protecting products

The products you use at home make all the difference. Shampoos that contain stronger cleansing agents like sulphates can give you that squeaky-clean hair feeling and can help to remove oil and product build-ups, but they can also be more stripping on colour-treated hair. Over time, frequent washing with stronger cleansers (plus water exposure and friction) can make your colour fade faster and look less vibrant.

We recommend switching to a sulphate-free shampoo, or a shampoo with kind colour-protecting ingredients to help prolong the life and vibrancy of your salon colour.

If you wash your hair frequently, a gentle, sulphate-free cleanser is especially helpful. Our Collinge & Co Gentle Shampoo is designed for that kind of routine. It is a lightweight cleanser, so it won’t weigh the hair down, and it is formulated to be kind to colour-treated hair while helping you retain moisture and softness.

Avoid washing your hair in hot water

Many of us love to take very hot showers, but it is not always kind to coloured hair. Very hot water can make the hair fibre swell and feel rougher, which can leave hair feeling more stripped and vulnerable over time, and can speed up shade fade. On wash day, wash in lukewarm water instead. It is warm enough to cleanse effectively and remove residue, but gentler on the hair and scalp.

Add a post-colour treatment to seal and strengthen

After any colouring service, the cuticle can be more lifted than usual. This is often described as increased porosity, which is essentially how readily hair takes up and loses water (and sometimes pigment), often because it is more damaged. When the cuticle is lifted, moisture and colour can escape more easily. That is when colour can start to look duller, and the hair can feel less silky.

A post-colour treatment supports the cuticle, helps reduce porosity, and improves the feel and shine of the hair. In practical terms, it means your tone tends to stay brighter for longer, and your hair feels more like it did when you left the salon.

We love the Wella Ultimate Colour salon treatment as a post-colour treatment, a three-step system that seals in colour, moisturises hair and helps extend vibrancy for up to 10 weeks. This treatment can be added on to any of our services, making it the perfect addition to your next colour appointment.

You can also use products like masks and treatments with colour-protecting properties at home as a component of your regular haircare routine. Not only can these products help to extend the life of colour, but they can also help to moisturise, strengthen and detangle your hair making them an excellent choice for damaged, or dry hair.

If you would like to go deeper on the “why” behind this, our guide to hair damage and care explains the structure of hair, and why certain products are recommended to protect against damage and prolong colour vibrancy.

Wash less often

It sounds simple, but extending the time between washes is one of the most effective ways to help preserve your colour. Every time you shampoo, you are exposing your hair to water, friction and cleansing agents. Over time, that combination can fade your colour.

If you can, aim to stretch your washes out. On in-between days, a good dry shampoo can be helpful for refreshing the roots and adding volume without water. Just remember that dry shampoo is best used as a “bridge”, not a replacement for proper cleansing. If you use it regularly, make sure you are still shampooing often enough to keep your scalp comfortable and free from build-up.

Protect your hair from heat, sunlight, and everyday wear

Hot water isn’t the only factor that can accelerate colour fade and cause blondes to look brassy; exposure to high temperatures from heat styling tools, UV and chemicals such as chlorine can also impact on how your colour looks and fades.

Heat protecting products should be a staple in your haircare routine if you use straighteners, curlers or hairdryers, and reducing how often you use heat tools can help to protect your colour. If your tools have multiple temperature settings, opt for a lower temperature instead.

Sunlight can also fade colour, especially during brighter months or holidays, as UV rays break down colour molecules and can leave hair looking a little warmer, flatter, or brassy. If you are spending time outside, look for styling and care products with UV filters, and consider practical protection too. A hat on a sunny day doesn’t just help to cool you down; it can help to protect your scalp and your hair from damage.

Protect when swimming

Swimming in pools or the sea can be tough on coloured hair. Chlorine and saltwater can alter pigment and leave the hair feeling dry, and they can also affect vibrancy and can give blondes the dreaded ‘green’ tinge.

If you swim regularly, the best tip is to soak your hair with clean, fresh water before you get in. If you can, tie your hair up, and consider a swim cap for extra protection.

After swimming, rinse and cleanse as soon as you can. We recommend a deeper cleanse with a clarifying shampoo occasionally (especially after the pool or sea), because it helps remove chlorine, salt, and mineral residue. Our Collinge & Co Deep Cleansing Shampoo is designed for days when you really need to detox the hair from build-up, including chlorine. Follow it with a moisturising conditioner or mask to moisturise, detangle and help hair feel softer.

Refresh your tone between appointments

Fading is normal, and will naturally happen even with a perfect haircare routine. Pastel shades often fade faster, especially on very lightened or more porous hair, whereas darker tones may have a longer lifespan.

Toner also naturally softens over time, and it can be more noticeable on lightened hair. That is exactly why a good home routine matters, and it is also why colour-depositing products can be a brilliant option in-between salon visits.

A colour-depositing mask does what it says on the tube: It adds a temporary boost of colour to enhance your natural or colour-treated tone, and usually lasts for a few washes. They can also condition and moisturise the hair, perfect for adding a shine boost back into your hair. They can also be used for a temporary colour change, if you fancy testing out a fun pastel shade or tone without committing to demi or permanent colour.

If you are blonde or have highlights or balayage, purple shampoo can also help neutralise yellow or brassy tones and help colour to feel brighter. Our Collinge & Co Purple Shampoo is formulated to gently cleanse whilst depositing violet pigment to counteract unwanted warmth. It works great as part of your regular routine—use it once or twice a week, or whenever your blonde needs a refresh.

Your at-home colour care guide

The best colour care routines are the ones you can stick to. If you want a simple plan to follow, focus on three things:

1. Start by using a sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner that suits your hair type and your washing frequency.
2. Keep water temperature lukewarm, and reduce the number of times your hair is cleansed each week where you can.
3. Protect your colour day to day with heat protection, UV defence, and a weekly treatment to support softness, shine and strength.

If you’re ever unsure what your hair needs, speak to your stylist at your next appointment. They can recommend the right routine and products for your hair type, your shade, and your lifestyle, so you can keep your hair looking rich, glossy and fresh for longer.