My new clients ask me all the time: Rita, how can I get more mileage out of my highlights? Whether you’re blonde, brunette or redhead, woman, or man, there are a few things that will harm anyone’s highlights.
Regular exposure to chlorine or the sun, or using the wrong products, can strip away the color faster than it should. The result: is dull and lifeless hair. Generally speaking, your highlights should look better over time, richer in color and they should grow out gently.
To keep your highlight fresh in between salon visits: moisturize! Always use a moisturizing or smoothing shampoo and conditioner. There are many wonderful drugstore brands out there, pick one that has B vitamins and collagen or plant-based protein in it. When you wash your hair, use lukewarm water not hot, and when you apply the conditioner roots to the ends- leave it in for no less than 5 minutes.
After towel drying, gently use a wide-toothed comb to prep your hair for the next moisturizing product: an oil-free leave-in liquid or gel-based serum that has a pump dispenser.
Oil-free serums are super important because when used sparingly, a dime-sized amount, they coat the hair without leaving a heavy film. After blow-drying lock in shine with a light oil-free spray serum spritz.
Four to five weeks after your highlights, ask your stylist to treat your hair with a glaze. This five-minute treatment involves coating the hair with a little kiss of color and some added protein which works to perk up that halo of sunshine on your head! So instead of paying hundreds for highlights, you’ll pay a fraction of that.
If your budge could use even more love without sacrificing hair beauty, you can pick up a clear gloss from the drugstore. The effects aren’t exactly the same as a salon glaze and won’t last as long, probably only a week, but you’ll have instantly shiny, healthy sun-kissed hair in a pinch.
