A hair conditioner is essential to extending the time between touchups. Finding a formula tailored to your individual needs is paramount. Your perfect conditioner could help prevent or maintain fade, preserve vivid hues, or neutralize brassy tones – swap out your regular one for one of these salon-approved picks and watch for results!
Moisturizing
If your hair color has started to fade and your strands feel dry and limp, a moisturizing conditioner can revive them. Look for one packed with shea butter, moringa oil, or other moisturizing ingredients to keep your locks soft and hydrated.
Moisturizing conditioners can also help protect locks against hard water and sun exposure by including UV filters to protect against color fading and shield them from sun damage. Look for one with this feature to minimize color fading while covering locks from further sun exposure damage.
Hayes recommends sectioning off your hair when applying color-depositing conditioner to avoid staining towels and clothing with discolorations from excess dyeing products. She further suggests using a deep conditioning treatment on your ends to seal in moisture – essential if you undergo keratin or Brazilian blowout treatments, which tend to dry the scalp out significantly more than traditional methods.
Lightening
Suppose you have recently dyed your hair blonde, which has begun to turn brassy or are an existing brunette looking to lighten without bleaching again. In that case, color-depositing conditioners may be an ideal solution. These products work by neutralizing brassy or yellow tones in bleached or blonde hair and providing pigments that combat dullness and warm undertones that might otherwise linger on.
Use these conditioners independently, or mix them with regular or another shade for soft pastel effects. They’re also great for refreshing highlights if they have turned brassy over time.
Some of our go-to lighting conditioners include Maria Nila Color Refresh (available on Amazon), Keracolor Conditioner (shopped at Sephora), and the customizable IGK Mixed Feelings Brunette. Also, redheads may want to consider Biolage ColorBalm Color Depositing Conditioner (viewed at Ulta), which contains Tsubaki oil that promotes moisture, strength, and shine in their hair.
Brightening
If your hair color has become dull or brassy, a brightening hair color conditioner could be needed to revive its vibrancy. A quick-and-easy, foolproof solution for refreshing between salon appointments, these rich formulations work on all shades of blonde (and even some gray hairs) to counteract unwanted yellow and brassy tones and restore shine and vibrancy.
Violet pigments in this product help neutralize brassiness, add vibrancy to light blonde or gray locks, and hydrate and strengthen them for soft, shiny locks. According to Perkins and Mazzei, “This is an outstanding product when it comes to conditioning at-home hair color,” with minimal smell and fade that gradually wears off over six to eight shampoos without leaving behind a line of demarcation.
This product boasts an expansive shade selection and contains hydrating ingredients such as shea butter and argan oil to keep blondes’ locks extra soft and smooth. Plus, it is safe for daily use without sulfates, parabens, or phthalates!
Neutralizing
As time passes, color-treated strands often fade due to frequent heat styling, sun damage, or time. To maintain your desired hue between salon visits, switch to a color conditioner with neutralizing pigments that can counteract unwanted warmth or brassiness in your locks.
When searching for the ideal formula for your locks, use a color wheel to understand which ones you wish to neutralize or cancel out. As a general guideline, colors directly opposite one another on the wheel tend to neutralize or cancel out their hue. For instance, violet/blue violet can neutralize yellow tones in blonde locks, while green can neutralize orange tones in dark brown locks.
As these conditioners act as dyes, wearing gloves when applying color-depositing conditioners section by section is essential to avoid staining skin or clothing or lightening or covering gray hair strands.
