How to Make Your Color Last
You paid for beautiful color. Here’s how to keep it — from the people who mixed it.
The four habits that matter: wait 48 hours before the first wash, wash less often in cooler water with sulfate-free shampoo, cut back on heat, and shield hair from sun and chlorine. Everything else is a refinement.
The first 48 hours
Color cuticles need time to close. Washing too soon rinses money down the drain — literally. If day-two hair bothers you, dry shampoo is your friend.
Washing rules
- Sulfate-free, color-safe shampoo only — sulfates strip pigment fastest of anything on this list
- Cool-to-lukewarm water; save the hot rinse for your shoulders
- Every 2–3 days beats daily; your color (and your scalp’s oils) will thank you
Heat, sun, and swimming
- Heat protectant before every hot tool, and keep irons under ~350°F on colored hair
- UV fades color like it fades curtains — hats or UV-protectant sprays in summer
- Wet hair with clean water and add conditioner before a pool; chlorine grabs dry hair hardest
Between appointments
- A weekly bonding or deep-conditioning treatment keeps blondes bright and brunettes glossy
- Root touch-ups ($80 at Jillz) every 4–6 weeks stretch full services further
- Ask us for a toner refresh if brassiness creeps in — quicker and cheaper than a full redo