Red hair caring – tips & tricks

Hi sweeties,

Today I want to talk to you about red hair and what it requires in terms of hair caring routine. 

My natural hair is black, like that really dark ebony tone. I often got asked as a child if I dyed my hair because it looks so dark and unnatural sometimes. During the years, I experimented with other different colors: red balayage, orange highlights, light brown color, etc.

For a few months, however, I finally settled on a color. I think it represents me and showcases my strong stubborn personality. That colour was red.

“When I died my hair red the first time, I felt as if it was what nature intended. I have been accused of being a bit of a spitfire, so in that way, I absolutely live up to the stereotype. The red hair suits my personality. I was a terrible blonde!”

Amy adams

In my case, I was a terrible blonde and brunette. 

What I did not knew, however, before making the decision to switch to red was how hard it is to take care of it. Here are some tips and advice I can share from my own experience, as well as some products I use to take care of my hair.

Tips & tricks for taking care of your red hair

• First of all, red dye flows from the hair fast. Like really reaaaaaaally fast. I had to go to the salon to refresh my hair color once every 4-5 weeks. And in the meantime, I use red hair hue and special shampoos and masks. So red hair is expensive and takes loots of time. 
• Expect all your towels to have red marks on them, and even your pillows and bed sheets, regardless of how much time had passed since you dyed your hair. Red flows from the hair every time you wash it, so if you do not want to change sheets daily, you need to wash your hair as rarely as you can. I got from washing my hair 3-4 times per week to washing it only twice. 
• Throw away all anti-dandruff and hair volume products. They will only make the color fade faster. And invest in a shampoo especially made for red hair. I use the one from Revlon in combination with a normal one I found in a drug store in Sweden last summer (I liked so much how it smooths my hair that I bought a few bottles). Any similar product can do the job unless it has sulfates in its components. Avoid products with sulfates at all costs to keep your hair color bright and shiny. Read more here about other products to avoid in your products for a clean haircare.

• Hair masks and conditioners? Those are a must have. Especially if you want to keep the color in your hair as much as possible. I try to find products that also have a red pigment as those don’t interact negatively as much as the other when it comes to red hair dye. Right now, I am using some products I received from a friend as a present, and I really like them. But I have a lot of samples waiting to be tested so as soon as I finish those, I will try to see how my hair responds. 
• You love long hot baths and warm water? If you do not want to dye your hair very often, forget about them. The warmer the water temperature, the faster the color runs from your hair. Cool water is your new best friend as a redhead. 
• Love sunshine? You might as well give up red hair. Sunshine makes the red from hair fade faster, so if you want to have that amazing red color all summer, staying in the sun is your no. 1 enemy.
• Scalp scrub? You can use it only after your roots start to show, unless you want your hair to be much brighter in the upper part (I personally think this looks really inaesthetic). I use the Cristopher Robin scalp scrub starting with the second week after dyeing my hair, which is when my roots already have around a quarter of an inch.

• Do you blow dry your hair or use a hair straightener or curling iron? If you do not use heat protection spray or oils, you might as well dye your hair orange from the start. Heat is your enemy if you want that amazing bright red to stay on your hair. I used a heat spray from dm, but I recently bought the anti-frizz spray from WOW. In winter my hair gets very dry and is frizzy, and I heard so many good things about this product. I only used it once so far. It helped with the fizziness, but I lost the natural curl of my hair. I will keep using it and come back later with a more detailed review of this hair spray once I get to know better how it impacts my hair.
• Want to go rarely to a salon and save money? Forget about it. If you want red hair you need to go at least once every 4-5 weeks. Different colored hair roots (with very few exceptions) look horrible on red hair and the color on the lengths fades so fast. So, unless you want to have an orange hair you need to spend the extra money. If you are thinking about economies, black, brown, or blonde hair might be better choices for you.  

Conclusion

The conclusion is that taking care of red hair requires a lot of time and money. You might need to give up some things you love (like staying in the sun or hot baths). Also, you will need to change your hair products and routine. You will do irreversible damage to all your towels and pillows. You will go to hair salon more often than ever before. 

Another interesting article about tips to take care of color treated hair I found on this blog. Check it out for more inspiration in case you are looking for ways to improve your hair health.

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Have an amazing day filled with beauty and love!

Yours,

Cosmina

PS. Yesterday I also got bangs so now I need to insert this in my hair routine too. 🙂

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