Care and Maintenance

When thinking about maintaining your hair’s feel and/or color, consider what your hair goes through in the day-to-day.

Wind, water, sun exposure; all the elements that erode mountains also erode your hair, scalp, and skin. Our bodies create a protective layer of oils (see The Mantle), but it is not an impenetrable force-field. Hair structure damage is inevitable. Colors fade. Hair ends split.

Colors fade, not only because of natural erosion, but also because of build-up on the hair. Build-up can be so many things (see Shampoo), but for color fade, metal deposits from water are big culprits. Color deposited into proteins within your hair are embedded and last longer. When hair carries metal buildup, color will adhere to these first. Metals can cling (especially if you wash your hair in well water) or come away, which causes fade. They can react to other products and turn brassy. If you’re looking for your hair design to remain as consistent as possible, you may want to do a Lift treatment. You might consider a toning shampoo to use once a week, more or less, to maintain the tones between addressing your new growth.

On the other hand, color fade might be exactly what you want. Part of hair design is to consider your maintenance schedule. How often do you want to come in and have your hair done? If you like the style, we can do it on the regular. If you like your style, but only want to come in every 3-6 months, a design that anticipates color fade might be an option.

In either case, minimizing hair structure damage by protecting from the elements (wear hats, sunscreens, etc.), boosting your hair’s structure via a Bonds treatment or a Keratin treatment (see Home Treatments), avoiding or minimizing contact with chlorine, closing each hair up with cool rinses at the end of a shower, and less exposure to sulfates (many shampoos) all help to retain color and hair density.

Adding oils to your hair and scalp regiment can also help extend the life of a color and of your hair design, especially if your goal is to grow it long (see Oil Theory and The Mantle).