How to Keep Your Hair Healthy (With Constant Coloring)

Happy Monday friends! Hope you had a great weekend. After a SUPER stressful week at work, it was so nice to relax and get a lot done like getting caught up on blog shoots, laundry, meal prepping etc. but we were also able to grab dinner and drinks with our new friends on Saturday night!

Today, I wanted to share my tips and also my favorite products for keeping my hair "relatively" healthy despite coloring it (going between light hair and dark) quite frequently.

1.) Don't wash your hair too often. I have dry skin thus a dry scalp anyway so I've always had to be mindful of this! I wash my hair twice a week at most. I honestly don't use dry shampoo much in between washing because I think at this point my hair is almost "trained" not to get that oily. It may also have something to do with how dry my skin/scalp is lol!
2.) When you do wash your hair, my favorite shampoo for color-treated hair is this one from Biolage. I have used it for YEARS and love the smell. I also find that it protects my color the best. I use this conditioner which is SO inexpensive but it really keeps my hair hydrated!
**The game-changer is using this product once per week. I use this treatment typically on a Sunday and  I do only leave it in for the recommended 10 minutes (sometimes 20) and it makes a world of difference. They used it on me at my old salon in Virginia and now I can't live without it.**
3.) After you wash your hair, you always ALWAYS want to use a heat-protectant. I can't believe I went so many years using a blow-dryer and straightener on my hair every day and never used any kind of heat protection! I definitely did some irreparable damage but since I started using this product about 4-5 years ago, I've seen a massive difference. I think not straightening my hair anymore and only blow-drying it twice per week also makes a difference.
**One other tip is I try to let my hair air dry for as long as possible--I blow dry it after it's almost completely air dried just to give it some shape and volume.**
4.) If you're going to color your hair, one thing I would suggest if you're going lighter is to try balayage over highlights. The last time I had balayage done, I felt like I could honestly go almost a year without getting it done again because it was growing out so nicely. With highlights, you feel like you have to get it done once every other month to touch up your roots! Balayage is definitely more expensive up front but I think it ultimately ends up being cheaper because you don't have to go back for a touch-up for a while. This means less time with damaging chemicals on your hair!
5.) Try using a wand instead of a straightener. I noticed the biggest difference in my hair when I switched from using a straightener to curling my hair with a wand. This definitely comes down to preference though. If you prefer your hair straight then I would just say make sure you're using a straightener from a good brand and also a heat-protectant or two! If you do prefer bigger hair and more waves, I like using a wand because the curls usually last for a few days plus I only have to hold my hair over the heat of the wand for a few seconds before I get a good curl. This is my personal favorite wand! When my hair gets longer and I use this wand, it typically lasts 2-3 days without needing a touch up.

[Linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston]