Looking after your hair after you colour it is very important if you want to retain its natural moisture and healthy texture, says Asha Hariharan

With giant leaps in technology, colouring hair has become a very precise process. In the old days, you’d only colour if you had grey hair. Today you use colour to go from dull to glamorous. Your stylist can orchestrate colour to suit your eyes, skin and even the seasons when required. You can also use hair colour to get a high gloss effect or to pump up the volume in your hair.

The Need For After Care
Your hair colour can speak of depth, cool tones and ash or violets. It can sparkle with the vibrance of warm tones of gold, copper and reds. While Indian women are now ready to adopt the hair colour palettes —they must also be taught the value and benefits of good hair maintenance and post colouring treatments.

Hair that has been coloured incorrectly or too often can get weak, porous and full of split ends. The pH Balance of hair is affected and the scalp is often irritated after a colouring service. Colour causes hair to swell and opens the cuticles. While this is necessary when colouring, so as to enable colour pigments to enter the hair shaft — it is very important that your hairdresser prescribes the ‘perfect’ cleanse and condition system which helps close the cuticles back which ensures that the hair does not lose its natural moisture.

Once the cuticles are closed, it is important that the hair is protected from the oxidation process which starts to fade the hair colour. While the oxygen in the atmosphere will slowly cause the colour to fade, other oxidants like the wind, sun, chlorinated water in swimming pools conspire to speed up the fading process, thereby shortening the life span of your hair colour. But no worries, the new generation after-care products make colour maintenance absolutely easy and simple.
The Colour Bar System
Insist on an ‘after-care’ programme created exclusively for you by your hairdresser. I call this the “Colour Bar System — After Care”. This bar hosts specialised products and services devoted entirely to the management of chemically treated hair.

These solutions include:
Protective Shampoos
A protective shampoo usually has: Mild action cleansing Antioxidants to neutralise the corrosive action of oxygen in the air Ultra Violet (UV) Ray filters, to protect against the colour stripping effects of the sun Moisturisers, to retain hair moisture to combat dryness Proteins and Silicone, to smooth cuticles and add loads of sheen and lustre to hair Vitamins and natural ingredients to repair hair and add strength Surfactants to systematically remove any product build up or chlorine Specialist colour shampoos which reduce the brassy yellowing of coloured hair are also available. These shampoos keep hair looking brighter and can be used on auburn, red, brown or even black hair. Silver shampoos add a beautiful platinum tone to grey hair. Let your hairdresser decide for you.

Precise Conditioning Treatments
These are available as:
Single dose shots
Heavy Duty Masks after a shampoo
Leave-in Serums
After Shampoo Rinses

Shampoos contain surfactant molecules which surround particles of grease and dirt and wash them away from hair. This is because surfactant molecules are negatively charged and so is hair. This ensures that the surfactant molecules latch on to the dirt and pulls it away from the negatively charged hair.

A conditioner works in the opposite manner. It contains positively charged molecules which attach themselves to the negatively charged hair. This helps the raised cuticle to lie back flat against the hair shaft creating a smooth surface area and giving hair its shine, by reflecting light.

A good conditioner must contain:
De-tangling properties so as to make combing easy Proteins and vitamins to nourish and strengthen hair Silicones and selected oil derivatives to add brilliance, vibrance and softness to hair Ceramides, amino acids for instant and long lasting protection Moisturisers and lipids to add shine

Conditioners coat each hair follicle thereby creating a protective film around the hair. The film stays on the hair to protect it.

Leave-in serums may be applied on shampooed hair or conditioned hair. Some leave-in conditioners come with a TRF (Time Release Factor). This means that the conditioner does not leave a deposit on hair and thus there is no product build up. It evaporates gradually and systematically. Here again, your hairdresser should choose the appropriate product to suit your demands.

VIDA Essential’s Leave-in Serums has great Sun Filters and TRF.

Protein Treatments
The third service the Colour Bar System must deliver is a service that includes powerful hair straightening systems and products, namely the protein treatments. These treatments contain strengthening ingredients which carry very minute- sized protein particles which because of their molecule size, enter the hair shaft and repair and strengthen the hair from within.

Conditioners contain large-sized molecules which cannot penetrate, but sit on the hair shaft while creating a protective film around it. Protein treatments re-introduce the natural protein which is lost by the hair to oxidation, physical or chemical damage.

This gives back hair its structural strength and elasticity. These are highly specialised and focussed treatments available only at premium salons. It is important that these are done at least once a month.
The Colour Bar also boasts of a unique tracing system which prescribes a service, product and home maintenance programme, which is carefully created and reinvented to suit you.

Demand for constant education from your salon and hairdresser and insist on your personalised Colour Bar programme to enjoy great hair and great colour!!!!