Should you dye or color your hair before or after a smoothing treatment?
Find out everything you need to know here:
You want smooth, shiny keratin treated hair but you also want a glossy, vibrant hair colour, so how can you get the best of both worlds - stunning smoothness and incredible colour? Well, when it comes to treating your hair with our at-home Keratin Treatment there are some super important rules you have to follow to get the tresses of your dreams. Read on to find out more.
How soon after colouring your hair can you use ANSWR at-home keratin treatment?
You might be wondering if you should you treat your hair with a keratin smoothing treatment if you’ve recently coloured your hair. It’s a good question but luckily there’s a simple rule. Wait! You should always wait at least two weeks after dying your hair before treating it with a smoothing treatment. This is because when you seal in the treatment with the straightening irons you could easily end up fading your new colour and make it look uneven.
Why would treating your hair too soon post colouring make your hair dye fade?
The reason your hair dye could fade is because smoothing treatments open up your hair cuticle to allow for the active ingredients and amino acids to penetrate the hair – which is great news for creating shiny, smooth hair but bad news for radiant colour. That’s because in opening up the cuticle some of the pigments in toners and henna become compromised in the treatment process, making your overall colour ‘lift’ or fade. Waiting two weeks allows your colour to stabilise and settle, after which you can treat it to some smoothing treatment TLC.
Will using a Brazilian smoothing treatment always fade my hair colour?
If your colour is already well established (older than 3 weeks) then using a keratin or smoothing treatment shouldn’t fade your hair dye but our top tip is to play it safe and turn down the heat when you’re sealing our at-home Keratin Treatment for the first time. When you’re ready to seal the ANSWR Keratin Treatment to your hair, check the temperature of your straightening irons is no more than 180°C. We always recommend doing a “patch test” on a small section of hair before you go ahead with the full smoothing treatment to ensure your colour isn’t effected. If it seems to be lightening at all then lower the temperature.
What if I want to colour my hair after a smoothing treatment? How soon after the ANSWR at-home keratincan I dye my hair?
You should never colour your hair immediately after doing a keratin treatment. Again, you must always wait at least two weeks after applying a smoothing treatment before you colour your hair. This two-week wait is super important. You should never attempt to colour (let alone bleach) your hair immediately after using a keratin or smoothing treatment. The reason being is that you will be disappointed by the results – your hair will be unable to take the colour in the usual way and may look patchy, uneven and less intense – making your hair colour investment a waste of cash.
Colouring too soon may also strip your hair of some of the smoothing treatment benefits because your hair won’t have had enough time to integrate them. In short, dying your hair straight after a keratin treatment is a major no-no. Instead, during those first two weeks post smoothing treatment you should take extra care to preserve the effects of your treatment by waiting two or three days before washing your hair and by using our sulphate free ANSWR shampoo and conditioner. You should also blow dry your hair after each wash to activate the treatment effects.
The additional care you take in the first two weeks post treatment will define how long and how well the results of your keratin smoothing treatment will last for. It’s worth playing by the rules so your hair can look lovelier for longer don’t you think?
One more Q! Can I use the ANSWR Keratin Treatment if my hair is bleached?
Yes – but again you should always wait at least two weeks post colour to treat your hair to a smoothing treatment. We designed our Keratin Treatment to be suitable for all hair types, even bleached and lightened hair. The results might vary depending on your hair type or the condition of your hair. The treatment can realign and nourish dry, porous hair but it might not fully restore the damage cause by previous chemical treatments or products. If you have bleach frazzled hair or are suffering from a lot of damage, we recommend you use a nourishing, reconstructive product before and after the ANSWR treatment – a hair serum or leave in conditioner are ideal. Smooth glossy hair can be yours!
Still got colour and keratin related questions? Don’t worry – we’re here to help! Get in touch with our customer services team ask@answrbeauty.com who are experts in how to achieve beautiful hair, no matter your hair type or concern.
