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If the Nobel Prize was given for hairdressing achievements, then one of the first nominees would be the one who invented highlighting. Disguise gray hair, give hair volume and a natural shade – with the help of this technique, everything is possible. However, not only the effect is important, but also the subsequent care of highlighted hair.
Why Highlighted Hair Needs Special Care
and those who want to lighten up, but are afraid of a long and complicated procedure of blonding;
and those who have just begun to have gray hair (you need to disguise them, but you don’t want to do a full coloring);
and for those who want to save money: if, after full coloring, a visit to the salon will have to be repeated in a month or two, then highlighting can be done every 4-6 months.
Highlighting, for example, in the style of shatush, is also suitable for those who want to refresh the image with minimal damage to the hair: after all, only individual strands are exposed to lightening and coloring. And yet, everyone who undergoes this procedure will have to think about restoring curls (especially if the hair is thin). After highlighting, they can:
become brittle;
start to get confused (it will be more difficult to comb and style them);
lose luster and strength.
There is one more thing. After improper care, freshly bleached curls can turn yellow. How to avoid this and how to care for highlighted hair in order to keep platinum strands – and so that the new image will please you for as long as possible?
Highlighting should not be done after a perm – you have to wait two weeks. © Pexels
Highlighted hair care at home: an overview of the best products
gentle cleansing;
moisturizing;
food;
strengthening;
color protection;
neat combing and competent styling.
If you are not highlighting for the first time, check how your hair feels.
Elseve Laminating Shampoo “Color Expert” for colored or highlighted hair, L’Oréal Paris
Shampoo with peony extract helps to preserve the brightness and saturation of the color (according to the manufacturer’s observations, the effect lasts up to 10 weeks), nourishes the hair and gives it shine.
Strengthening shampoo Fructis “Goji. Lasting color” for colored or highlighted hair, Garnier
Shampoo with flax oil and acai berries intensively nourishes, makes curls soft and manageable, enhances the mirror shine. Thanks to the fruit concentrate, lemon proteins and vitamins B3 and B6, the hair becomes strong and shiny, and the expressiveness of the color is maintained for a long time.
Elseve Violet Shampoo “Color Expert” for blonde hair and highlighted brunettes, against yellowness, L’Oréal Paris
Shampoo formula with a UV filter and purple pigment neutralizes unwanted yellow and red tones, gently cleanses and cares for hair.
“Home care for highlighted hair must include balms and masks,” says Garnier expert-curator Evgeny Sedoy. “They will help smooth the hair fibers, moisturize and strengthen them, and protect them from washing out the pigment.” And they are also needed so that the hair is not dry, become more obedient and comb well.
Laminating balm Elseve “Color Expert” for colored and highlighted hair, L’Oréal Paris
The balm creates the effect of a protective layer, protecting the hair from negative external influences, restores and nourishes it, fills it with strength and shine, and helps maintain color.
Balm Botanicals Fresh Care Rose & Geranium. Radiance Elixir” for colored and dull hair, L’Oréal Paris
The balm consists of 98% components of natural origin, among which are geranium flower oil, rose petal extract, coconut and soybean oils. Together they help to restore the natural shine of the hair, make it smooth and manageable, and prevent color fading.
Elseve “Color Expert” purple mask for blonde hair and highlighted brunettes, against yellowness, L’Oréal Paris
A mask with purple pigment, according to the law of the color wheel, neutralizes the opposite shades of the yellow spectrum – provides care for highlighted hair at home, eliminating unwanted yellowness. And besides, it nourishes the hair, smoothes it, makes it flowing and soft.
Oil Elseve “Extraordinary. Perfecting” for all hair types, L’Oréal Paris
Six rare oils in the composition of the product help to ensure that the hair becomes perfect – soft, shiny, “alive”, no longer frizzy. Oil nourishes them and makes the color even more saturated.
Express conditioner Elseve “Double elixir. Color Expert” for colored or highlighted hair, L’Oréal Paris
Even if the hair is damaged, if it is porous and split ends, the conditioner will hide it, make the curls shiny and obedient. The laminating elixir with linseed oil in the composition creates the effect of lamination, the express agent facilitates combing the hair.
Cream from fragility Elseve “Checked with a comb. Ultra Strength, L’Oréal Paris
With it, girls can no longer worry about hair damage during styling. The cream contains biotin, vitamin B5 and ariginin – together they act as a protective barrier, strengthen and restore hair. The cream provides thermal protection up to 230 ˚С.
No Scissors Leave-in Care Cream for Long Damaged Hair, L’Oréal Paris
This leave-in hair treatment seals split ends and protects highlights from home heat styling. The composition includes keratin, vitamin B5 and castor oil, which prevent brittleness. Cream-care significantly facilitates styling.
The main mistakes in the care of highlighted hair
shampoos not marked “for colored or highlighted hair”;
washing with hot water (otherwise it will not do without a rustic yellowness on freshly dyed strands);
applying a mask after the conditioner (the correct order is shampoo, mask, conditioner or balm);
hot styling (hot hair dryer, tongs, irons and curling irons) – if you still do it sometimes, be sure to apply thermal protection first;
improper drying (you can’t rub your hair with a towel, you can only gently blot it from the roots to the tips);
neglect of balms and hair masks;
combing wet hair (this stretches them, they are easily torn and broken);
exposure to the sun without a hat;
bathing without a cap in sea or chlorinated water (this not only dries the hair, but also contributes to the appearance of unwanted shades).
Highlighted hair can be healthy and beautiful – with the right care. © Pexels
Salon hair treatments after highlighting
The best way to quickly restore hair after highlighting (or any other coloring) is to combine home care with professional care. Below are some of the most effective and beneficial hair treatments, according to the editors of Healthy-Food.
Bonding
Bond in English means “bond”. This refers to disulfide bonds inside the hair – such bridges that connect the protein chains into one. When highlighting, the pigment penetrates into the hair and breaks these bridges, which leads to dryness, brittleness, loss of shine. Bonding helps to protect disulfide bonds directly during staining.
What’s happening? A special acid concentrate (maleic acid) is added to hair dye. After the curls are dyed, a restoring composition will be applied to the strands with the same maleic acid and keratin or ceramides. If you previously highlighted without bonding, now you will certainly notice the difference: your hair will look more vibrant and shiny.
Lamination
Hair looks terrible, and it seems that nothing can save them? It’s time to book lamination. A special caring composition will be applied to the curls, which will help close the cuticle scales and make the hair smooth and more protected from external factors. There are many varieties of lamination, sometimes a nourishing serum is applied before sealing. And they finish the procedure with thermal exposure: you will need to sit under the climazon. Lamination is performed immediately after highlighting, so that the color lasts as long as possible, and between highlighting procedures, to put the hair in order.
“Happy Hair”
This is the name of a complex multi-stage procedure designed to restore damaged hair. At the first stage, the hair is cleaned of impurities. On the second, several restorative serums are applied. On the third, they “seal” them with special oil and cover the hair with a towel. And on the fourth, the master performs a head massage and rubs a nourishing serum into the skin, which stimulates hair growth and renewal.
Attention! The procedure should be performed 2-3 weeks after highlighting, in no case immediately after it – the hair can change color unpredictably.
The best way to quickly restore hair after highlighting is to combine home care with a professional one. © Pexels
Professional hair care tips
What is the best way to wash highlighted hair?
To preserve color and structure and help curls recover faster after highlighting, they should only be washed with a special shampoo marked “for dyed or highlighted hair.” Also suitable for bleached hair. These shampoos cleanse more gently and, in addition, help maintain color. You can try co-washing or sulfate-free shampoos.
How to care for highlighting in order to maintain color and prevent yellowness?
What to do if the hair after highlighting is not combed?
If the hair after highlighting is not combed, most likely the matter is not in highlighting, but in the hairstyle. What to do? Damaged hair gets tangled and poorly combed, and the only way to solve the problem once and for all is to restore it. “Here and now” balm and conditioner, as well as detengler and patience, will help to untangle hair. By itself, the highlighting procedure does not increase the confusion of the hair.
Is it possible to do highlighting after staining?
How often can highlighting be done?
Like any other staining, no more than once every two months. But the beauty of highlighting lies in the fact that the growing roots are not conspicuous, so you can refresh it once every six months.