Whether it’s your first time getting salon color or you’ve been box-dying your hair at home for years, properly preparing your hair for a color treatment is crucial for getting the best results. In fact, a good pre-color prep routine can mean the difference between glossy, vibrant locks, and dry, dull, damaged hair.

How to properly prep your hair for color treatments. 
Heading to the salon for a fresh new hue? Before you go, prep your tresses with these three pro tips to help you get the most mileage out of your hair color.

Maintain a healthy hair routine. Healthy hair receives color treatments better than damaged hair. There’s a reason that “virgin” hair (aka, hair that’s never been through a color or chemical process before) is a colorist's favorite canvas—there’s no prior color to have to correct, no damage to work around, and nothing to interfere with the chemistry of the color treatment. 

Even if you haven’t had unprocessed hair in years (or decades even!), you can still get the most out of your color job by maintaining a healthy hair routine packed with naturally powerful ingredients in between treatments. Nourishing your hair on the regular ensures your hair is ready and able to absorb the color treatment for the most vibrant results possible.

Deep condition prior to your appointment. Stronger hair gets less damaged during color treatments. While coloring your hair is a fun way to express yourself, it can also cause dryness and damage—in fact, with many permanent colors, the process begins with lifting the cuticle to allow the color of the hair to change. 

Making sure you go to your color appointment with your strongest hair possible helps minimize whatever damage might be done during your process. Incorporate our Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask into your weekly wash-day routine at least two weeks in advance of your appointment to deeply nourish and prep your hair. Bonus points if you also use our Don’t Despair, Repair! MegaStrength+ Rice Water Protein + Moisture Treatment before the Deep Conditioning Mask to create the ideal protein and moisture balance for your strongest hair ever!

Exfoliate to lift away buildup. Healthy hair is rooted in scalp care. Incorporating a gentle scalp scrub into your pre-color routine will help to remove any product buildup to ensure maximum vibrancy from your color treatment. On your strengthening wash-day before your process, treat your hair and scalp to our Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-exfoliating Shampoo to slough away any buildup or dead skin cells so your hair is fresh and ready to receive color.

How to care for color-treated hair

Post-color treatment, at-home color care is a must—you’ll want to do everything you can to preserve your new hue’s vibrancy and prevent color fade! 

Add to your maintenance routine: our NEW Color Me Brilliant Mushroom + Bamboo Color Protect Shampoo, Conditioner, and heat-protecting Primer to grant you freedom from fading.