Must Have Products for Color Treated Hair

I'm dyeing my hair all of the time. At least 3 times a year I put my hair through some major changes; I jump from having pitch black locks, to golden locks, to blond locks. I like changing things up; unfortunately my hair takes a major toll whenever I dye it. It tends to become brittle, dry, and dull.
When you dye your hair as often as I do, you also become more and more aware of what products salvage your hair, and what products do squat.

The absolute best hair product one can use is of course the after coloring conditioner that comes with nearly every hair coloring kit. Make 100% sure you use this whole tube in one shot. Although some tubes contain more treatment than others, use it all regardless. Also when you use it, make sure you leave it soaking in your hair for a full 30 minutes. Most treatments claim you only need to leave it in your hair for 3 minutes, and then rinse.

The best advice I could offer is to put it in damp hair, evenly covering your entire head. After applying, wrap a plastic shopping bag over your head to lock in moisture and heat while the treatment is doing its job. After 30 minutes, rinse. Your hair will be a lot silkier, stronger, and shiny.

Besides the excellent after coloring treatment, there are other products you may want to check out as well.

The first product is one of my all time favorites. It's called Pantene Pro-V Nourishing Moisture Replenishing Mask. It's basically a mask for your hair that was designed to saturate your locks with nourishing moisturization. I use it the same way I use the after coloring hair treatments.

I saturate my entire scalp with the formula, place a plastic bag on my head, and let the formula sit in my hair for a good 30 minutes before rinsing. It works wonders, leaves hair very shiny, soft, and best of all your hair is not left feeling dry or brittle.

You can pick it up in nearly any super store, or online at drugstore.com for a mere $3.99. You should be able to get 2 or 3 treatments out of the jug. One treatment alone though does a world of a difference.

Now that you have your hair back in check; shiny, soft, manageable, and moisturized, I'm sure you are wondering how you can keep your new hair color from fading. There are tons of excellent products out there for color treated hair.

John Frieda in particular has products for nearly every hair color. If you have gone blond, you'll want to check out the different products in the Sheer Blond Collection. If you've gone red, you will want to check out the Radiant Red products. Brilliant Brunette products of course are for those of you whom went with a brunette color.

These products will keep your hairs new color from fading, and are specially designed to work with your hair color.

I personally like the shampoos and conditioners in the collections.

One product from John Frieda that I find to be a wonderful formula for anyone who has recently dyed their hair would be the Extra Strength Formula Hair Serum, which is part of John Frieda's Frizz Ease collection.

Besides keeping fly aways and frizz at bay, this formula also leaves dry hair feeling soft, strong, and healthy.

Garnier Fructis is another brand of hair care products that I would highly recommend to those of you who have color treated hair.

One jug of Garnier Fructis Strength and Repair Fortifying Deep Conditioner is something you may want to consider, especially if your hair is suffering from extreme dryness.

I apply it in the same manner I do all of my hair treatments. I add a lot of the formula into my hair, making sure every strand is saturated. I place a bag over my head, and wait 30 minutes, then rinse. The results are soft, shiny, and moisturized hair.

I especially love this product though because it leave my hair smelling fantastic after using the treatment.

Garnier Fructis Strength and Repair Fortifying Deep Conditioner, can also be found at any super store, in the $6.00-$7.00 range. One jug contains 10.2 ounces of the conditioner. I have thick hair so I only get about 3 treatments out of the jug. However it does such an excellent job, that I only have to use it about once a month.

L'Oreal is also another brand of hair care products you will want to try if you have recently dyed your hair. Their Vive Pro collection is designed specifically for very dry and damaged hair. At only $4.99 a bottle at Walgreen's you really cannot go wrong.

The products leave severely dry damaged locks soft and touchable. Although it is not my all time favorite collection, it is definitely a great product for those on a budget. I do however recommend using a moisturizing mask in addition to L'Oreal Vive Pro conditioners, and shampoos.

One of favorite moisturizing products come from Target. The Umberto brand name of hair care products carry some of the best treatments I have ever used for my hair when it gets extremely dry.


The best thing about these products are the fact that they leave my hair super shiny, super moisturized, and smelling like heaven. The scent of Umberto products smell like musk; if you have ever smelled JLo Glow, you will love Umberto brand products, because they have that same gorgeous musk scent that JLo Glow has.

You can buy Umberto products alone, or you can get a whole enchilada of Umberto goodies by ordering the Umberto Moisturizing Gift Set for just $12.99 at Target.com.

The Umberto Repair Treatment Mask is also an excellent product for severely brittle or dry hair. I don't recommend you use this though unless your hair is very, very damaged. For everyone else the treatment will be too thick and weigh down your hair. However if your hair is really in bad shape, then I'd highly recommend this one to you.

It leaves hair infused with moisturization. I recommend letting it sit in damp hair for up to 30 minutes. It comes to $9.99 for a 6 ounce jug. I usually get around 2 treatments with one jug. If you have very long thick hair you may want to use the whole bottle.

My final last resort for those of you with extreme damage, or extreme brittle hair, I would highly suggest Queen Helene's Super Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream. This stuff is thick, and leaves hair feeling a bit greasy after using it, but if you are looking to protect your hair from further damage, than I'd highly suggest you saturate your locks in this conditioner for a good hour. Do not use this though if your hair is not damaged, it will leave it greasy, and weighed down. This is for those who have badly damaged dry, or brittle hair. It feels like thick mayonnaise when applying, but it will do a world of good for those who need it.

To sum it up dyeing hair is the easy part; keeping up with the color, and the after treatments is somewhat difficult, but if you know what products to use, the issue is solved with just a few 30 minute treatments.