You've spent a couple of hours in the salon chair, your colour looks absolutely gorgeous, and then two weeks later the vibrancy starts fading. Sound familiar? It's one of the most common frustrations we hear from clients at Hello Beauty — and the good news is that most of the fading is preventable.
Whether you've had a full colour, balayage, highlights, or a toner refresh, the way you look after your hair at home has a massive impact on how long the colour holds. Here are the practical steps that actually make a difference, based on what our colourists recommend to clients every day.
The First 48 Hours Matter Most
The period immediately after your colour appointment is when the pigment is still settling into the hair cuticle. What you do in these first 48 hours sets the tone for the weeks ahead.
Don't wash your hair for at least two days after colouring. This gives the colour molecules time to fully bond to the hair shaft. Washing too soon strips away pigment before it's had a chance to set. If your hair feels product-heavy from the salon, a dry shampoo will sort you out until you're ready for that first wash.
Avoid swimming pools and saunas. Chlorine and extreme heat are the fastest ways to pull colour out of freshly treated hair. If you're a regular swimmer, wearing a swim cap is worth the minor inconvenience.
Skip the hot tools for a day or two. Your hair has already been through a chemical process. Giving it a brief rest from heat styling helps the cuticle lay flat, which traps the colour inside more effectively.
Switch to Sulphate-Free Shampoo
This is the single most impactful change you can make to your at-home routine, and it costs roughly the same as whatever you're currently using.
Sulphates are the foaming agents in most standard shampoos. They're brilliant at cleaning, but they're also aggressive — stripping away natural oils and, crucially, colour pigment every time you wash. Switching to a sulphate-free formula means your hair gets clean without the colour being dragged out with the lather.
Look for shampoos specifically labelled as "colour-protect" or "colour-safe." At the salon, we use Davines products across most of our hair services, and they make excellent colour-care ranges. Your stylist can recommend the right one for your specific colour type during your appointment.
Wash Less Often
This might sound counterintuitive, but washing your hair every day is one of the quickest ways to dull your colour. Every wash cycle opens the hair cuticle, and each time it opens, a little more pigment escapes.
Most hair types do perfectly well being washed two to three times a week. On the days between washes, dry shampoo keeps things fresh and adds a bit of texture at the roots. If you're someone who exercises daily and feels the need to wash more often, try just rinsing with water and applying conditioner to the ends — skip the shampoo on those days.
Training your hair to go longer between washes takes a couple of weeks, but it's worth it. Your colour will last longer, your natural oils will keep the hair healthier, and you'll actually spend less time on your hair overall.
Use Cold (or Cool) Water for Rinsing
Nobody's suggesting you stand under an ice-cold shower in the middle of a Scottish winter. But turning the temperature down for the final rinse when you wash your hair makes a real difference to colour longevity.
Hot water opens the hair cuticle, which releases colour. Cool water closes the cuticle, sealing the pigment inside and adding shine. Even switching from hot to lukewarm for the rinse stage will help. Your colour — and your hair's overall condition — will thank you.
Deep Condition Weekly
Coloured hair is more porous than untreated hair, which means it loses moisture faster. When hair dries out, it looks dull and the colour appears faded even if the pigment is still there.
A weekly deep conditioning treatment or hair mask restores that moisture balance. Apply it after shampooing, leave it on for five to ten minutes (or longer if your hair is particularly dry), and rinse with cool water. The difference in shine and softness is noticeable from the first use.
K18 is a molecular repair treatment that we use and recommend at Hello Beauty. It works differently from traditional conditioners by actually repairing the internal structure of the hair rather than just coating the surface. For heavily coloured or bleached hair, it's particularly effective. We offer K18 treatments at the salon as a standalone service or as an add-on to your colour appointment — have a look at our hair treatments page for details.
Protect Your Hair from Heat
If you use straighteners, curling tongs, or a hairdryer regularly, heat protection is non-negotiable for coloured hair.
High temperatures lift the hair cuticle and accelerate colour fade. A good heat protectant spray creates a barrier between the hot tool and your hair, reducing damage and helping the colour stay vibrant for longer.
Apply it to damp hair before blow-drying, or to dry hair before using straighteners or tongs. We use GHD professional tools at the salon, and they perform well at controlled temperatures — but even with quality tools, that protective layer matters.
Also worth noting: if you're using straighteners or tongs, keep the temperature below 185°C for coloured hair. Higher than that and you start actively burning off the colour pigment.
Protect Against UV
Edinburgh summers might not be Mediterranean, but UV light still affects hair colour. Even on overcast days, UV exposure gradually breaks down colour molecules, leading to fading and brassiness — particularly for blondes and lighter tones.
During the brighter months, using a leave-in conditioner or hair oil with UV protection helps maintain your colour between appointments. A hat works too, if you're spending a long day outside.
Toner Refreshes Between Appointments
If your colour starts looking a bit brassy or warm between full colour appointments — which is especially common with blonde balayage and highlights — a toner refresh is the most efficient fix.
A toner appointment takes about 30 minutes, costs a fraction of a full colour service, and resets the tone back to that clean, cool (or warm, depending on your preference) shade you walked out with originally. It doesn't involve any lightening or lifting, so it's very gentle on the hair.
At Hello Beauty, we do toner refreshes regularly for our colour clients. It's a brilliant way to extend the life of your colour without committing to a full appointment. You can book one as a standalone service through our online booking page.
When to Book Your Next Colour Appointment
The right interval between colour appointments depends entirely on what you've had done:
Full colour or root touch-up — every four to six weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows and how visible the regrowth is against your natural shade.
Highlights — every six to eight weeks. The regrowth is more noticeable than with balayage, so more regular appointments keep things looking fresh.
Balayage — every ten to fourteen weeks. The beauty of balayage is in the soft grow-out, so you can afford to leave longer gaps. A toner refresh at the halfway mark keeps the tone looking right.
Toner only — every four to six weeks, or as needed when you notice the tone shifting.
If you're not sure what schedule works best for your colour, just ask your colourist during your next appointment. We always recommend a maintenance plan based on what you've had done and how your hair naturally behaves.
Book Your Next Colour Appointment
Whether you need a full hair colouring service, a toner refresh, or a deep conditioning treatment to keep things in top condition, our team at Hello Beauty is here to help.
We're based at 13 South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh, open seven days a week. Book online and we'll take it from there.
Hello Beauty Salon, 13 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh EH2 4AS. Open Monday to Sunday, 10:00–19:00.
