Hair stylist reveals how long it will take our colored locks to recover from lockdown

This is when we'll get our shine back

Hair
(Image credit: Getty)

Most of us were desperate for that first hair appointment post lockdown - whether we needed our roots colored or our split ends desperately chopped off.

However, with so much time in between appointments, one hair colorist has warned that we shouldn't expect our locks to go back to pre-lockdown condition after just one color.

Katie Hale, head of color at Charles Worthington Salons, says it could take a few appointments for our hair color to settle, while she's revealed how we can treat colored hair in between appointments —to help bring back that glow. 

Katie warns the condition of our colored hair won't be the same as we venture back into salons: "Our roots will be more visible and our hair will most likely feel limp and flat—as coloring the hair can plump up your follicles."

So, don't expect your hair color to go back to pre-lockdown condition too quickly: "Allow a few appointments for your hair to return back to its former self, if you have highlights imagine your first set of highlights.

"With hair that is tinted, you will need a longer appointment for the color application as the sections of hair need to be treated differently,  like a virgin application."

While Katie also recommends booking in extra time for your appointments: "If you have a half head highlights or balayage book for a full head foils and balayage. As you may need more color applied than usual. "


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The hair stylist also advises looking after your hair in between colors as the 'healthier the hair, the longer the color will stay looking rich and vibrant.'

While she goes on to add: "Using a top-Quality range like Kerastase Chroma Reflective will lock in color molecules, with its UV filters that reduce color fade. A rich treatment mask will also help give the hair that extra added moisture and oil to nourish the hair fiber."

While if you are looking for color that's easier to maintain Katie reveals: "Balayage is easier to maintain and the grow-out isn’t as obvious as the color is there to compliment the roots. If you are a solid blonde who has back-to-back foils, your roots will show a lot sooner and can be harder to cover up."

But if balayage isn't for you, there is an alternative: "Baby lights with a root shadow can go out nicely too as the highlights are fine and scattered and the toner is softer and again more complimentary on your natural color. "

If you're weighing up the Dyson Corrale vs GHD Platinum or thinking about investing in the L’Oréal Professionnel SteamPod 3.0, you'll want to protect your hair and its color with good heat protection and styling sprays, too. 

Sarah Finley

Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Woman & Home, fitness and beauty for the Evening Standard and how the world of work has changed due to the pandemic for the BBC. 

 

She also covers a variety of other subjects and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. 

 

As a journalist, she has written thousands of profile pieces - interviewing CEOs, real-life case studies and celebrities - interviewing everyone from Emma Bunton to the founder of Headspace.