How Do I Keep My Dyed Blond Hair Moist If I'm an African American?

Your hair stylist should know about the challenges you face with keeping blond hair moist.

Coloring dark hair blond involves a double process of bleaching the hair, then lifting the remainder of the color with a dye mixed with peroxide developer. As African American hair is fragile in its natural state, this process lifts almost all color from the hair, and strips protein from the hair and makes it more porous. Keeping the hair moist will require a hair care regimen that maximizes your hair's exposure to moisture, and protection from moisture-stripping practices.

Things You'll Need

• Oil
• Conditioner
• Small towel
• Conditioning caps or plastic bags
• Bonnet dryer
• Hair moisturizer
• Protein treatment

Instructions

1. Get regular trims. This will remove ends that are too damaged to hold moisture. Reduce your hair's exposure to heat styling and chemical processing besides the coloring.

2. Treat your hair with an oil treatment before shampooing. Moisten your hair, and apply about a quarter-sized amount of oil. Cover with the conditioning cap and wrap a towel around your head. Oils that are suitable for oil treatments include olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil.

3. Reduce your use of shampoo. Use conditioner in the place of shampoo at least once a month. Shampoo your hair no more often than once a week. Apply shampoo to the scalp, not the hair. Switch to a sulfate-free shampoo designed for color-treated hair.

4. Steam treat your hair at least once every two weeks. Apply conditioner to moist hair, and wrap the hair in a towel wet with warm water. Cover with a conditioning cap or a plastic bag if the cap will not fit over the towel. Use the bonnet dryer for 20 minutes, and then leave the hair wrapped for 40 additional minutes.

5. Use moisturizer at least three times a week. Choose a moisturizer that contains a vegetable or nut oil, such as olive oil, argan oil, or shea butter.

6. Use a protein treatment at least once every other month, one week before or after color treatments.

Tips & Warnings

• Your hair care regimen must be tailored to the needs of your hair. You might need to do some of these steps less or more often than recommended, depending on how your hair responds.

• Do not attempt to dye your hair blond at home. A professional stylist can spot signs of damage better than you can see them on your own hair, and can use techniques and products designed to minimize hair damage.

References

• Naturally Curly: Ouidad Q&A: Bleaching Ruined My Curly Hair!
• Naturally Curly: Color Me Curly: Dyeing African-American Hair
• Black Hair Planet: Keeping Your Colored Hair Healthy