Asian woman with brown hair color smiling

Sulfates Aren’t Actually Fading Your Color – Here’s What Is…

Get equipped with the right information on how to prevent color fading, so you can make your gorgeous hues last.

Coloring your hair is one way of changing your look. Even if you don’t get a haircut, a new hair color spells a new you. It’s fun to take lots of #hairselfies and flaunt your new hue until it starts fading. Imagine having vibrant red or rich chocolate brown hair for a couple of weeks—only for them to get dull over time. What a downer!

“Some clients have a hard time maintaining their hair and managing it in general. But it’s all about knowing the right products,” says TRESemmé Hair Expert Lourd Ramos. Maintaining colored hair means preventing color fading, but how exactly do we make hair color last?

The Real Cause of Color Fading

It has been believed that sulfates are the culprits behind color fading, hence the arrival of sulfate-free shampoos in the market. While these shampoos do have some benefits, sulfates are not responsible for color fading.

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series works
Unilever R&D Lead for hair Dani De Leon demonstrating how TRESemmé Pro-Color Series works.

“That is actually a myth,” says Dani De Leon, Unilever’s Research & Development Lead for Hair. “Sulfates and parabens are not the cause of color fading. The worst enemy of color is actually the combination of water and damaged hair. Scientific tests have proven that washing your hair, regardless if the product has sulfates or not, will lead to color fading.  In fact, washing with a regular sulfate-free shampoo and a regular sulfate shampoo will lead to the same amount of color fade. The true cause of color fade is water washout.”

How does water make your hair color fade? The coloring process, along with your everyday hairstyling activities, often leads to hair damage. And when your hair gets damaged, cracks and gaps form on the hair surface and its natural protective layer weakens.

Then, these cracks and gaps allow water to seep through and wash out the pigments used to color your hair. This happens whether the shampoo you use has sulfates or not. The cleansing properties of shampoo may aggravate the color fading process because of the nature of surfactants (not just sulfates) to cleanse hair of dirt and oil and in the process, it can remove color pigments as well.

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo

 

Editor’s tip: Maintain your rich red or brown hair color by switching to TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo and TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Conditioner. They prevent color fading while keeping your hair moisturized. 

So what’s the best thing to do? Instead of switching to a sulfate-free shampoo, find one that gives your hair a water-proof protective layer like the TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance range. It has Color Booster Technology that seals the weakened cracks and gaps of hair to lock color in. It also activates a water-proof layer over the hair fiber to keep your hair color from being washed out by water, making your color last for up twice longer.

Now that you know the real cause of color fading, you can get the right shampoo and conditioner in order to maintain your colored hair.

The Lowdown on Purple Formula

Have you ever dyed your hair blonde? Or do you have friends who have experienced going blonde? You may have noticed that over time, blonde hair turns orange or brassy. Lourd explains, “Since Filipinas have dark hair, this needs heavy bleaching. Therefore, [hair gets] damaged, and [it] needs toner or regular update of color because it’s easily lost versus dark colors.”

Hair expert Lourd Ramos explaining about color fading and blonde hair maintenance
TRESemmé hair expert Lourd Ramos recommends purple shampoos for blonde-haired women.

This is where purple formula comes in. Purple and yellow cancel each other out, so purple can be used to mute unwanted brassy tones. “When the hair is washed with our purple formula, small amounts of the purple dye are retained on the hair surface. The purple tone counteracts yellow tones in the hair. This helps retain the original color of the shades you love,” Dani adds.

Styled setup of TRESemme Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo and Conditioner
This duo keeps your blonde hair from going brassy over time.

This is why you should switch to shampoos and conditioners with purple formula when you dye your hair blonde. “I always recommend TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance range because the purple formula is really effective. It will really help you maintain your blonde shades and at the same time, keep your hair looking alive and moisturized since it has jojoba oil,” Lourd says.

More Tips on Blonde Hair Maintenance

Woman with long blonde hair wearing a black thin-strapped top
Keep brassy tones off your blonde hair by using products with purple formula.

So how exactly do we use purple shampoos and conditioner for blonde hair?

“It’s about taking your time,” Ramos says. “I know a lot of you are busy girls, but to get the most out of the products you use, you should also spend more time using your products in the shower. I recommend that you shampoo with TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo for at least five minutes, and then rinse with cold water. Cold water doesn’t strip off hair color. Next, use TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Conditioner and leave this on your hair for about 10 minutes just to make the purple formula do its magic.”

With these products in mind, you no longer need to worry when you go blonde. The TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance range will keep the brassy tones out and keep your blonde shades in. Ramos says you won’t even need additional hair treatments—the TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance duo is already enough to maintain your hair.

Indeed, color maintenance is key to rocking gorgeous hair colors for a long time. All you need are hair products that prevent color fading and discoloration so you can make your hair colors stay.

To learn more about TRESemmé Pro-Color Series, follow the hashtags #TRESProColor Series and #ColorThatStays on social media.