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5 Must-Dos After You Color Your Hair

Keep your hair beautiful and healthy long after your color service. Here's how to care for colored hair

by Katie McCarthy | COMMENT

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Rule No. 4: Protect Your Color Outdoors Crap news for outdoorsy types: UV light is a major softness- and color-sucker for hair. Sun exposure leeches proteins and pigment from hair, making a UV-protecting product essential for colored hair. Luckily, there are tons of sprays, serums, stylers and masks infused with sunscreen that make protecting your hair from UV damage incredibly easy. Another simple solution: Wear a hat when you're outside.

Chlorine and salt water are two other warm-weather culprits that hurt colored and bleached hair. Salt water, of course, dehydrates hair. But chlorine is even more nefarious than salt water: It swells your hair's cuticles, breaks its chemical bonds, deposits color-distorting minerals and saps it of melanin. When you go swimming, limit the amount of salt water or chlorinated water that your hair absorbs by pre-wetting it with tap water and slicking on some conditioner.

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SEE NEXT PAGE: Rule No. 5: Time Your Next Service Wisely