Five Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoos that Will Keep your Blonde Bright

Today’s post will cultivate some perky, purple praise, not in the form of old-school Prince songs like “Purple Rain,” but five wondrous ways to keep your blonde bombshell hair happy and bright. As beautiful as they are, the reality is that light hair colors can quickly lose their luster.

Blonde-colored and highlighted hair may turn yellow/brassy surprisingly quickly after having it dyed. Gray hair, too, tends to lose its brightness and shine as you age, becoming prone to exhibiting those unattractive yellow tones. Platinum blonde hair looks gorgeous, but it requires a lot of care to keep it bright. Don’t worry because this posting has you covered!

In sum, light-colored hair is likely to suffer discoloration when exposed to the sun, hard water, and other types of environmental pollution. Frequent dyeing also results in porous hair that’s prone to discoloration.

Fortunately, highly efficient and affordable products have been developed to control discoloration and remove unwanted brassy and yellow tones from blonde and gray hair.

hairdresser washing hair with purple shampoo in the salon

Purge Brass with Purple Sass: How to Remove Brassy Tones from Hair

The simplest way to prevent discoloration and neutralize undesirable yellow and brassy tones in blonde hair is to use a purple shampoo. Remember, purge brass with purple sass-lol! Why purple? Well, purple shampoos contain violet pigments that counteract brassiness in natural or enhanced blonde, white, and gray hair.

Unfortunately, many purple shampoos can dry out the hair, especially when used regularly. Considering that your bleached hair is already dry and porous—that isn’t a great combination.

To avoid dryness, you can alternate a violet shampoo with your regular shampoo, but this won’t make much difference if your regular shampoo contains harsh sulfate cleansers. Using sulfate-free purple shampoos is a better, easier, and more natural way to prevent your hair from drying out. These shampoos are gentle on your hair and many can be used regularly.

Below is a list of sulfate-free purple shampoos that use natural ingredients to combat brassy and yellow tones and to keep your hair hydrated, soft, and manageable. Let’s hear it for the Purple Praise: Five Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoos To Keep Your Blonde Bright

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1. Be Your Best Self: B-Uniq Purple Shampoo

This highly pigmented purple shampoo counteracts brassiness and neutralizes yellow tones in blonde hair. It is suitable for bleached, highlighted, grey, and naturally blonde hair. If you have highlights, it’ll merely impact the blonde strands in your hair. It also adds a silver tone to lighter blonde shades and revitalizes the ashy blonde color.

Depending on how long you leave it on, you can achieve the desired blonde shade. Are you ready to be your best self with B-Uniq?

Benefits

  • Eliminates yellow or warm tones, regardless if your hair is blonde, grey, or silver.
  • Banishes brassiness and makes blonde-colored hair appear brighter.
  • Combats discoloration and dullness in naturally blonde hair, keeping it fresh looking, and vibrant.
  • Transforms your grey hair into a bright and shiny silver shade.
  • If left for longer, it adds a beautiful lilac hue. The violet hint is easy to wash out in case you don’t like it.
  • Offers pro-Vitamin B5 and other conditioning agents in the formula to combat dryness and leave your hair looking shiny.
  • Contains UV filters that prevent color fading by sunlight

Suggested Use

Wash the hair with your regular shampoo to remove any build-up and make depositing purple pigments easier. Wear gloves (included in the packaging) and apply the product to clean wet hair. During your first use, leave it on for up to 3 minutes.

The results will vary, depending on how long you leave it to sit in your hair. 1-5 minutes will be enough to remove brassy/yellow tones. To achieve silver or ash-grey tones, let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes. If left for too long, it’ll turn your hair purple or grayish. Use a clarifying shampoo to wash out any purple tinge from the hair.

Use the product several times a week, along with your regular shampoo and conditioner. The frequency of use depends on the level of discoloration and the results you’re seeking.

Make sure to follow with a good moisturizing conditioner to reduce the drying effect.

2. Pravana Power: PRAVANA THE PERFECT BLONDE Purple Toning Sulfate-Free Shampoo

When you’re ready to Power Up your hair color, consider Pravana. Pravana’s The Perfect Blonde Shampoo uses an exclusive dual ultra-violet dye system and optical brighteners to neutralize brassiness and brighten blonde, silver, or highlighted hair. This deep, dark purple shampoo also contains hydrolyzed keratin, wheat, and silk amino acids to boost strength, shine, and elasticity. The formula is free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, salt, and gluten. It’s also cruelty-free and 100% vegan.

This shampoo doesn’t lather as much as ordinary shampoos do; and, consequently, it doesn’t disperse well through your hair. You’d need to add more of the product to completely saturate your hair, especially if your hair is oily. Mixing this purple shampoo with your regular shampoo helps to create a foamy lather and makes the shampoo mixture more spreadable.

Blonde girl hair after washing the hair with violet shampoo

3. Live It Up With L’ANZA: L’ANZA Healing Colorcare Silver Brightening Shampoo

When you want your color to live it up a bit, consider L’ANZA Healing Colorcare Silver Brightening Shampoo. It’s formulated with natural toning agents derived from viola and lavender flowers. These flower extracts help brighten silver, platinum, and highlighted hair and prevent the appearance of brassiness. This shampoo also keeps gray hair from turning yellow and adds softness and shine.

In addition to enhancing blonde and gray hair, it further helps red hair to stay vibrant and adds shine to darker shades.

The formula includes UV protectors to prevent your color from fading and to extend the time between salon visits. Keratin amino acids work by reducing breakage to make your hair feel healthier.

To prevent dryness and tangling, use a good moisturizing conditioner.

hairdresser uses purple shampoo to wash client's hair

4. Care with Moisture: Loma Hair Care Violet Shampoo

This sulfate-free and Sodium chloride-free shampoo not only takes out the brassy and yellow color but also keeps your hair moisturized and healthy. Quinoa Protein and amino acids do that moisture-delivering task and repair the cuticle layer making hair smooth and shiny.

Another special feature of this toning shampoo is that its formula contains both blue and violet pigments making it capable of counteracting both orange and yellow tones in your hair. It greatly enhances the brightness and beauty of blonde and gray hair.

5. The French Connection: L’Oréal Paris EverPure Blonde Shampoo

Are you in desperate need of a trip but can’t leave your apartment, dorm, condo, or house? You’re your hair “The French Connection” since L’Oréal Paris Ever Pure Blonde sulfate-free shampoo promises visible results in just one use. It’s designed to stop the yellowing and enhance the brightness and shine of your light-colored hair.

Unlike sulfate-based purple shampoos, which can leave your hair dry and prone to tangling, this brass-fighting shampoo hydrates over-processed hair, thus leaving it soft, tangle-free, and easy to manage. Oui to that!

If you want to stick to your regular shampoo, while enjoying the benefits of purple toning pigments, you can control the appearance of brassiness by adding a few drops of Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Drops to your regular shampoo or conditioner.

Happy woman with bright blonde hair toned with purple shampoo

Caring for Your High-Porosity Hair

What is Hair Porosity?

Hair porosity is the ability of hair to absorb and retain moisture and to properly take in color, or any other hair treatment. Porosity is determined by the state of the outermost layer of the hair. Porous hair strands have highly raised cuticles and can’t retain moisture for long.

Although high-porosity hair quickly absorbs moisture, it loses water through the damaged cuticle layer just as quickly as it is absorbed. High-porosity hair feels dry and can be susceptible to frizz and tangles. Such hair is difficult to comb, and you may notice that it has split ends and breaks easily.

Knowing your hair porosity allows you to select the best products that may help to lower porosity and improve your hair’s texture.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Overly Porous Hair?

Chemical/heat damage: In most cases, a damaged cuticle layer and highly porous hair are the results of over-manipulation, frequent thermal styling, and repeated chemical treatments, such as bleaching and chemical straightening.

Sun Exposure: Too much sun exposure can deplete keratin and damage the cuticles, living your strands, dry, porous, and brittle.

Genetics: Like some other hair characteristics, the level of porosity can be inherited. Hair porosity also increases as you get older.

Upset girl touching her porous hair

What Are The Signs of High-Porosity Hair

Hair tangling: The raised cuticles make strands rougher, and therefore prone to tangles, as well as being difficult to manage. 

Hair breakage: low moisture retention causes hair to look and feel dry and dull, and to become prone to split ends and breakage.

Frizz: high porosity hair easily absorbs water due to raised cuticles, and takes more effort to combat frizz.

Faster color fading: high porosity speeds the progression of color fading because the raised cuticle allows the color molecules to wash away quickly.

Uneven hair dye: hair dyes tend to grab unevenly on porous hair, so it may be difficult to achieve even coverage.

Over-absorption of chemical products: due to raised cuticles, perm solutions and relaxers are absorbed too quickly. This requires some adjustments in the processing time, otherwise, your hair can be severely damaged.

Attractive nervous woman with curly high porosity hair

How to Fix Porous Hair

High-porosity hair should not be exposed to harsh chemicals. If you dye your hair, make sure you include protein fillers as a pre-color treatment, or ask your stylist to incorporate a bond multiplier into your color service, to reduce damage and minimize the chances of breakage.

  1. Pre-Po Treatments: If you have overly porous hair, consider incorporating a pre-shampoo treatment into your hair care regimen. Pre-wash hair treatments are formulated to protect your hair from the drying effects of hair shampoo and provide nourishment for your dry, porous locks. These treatments are supposed to be applied before shampooing to lock in moisture, increase elasticity, and provide a good slip for detangling. They will also make hair look healthier, softer, and shinier.
  2. Protein Treatments: Overly porous hair needs a protein that fills in the gaps within the damaged cuticle layer, helping the hair to retain moisture. Protein treatments should be alternated with deep conditioning treatments to maintain the correct moisture protein balance.
  3. Deep Conditioning: Hair masks for overly porous hair seal in moisture by closing the cuticles and making porous hair softer, more manageable, and frizz-free. Keratin hair masks help to increase your hair’s elasticity, soften roughness, and increase manageability.
  4. Hair Glaze: To refresh your color, and to reduce the frequency of your color sessions, you can apply a hair glaze between color services. Hair glazes fill the gaps of porous hair strands and prolong your color results.
  5. Hair Botox: Chemical relaxers and straighteners may cause irreversible damage to your already over-processed strands. Try hair Botox instead, as this treatment will improve your hair’s appearance without causing any damage.
Attractive woman with curly hair showing ok

Hair Care for High Porosity Hair

1. Shampoos and Conditioners for Porous Hair

Use sulfate-free shampoos made with naturally delivered cleansers, which are rich in hydrating ingredients, to help seal in moisture. Keratin-infused shampoos with mild cleansers wash your hair without drying it out. Keratin conditioners reduce friction and prevent static, making your hair smoother and easy to comb.

2. Hair Oils for High Porosity Hair

Natural oils such as coconut, avocado, almond, and olive oils will coat and seal the cuticle, and prevent moisture from escaping.

3. Hair Porosity Equalizers

Porosity equalizers are meant for use before or after chemical treatments. These products ensure more even absorption of chemical solutions, enhancing the results of perms, chemical relaxing, and coloring.

4. Neutral Protein Filler

One product is a life-saver for individuals with over-processed, overly porous hair – a protein filler. The neutral protein filler helps to repair damaged protein bonds and to reduce breakage after chemical treatments. This product is especially handy when you need to color your high-porosity hair. Protein fillers are used as a pre-color treatment to equalize hair porosity and to prepare your hair for better color absorption and more consistent results.

5. Keratin-Enriched Styling Products

Keratin-infused hair styling products will restore missing protein and increase your hair’s ability to retain moisture. Keratin helps to restore the cuticle layer, making your hair less porous and easier to detangle.

Leave-in conditioners infused with keratin and hair oils will give you smoother, more shiny hair.

a happy young girl with nourished curly hair

Keratin Conditioners: What Type and Brand Should You Use

Natural keratin production in the body slows down as we age, leaving our hair dull, weak, and vulnerable to damage. Exposure to chemicals, frequent heat styling, and harsh environmental conditions can also lead to keratin loss and weakened hair structure.

Since keratin is a major component of human hair, it sounds logical that adding keratin protein to hair products can provide multiple benefits. Over time, using hair products enriched with keratin can help replenish the lost keratin and temporarily fix damaged hair fibers.

If your hair is weak or damaged, there is a good reason why you should include keratin-enriched daily conditioners, deep conditioners, and leave-in treatments in your hair care regimen.

Keratin-rich hair conditioners help retain moisture and preserve the integrity of the hair. Your hair will be stronger, softer, and more resilient to future damage.

a beautiful brunette woman with keratin conditioner in her hair.jpg

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1. Regular Hair Conditioners Infused with Keratin

Keratin-infused daily conditioner is a lifesaver for coarse, damaged, and tangle-prone hair. Small keratin particles seal the cuticles and reduce friction, which helps detangle knots and make brushing easier. Keratin conditioners also help to boost hair strength and leave the cuticle layer smooth for improved manageability and shine.

Brands:

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1. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner uses the natural reconstructing power of keratin and moisturizing properties of argan oil to restore optimal moisture levels and leave hair stronger and more resistant to breakage.

Should you use it? If your hair is damaged due to years of dyeing, chemical processing, or heat styling, this conditioner will repair damaged strands and increase elasticity, moisture, and shine.

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2. L’ANZA Healing Volume Thickening Conditioner is a daily, lightweight conditioner, made to boost hair volume and thickness. This daily conditioner is formulated with keratin amino acids. These keratin particles are small enough to penetrate the hair shaft to moisturize the hair from within and repair damage. The bamboo bodifying complex increases the diameter of hair fibers to give you thicker, more voluminous hair.

Should you use it? This conditioner is suitable for fine and fragile hair that needs more body and bounce. If your hair is fine, thin, or flat, this conditioner will add fullness and a healthy shine.

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Deep Conditioners with Keratin

Keratin-enriched deep conditioner is an intensely moisturizing and repairing treatment for dry, chemically processed, and heat-damaged hair. The keratin component in hair masks helps increase hair elasticity, restores strength, and makes hair thicker and more alive. Such hair is easy to style and is less prone to frizz and flyaways.

Keratin conditioning masks seal the cuticle, leaving your hair smooth and glossy. Keratin deep conditioner can penetrate into your dry ends to reduce splitting.

If you have long hair prone to tangling, this treatment will soften roughness and reduce tangles.

If you have recently received a keratin treatment, a keratin-infused deep conditioner helps protect your treatment from wearing off too soon.

This kind of conditioner also makes your hair easier to straighten. If you want to keep your hair curly, this deep conditioning treatment will make your curls softer.

Brands:

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Wella SP Luxe Oil Keratin Restore Mask is an intensive treatment developed to protect and restore keratin in your hair. It revitalizes damaged and dry strands, leaving them looking lustrous and soft to the touch. Almond, argan, and jojoba oils provide antioxidant protection and improve the health of dry, processed hair.

To maintain the results, you need to apply this mask weekly to towel-dried hair. It is easy to use, and you don’t have to apply heat to make it effective.

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Keratin Leave-in Conditioners

Leave-in conditioners infused with keratin are designed to moisturize, strengthen, and protect hair from damage. Keratin leave-In conditioner also makes your hair softer and easier to brush and style.

Keratin fills in the gaps in the cuticle layer, making hair less porous and more resistant to humidity.

If you have thin or flat hair, certain keratin-infused leave-in products can make it look thicker and bouncier. The effects are cumulative with continuous use.

If your hair is very curly, this leave-in treatment helps take away the frizz, keeping your curls soft, shiny, and bouncy.

Brands

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1. BIOLAGE Advanced Keratindose Pro-Keratin Renewal Spray is formulated with hydrolyzed proteins, amino acids, and silk powder to hydrate and strengthen weakened, processed strands. It tames frizz and provides silkiness, shine, and manageability.

Should you use it? If your hair is unruly, dry, coarse, frizzy, over-processed, and prone to breakage, this conditioner will help you with detangling and leave your hair smooth and frizz-free. However, it may be too heavy for fine hair.

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More and more keratin-infused hair products are making their way to store shelves and our bathroom cabinets for a good reason. The hair that is exposed to the stresses of aging and styling needs products that are designed to replenish depleted keratin.

a woman applying leave in conditioner to damp hair

Related Article

Keratin Hair Oils: Benefits and Products Worth Your Attention

What is Keratin Oil?

Chemical processing such as bleaching, perming, and chemical straightening can damage the protective layer around hair and strip your hair of its natural proteins. The frequent use of heat-styling tools can further weaken over-processed hair.

Damaged hair is dry, fizzy, and can suffer from breakage. Such hair needs special reparative and nourishing products to recover. Keratin-replenishing hair products may help to temporarily fix the hair that suffers from protein damage. One of the popular keratin-infused hair care products is keratin oil.  

The term “Keratin oil” is used mainly for marketing purposes. Keratin oil is usually a blend of hair oils that is infused with micro-particles of keratin proteins. The inclusion of hydrolyzed keratin makes hair oils more versatile. Such oils, in addition to providing protective and moisturizing benefits, temporarily repair damaged hair.

The hydrolyzed protein particles fill in the gaps in porous hair strands, smoothen the cuticle, and bring out natural luster. If you apply a small amount of oil before blow drying, your hair will look healthier after styling.

A woman applying keratin oil to hair ends

What Are The Benefits of Keratin-Enriched Hair Oils?

A keratin-enriched oil is an intensive treatment for dry, processed, and damaged hair. The most common benefits of using keratin-infused hair oil include:

Optimal strength: If your hair is over-processed and damaged, keratin-infused oil will repair damage and make it stronger and healthier from within, making it more resistant to breakage and splitting. This will help your hair grow longer.

Healthier-looking hair: Keratin molecules bond to the rough hair strands and seal the cuticles, leaving hair smoother and silkier. Hair oils with keratin restore shine to dull hair, define curls, and heal dry ends.

Thicker strands: Hydrolyzed proteins help restore the missing protein and add thickness to the strands, making hair look fuller.

Frizz and static control: If you have coarse, frizzy hair, a keratin-rich oil will protect the hair from frizzing and eliminate static electricity, making it easier to style and allowing you to maintain your style longer.

Heat protection: Most keratin-infused oils are made to protect against thermal damage. Read the product description carefully to make sure that the oil protects against heat damage.

Balanced moisture levels: A keratin-infused oil hydrates hair and keeps a healthy protein-moisture balance within the hair, so you don’t have to worry about protein overload.

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Brunette using a spray with keratin oil

Keratin Oil Brands

When purchasing keratin oil for the first time, buy a smaller package to ensure that the product works for your hair and experiment on wet or dry hair.

1. It’s a 10 Haircare Miracle Oil Plus Keratin is advertised to transform weak and over-processed strands into strong, silky, and beautiful hair. It is formulated to protect the hair from heat, preserve the color, tame the frizz and static, and add instant shine.

This product works best for thick, curly hair and dry/frizzy hair. Use a small amount and work it through towel-dried hair before blow-drying.

You can also use It’s a 10 Oil on dry hair after styling. Make sure not to overdo it, as too much oil can make your hair look greasy, especially if you have straight, fine, or thin hair.

2. L’ANZA Keratin Healing Oil Hair Treatment could be the best choice for people with fine hair who struggle to find an oil that doesn’t weigh their hair down. This oil is designed to reduce drying time, provide thermal protection, and deliver outstanding shine.

A blend of botanical oils, Phytoceramides, and keratin amino acids work to retain optimal moisture levels and restore hair strength, leaving hair silky smooth, and free from frizz and flyaways.

L’ANZA keratin healing oil is lighter than shine exchanging serums, and it is completely absorbed by your hair within 10 minutes. It has a mild, fruity smell that doesn’t linger in the hair.

This oil should be applied to clean, damp hair before blow-drying. You can also use a small amount after styling to add extra shine.

3. HASK Keratin Protein Smoothing Shine Oil is designed to make hair healthy and smooth and provide a gorgeous shine. If you have dry hair, this keratin-infused oil will replenish moisture and smooth the cuticle, making your hair appear softer and frizz-free.

This deliciously scented hair oil is infused with hydrolyzed keratin and comes in vials.

As with most keratin oils, it works best if you use a small amount and apply it only from the middle sections to the ends of your hair.

How to Use Keratin Oils

a girl is applying oil to towel-dried hair

Drop a nickel size amount in your palm, rub it between your hands, and apply it to freshly washed towel-dried hair. Start using the smallest amount possible because too much product can make your hair appear oily. You can add more if needed.

If you have fine or thinning hair, focus on the ends and avoid the roots.

If your hair is on the oily side, use a pea-sized amount on the ends.

If your hair is thick and coarse, you can use a bit more oil, by distributing it evenly from the roots to the tips.

Hair oil with keratin oil can also be used on dry hair to smooth frizz, tame static that makes strands fly away, and improve shine. You can use the oil whenever your hair feels dry. Just make sure to avoid the roots.

Don’t panic if your hair looks a little greasy after application; for some oils, it can take up to 15 minutes for hair oils to fully absorb.

Charming curly haired girl applying keratin oil

Should You Be Using Shampoo Without Sodium-Chloride

In addition to cleansing agents, hair shampoos contain conditioning and nourishing ingredients for hair and scalp. Hair shampoo may contain additives to make the product more appealing, as well as preservatives to increase product shelf life.

Thickeners are additives used to increase viscosity, which makes the shampoo easier to spread across the hair. Sodium chloride or table salt is the most widely used thickener in hair shampoos. It helps enhance viscosity and gives the shampoo a creamy texture.

Manufacturers use sodium chloride for thickening purposes because it’s cheap yet effective.

a woman holding a bottle of salt-free shampoo in supermarket

Is Sodium Chloride Safe?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) rated sodium chloride as a low hazard. The safety data sheet shows that sodium chloride may slightly irritate the skin and eyes. That means that sodium chloride is a relatively safe ingredient in hair products.

Being organic, sodium chloride can often be found in many organic shampoos.

Is Salt Bad for Your Hair?

Sodium chloride is highly hygroscopic, meaning it tends to attract water from its surroundings. Consequently, salt can absorb moisture from your hair, leading to dryness. Just as consuming foods high in sodium chloride increases thirst, salt can leave your hair feeling dry.

This drying effect is a reason why people with dry and naturally curly hair should use salt-free hair products, especially these products that are meant to stay in the hair for a long time. Since curly hair is prone to damage due to dryness, curly-haired people should use a salt-free shampoo.

People with oily and normal hair can be more comfortable with salt-containing hair shampoos. The amount of salt in shampoo is relatively small and doesn’t have a significant drying effect on normal hair.

Cute Asian girl towel drying the hair

Does Salt in Shampoo Have any Benefits for Hair and Scalp?

1. Salt in Shampoo for Oily Hair

People with oily scalps and hair can benefit from using a sea salt scrub mask. Sea salt is better than plain salt for scalp nourishing purposes. Sea salt contains naturally-occurring minerals, while table salt has been chemically treated to remove trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, bromine, zinc, and sulfur.

2. Salt in Shampoo for Hair Growth

Table salt contains a small amount of added iodine, known for its ability to increase follicle strength and stimulate hair growth when applied topically.

3. Remedy for Dandruff

Salt helps in absorbing the excess oil and moisture from the scalp. Too much oil on your scalp can exacerbate dandruff. Excess moisture may lead to fungal growth, resulting in dandruff. By absorbing the excess moisture, salt prevents fungal growth. Absorbing excess oil salt helps clean your scalp and remove the dandruff flakes.

If you have oily hair and dandruff, try to wash your hair with a mixture of salt and shampoo. Keep the ratio of one-part salt to two parts shampoo. Apply the mixture to your scalp and massage gently with your fingertips. Wash your hair with lukewarm water.

4. Textured, Fuller-Looking Hair

Salt lifts the cuticles, causing hair fibbers to expand and look thicker. This can be beneficial for people with fine and straight hair that needs more volume and texture.

When Do You Really Need to Use Salt-Free Shampoo?

If you have received a keratin treatment, you probably already know that using harsh shampoos and inappropriate hair products can strip the treatment of your hair. Salt is one of the ingredients you should avoid in hair products.

Therefore, to make sure that your shampoo will not undo the results of your keratin treatment, you should only use gentle and salt-free hair shampoos.

Shampoos without salt have become a trend because of the increased popularity of keratin straightening and smoothing treatments, so you can easily find one online and at local beauty stores.

Charming young woman with straight long hair

So, Should You Switch to Salt-Free Shampoos?

If your hair is prone to dryness and frizz, choose shampoos without sodium chloride. Retaining moisture inside your hair is essential for keeping your hair in good condition.

If your hair is keratin straightened, you should avoid hair shampoos that have sodium chloride listed on the label.

Unless you have dry hair or have received a keratin treatment, you should be comfortable with using shampoos that contain salt as a thickening agent. There are many more harmful ingredients in an ordinary shampoo you should avoid, including fragrances, parabens, SLS/SLES, DMDM hydantoin, and Methylisothiazolinone. 

Cute smiling girl with long healthy hair

Protein Fillers for Perfect Color Results

Multiple bleaching and coloring can leave your hair extremely dry and over-processed. When hair cuticles are damaged, color molecules are not tightly locked inside the hair shaft, and can easily be washed out with shampoo. Plus, overly porous hair absorbs color well in some places but not in others. You need something to help improve your hair color results and seal in color to ensure greater color longevity.

The solution to your problems is simple and very affordable- a protein filler for hair. This miracle product has been for a while a preferable way to prepare porous hair for coloring and help it to absorb the dye more evenly.

A porosity-equalizing hair filler contains hydrolyzed proteins that cling to your hair and fill in the areas of porosity, leaving your strands thicker and smoother.

Woman with beautiful hair color after using protein filler

A protein filler is often used before the color process to protect the hair from chemical damage and prevent uneven color results. This product comes in either clear or tinted versions, but the clear or neutral shade is the most common and simplest to use.

The most popular product in this category is the Neutral Protein Filler by Colorful. This protein filler is exceptionally effective on porous hair that doesn’t take the color evenly. It is affordable and very easy to use if you prefer doing your coloring job at home.

Benefits of Using Neutral Protein Filler

Allows for even penetration of the dye: Most damaged and porous areas of your hair will process color too quickly, making your color results uneven. When applied before coloring service protein fillers reduce hair porosity, preparing your hair for more even color absorption.

Protects against chemical damage: If your hair is badly damaged from using bleach, it will repair some previous damage and protect hair against future chemical damage.

Better and longer-lasting results: When applied before coloring, protein fillers help porous bleached hair take color more uniformly and help lock in the color for longer.

Consistent results: The color will look close to the color on the box, regardless of damage from bleaching or previous color build-up.  Protein fillers make your dying job much more effective, enabling you to get professional results at home.

Improvement in overall appearance of the hair: Protein fillers fill porous ends, add a lustrous sheen, and make hair look healthier and thicker.

How to Use a Neutral Protein Filler

The most common way to use this product is as a pre-color treatment, especially if you suffer from porous hair. This could be a miracle product for you, but you must use it properly.

1. Pre-color treatment: Apply the filler evenly throughout your clean, towel-dried hair, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Do not rinse the product from your hair. Apply the color as usual. After rinsing the color follow up with a moisturizing conditioner.

Some people are curious if they get even better results if leave protein filler in their hair for longer. The answer is no. 30 minutes is the maximum time because anything longer can lead to protein overload and hair that is brittle and weighted down.

Many users have reported good results when 1-2 ounces of the protein filler are added directly to the color mixture. However, according to the instructions, applying this product as a pre-color treatment will ensure the best results.

The product is pretty runny. You can transfer it to a spray bottle for easier application.

Fashion girl colored hair after using Neutral protein filler

2. Protein repair treatment: Neutral protein filler can also be used as a conditioner treatment simply by mixing 1 ounce of water with 2 ounces of neutral protein filler.  Work the mixture into towel-dried hair, leave for around 20 minutes and rinse. The protein filler will restore the keratin stripped out of your hair, making your strands feel stronger and healthier. This treatment is highly recommended for hair that feels overly porous and damaged due to previous relaxing and bleaching sessions.

Do this repairing treatment once a month between colorings to compensate for the protein that has been lost from your hair over time and to keep your hair in good condition.

Precautions: As a protein treatment, Neutral Protein Filler works exceptionally well for hair that craves protein. However, do not use a protein filler more than once a month to avoid overloading your hair with protein. Some people may go into protein overload when leaving protein treatment in their hair for longer than recommended. Too much protein in the hair can cause the opposite effect and your hair will become inelastic and break easily.

Any kind of protein treatment should be followed by a moisturizing treatment to replenish lost moisture in the hair.

Make sure to refrigerate any leftover conditioner. Once the formula has been diluted, bioactive ingredients may spoil quickly.

Color Protein Fillers

Professional protein fillers come in various colors, but be aware that the shade you will get is not the same color you see in the bottle. Besides helping with color absorption and providing protection against hair damage, color protein fillers add missing color back into the hair and help counteract unwanted undertones. They also help color last longer and make it easier to manage some problematic hair colors, like red.

A woman with long hair and perfect color results

Some common examples:

1. If you want to take your over-processed, bleached blonde hair to a red or brown shade use red protein filler to help cut any greenish color and counteract orange tones.

2. When dying your hair white blonde use platinum protein filler (which has purple color) as a pre-treatment to avoid any brassy tones and to get a cooler shade of platinum.

The application can be messy. The easiest way of application is to add the product to your color mixture and leave it in your hair during showering.

Before using a protein filler with color for the first time, you should consult an experienced colorist to help you start.

A woman with red curly hair

Awapuhi KeraTriplex Treatment vs. Keratin Straightening Treatments

If you bleach or color your hair regularly and frequently use heat styling tools, you have probably reached the point when your hair is very dry, fragile, and hard to manage.

The good news is that with the right treatment, your damaged, over-processed hair can recover to be strong, healthy, and beautiful again.

What treatment works this magic?

Keratin repair!

One keratin repair treatment that is gaining popularity is Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi Wild Ginger Keratriplex Treatment.

Don’t confuse it with Brazilian Keratin Treatment, as KeraTriplex treatment is not designed to straighten hair.

Awapuhi Keratriplex Treatment replenishes the hair with the keratin that has been lost during chemical processing and gets your hair back to its healthy state—without affecting your natural waves.

A mixed-race girl after receiving Awapuhi KeraTriplex Treatment

What is KeraTriplex Treatment?

KeraTriplex Treatment is a 2-step, in-salon treatment that combines a protein hair treatment and a deep conditioning treatment.

Step 1. A blend of protein molecules (KeraTriplex) small enough to penetrate the cuticle and restore keratin in your hair repairs your strands from the inside.

Step 2. The deep conditioning treatment infuses hair with moisture to achieve the proper moisture/protein balance while adding softness and shine.

KeraTriplex Treatment can give any hair type a silky, beautiful appearance and protect it from future damage. However, dry, over-processed, and lifeless hair will benefit the most from the KeraTriplex Treatment. This treatment transforms dry, weak, and brittle strands into stronger and healthier hair while adding a silky feel and glossy shine to the hair.

a woman with awapuhi keratriplex treatment

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Keratriplex Treatment Steps

The Keratriplex Treatment is designed to be performed at a salon. If you decide to do it at home, make sure to purchase both products (Keratriplex vials and Keratin Intensive Treatment) and follow the directions exactly.

  1. Wash your hair with Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Moisturizing Lather Shampoo and follow with a Keratin Cream Rinse conditioner.
  2. Towel dry your hair.
  3. Apply KeraTriplex Hair Treatment, focusing on the most damaged areas, then distribute it evenly, leaving it in your hair for about 5 minutes. During this stage, the small keratin particles penetrate the hair shaft to repair and seal damaged areas. Do not rinse the product from your hair.
  4. Apply Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Keratin Intensive Treatment and process under heat for 10 minutes. During this conditioning stage, the Keratin Intensive Hair Treatment provides deep hydration to balance protein and moisture content in your hair, while adding softness and shine.
  5. Rinse your hair without shampooing.
  6. Towel dry your hair, then blow-dry and style as desired.

Benefits

  • Adds strength and moisture to weak hair
  • Reduces breakage
  • Makes dry, rough hair silky soft
  • Improves shine
  • Makes fine, thin hair look thicker and fuller
  • Tames frizz
  • Makes curls soft and bouncy
  • Prevents color fading

Related Article

Keratriplex Treatment Advantages over Traditional Keratin Straightening Treatments

  1. The KeraTriplex Treatment procedure is very simple. While a traditional keratin straightening treatment usually takes more than 2 hours, this keratin repair treatment requires about 30 minutes.
  2. There are no strict post-treatment precautions, and you can wash and style your hair as soon as the procedure is completed.
  3. You don’t have to use a flat iron to seal the treatment in your hair, as you do with keratin straightening treatments. However, you can use a flat iron or curling iron to style your hair after the blow-drying stage.
  4. Unlike most keratin straightening treatments, this product doesn’t contain harmful chemicals that can pose a health risk for you and your stylist.
  5. While the products involved in the application of keratin straightening treatments can emit harmful and irritating fumes, the products used in the Awapuhi Keratriplex treatment have an incredibly refreshing Awapuhi scent.
  6. You can get an Awapuhi Keratriplex treatment for a fraction of the price of a Brazilian keratin treatment—most salons charge between $30 – $40 for KeraTriplex Treatment. Once you are experienced enough to do the treatment at home, you can save a lot of money and a trip to the salon by doing it yourself.

Limitations

  • The results of a Keratriplex treatment don’t last as long as the results after keratin straightening treatment. Without the regular use of the entire KeraTriplex system (shampoo, rinse, and deep conditioner) the results will fade within a month.
  • The effects will last longer if you do deep conditioning using Keratin Intensive Treatment once a week. This deep conditioner is designed to prolong the results of the Keratriplex treatment and keep your hair strong, silky, frizz-free, and shiny.
Attractive woman with KeraTriplex keratin treatment in her hair

What is Keratin Intensive Treatment?

Keratin Intensive Treatment is the second step of the KeraTriplex Treatment, where it is used in conjunction with the Keratriplex vials. It is also meant to be used as a follow-up at-home treatment after you have done the Awapuhi KeraTriplex treatment at a salon. However, your hair can benefit from this product regardless of whether you have received the Awapuhi KeraTriplex treatment or not.

This deep conditioner also contains the KeraTriplex protein complex in addition to the highly moisturizing extract of wild Awapuhi. This product can penetrate deep into the hair to put keratin back into hair fibers, replenish lost moisture, and add a smooth and shiny appearance to your hair.

Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi Wild Ginger Keratin Intensive Treatment works best on hair that has been color-treated, relaxed, permed, or damaged by heat.

Suggested use: As a deep conditioning treatment, this product should be used weekly. Apply a small amount to your towel-dried hair after shampooing. Work the cream through your hair, leave it on for 3-5 minutes, and then rinse. If your hair is extremely dry or over-processed, use the heated gel cap for 10-15 minutes.

Dry and style as desired.

Don’t overuse it. When used more than once a week, this product can weigh your hair down.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Treatment at Perfect Look – video

African-American woman with smooth long hair wearing red dress

Five Alternatives to Olaplex

Frequent coloring can leave your hair dry, porous, and prone to breakage. Hair color and bleach contain chemicals that lift the cuticle to allow the dye to penetrate the hair. While necessary to the coloring process, those harsh chemicals have some unwanted effects. They can damage the cuticle and weaken the internal bonds that keep your strands strong and healthy.

Fortunately, some products help to strengthen your over-processed hair and protect it from future damage. Thanks to the latest revolutionary technology for hair protection and innovative products called bond builders you can have both – your dream color and healthy, shiny hair.

Bond-building products are designed to prevent damage and keep the integrity of your hair during chemical processing. Bond builders work to create new bonds or reconnect damaged ones, making your hair even stronger than it was before coloring.

African-American woman with colored hair treated by bond multiplier

Bond reinforcing products also repair and smooth the hair’s cuticle, giving your hair natural shine and softness. If you are concerned about chemical damage due to regular coloring, you should talk to your colorist about incorporating bond-multiplying products in your coloring service.

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Bond Builder Brands for Damaged Hair

1. Pronexa Hair Bond Repairing Complex by Hairgenics

Pronexa Bond Repair Complex uses a patented combination of ingredients designed to reconnect the disulfide bonds that have been broken by constant coloring, chemical treatments, or excess heat. The product repairs structural damage inside your hair and forms stronger disulfide bonds.

The two-step process that is common for competitors’ products can be time-consuming. The good news is that the Pronexa is a multi-tier repair system in one bottle. Once the bonds are relinked, a blend that includes Castor Oil, silk proteins, Retinol, Vitamin B5, and Vitamin E works to deeply condition hair and strengthen the new bonds. This two-step process in one bottle helps restore strength and the healthy appearance of damaged, over-processed hair.

Individuals with damaged hair can notice a significant improvement in the condition of their hair after 2 or 3 applications. In some cases, hair appears healthier than it was before damage-inducing chemical treatment.

Benefits

  • Reverses the damage and strengthens the inner hair structure
  • Improves elasticity and helps to reduce hair breakage
  • Minimizes damage from heat styling
  • Leaves hair strong, shiny, and healthy-looking
  • Helps control frizz
  • Improves the look of dry ends
  • Leaves hair softer and silkier
  • Keep pH levels balanced

How to Use

Pronexa Bond is easy to apply due to its creamy consistency and it’s also easy to wash out in the shower. Apply about 1/2 ounce (for medium-length hair) to clean, damp hair and comb through. Wait at least 15 minutes, then rinse and shampoo as usual. If your hair is very damaged, the product can be used as an overnight mask. Use once a week for moderate damage or twice a week if your hair is severely damaged.

2. ONC Artofcare QUINOAPLEX R3 Rapid Hair Renewal Formula

ONC Artofcare QUINOAPLEX R3 is an organic bond builder and protein conditioner. It is developed to restore protein lost during coloring, bleaching, shampooing, and exposure to sunlight. This product claims to make hair stronger, smoother, and shinier.

QUINOAPLEX R3 uses Quinoa protein, which is virtually identical to human hair protein. Quinoa protein bonds together with protein in human hair to reverse the damage, and revitalize hair. The effects are visible instantly.

When used before coloring or bleaching it helps reduce breakage, improves color retention, and enhances color vibrancy. It can also be added to color or bleach to protect hair from chemical damage without interfering with the color results.

When used between shampoo and conditioner QUINOAPLEX R3 restores missing protein making hair stronger and fuller.

As a stand-alone treatment, it can be used once a week. For severely damaged hair, the treatment can be applied more than once a week.

QUINOAPLEX R3 Natural Hair Repair Tutorial – Video by QUINOAPLEX R3

3. B3 Brazilian Bond Builder

B3 Brazilian Bond Builder is one of the latest innovations in bond-building color additives. This one-step professional product can be added to your bleach or color mixture to prevent chemical damage during the coloring process. It also claims to increase shine and improve pigment retention.

Advantages Over Competitors’ Products:

  • B3 Bond Builder claims to rebuild all three types of hair bonds: disulfide, hydrogen, and salt bonds, unlike competitors’ products that only repair disulfide bonds.
  • B3 is simpler and faster to use than Olaplex or colorpHlex because it’s a one-step product that you can simply mix into your color formula.
  • Unlike Olaplex, B3 doesn’t affect the color processing time and you don’t need to adjust the level of the developer.

Some experts believe that b3 Bond Builder performs better in preventing damage than in repairing existing damage.

This bond builder/color strengthener comes with a home care kit that includes the b3 Color Care Shampoo & Conditioner duo and the b3 Instant Restore & Protect Reconstructor, as a weekly reconstructive treatment.

4. Joico Defy Damage Protective Masque

This at-home bond-strengthening treatment repairs internal bonds to restore the integrity of chemically treated hair.

This bond-regenerating mask helps to rebuild broken hair bonds and transform lifeless hair into silky soft and shiny locks. It replenishes moisture, tames frizz, and makes hair easy to brush. This mask also seals the cuticle to help maintain color vibrancy. It prevents damage from the blow dryer and straightener, which results in less breakage and split ends.

The product is supposed to be applied to damp hair. Leave it in your hair for up to 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. Apply once a week.

Attractive blonde woman with a bond builder treated hair

5. Redken pH-Bonder (also available at Walmart)

The three-part Redken process that protects your hair from chemical damage when you are using bleach includes: 

1. pH-Bonder’s bond protective additive is supposed to be added to your bleach/color formula. The pH-Bonder protects hair from damage and reduces breakage during and after bleaching and coloring services.

2. After rinsing the color from your hair, your stylist will use pH-Bonder’s fiber-restorative pre-wash concentrate to repair damage and align hair cuticles for added shine and softness.

The PH Bonder service can also be performed as a stand-alone salon treatment to restore over-processed and damaged hair.

3. The salon treatment is followed up with the Redken pH-Bonder Post-Service Perfecter– a take-home product, that should be applied once a week before shampooing.

Related Products

Matrix BOND ULTIM8 Bond Protecting System (Available at Walmart)

Bond Ultim8 is formulated to protect bonds during coloring and lightening processes and to make hair stronger, shinier, and more manageable.

The formula uses active ingredients that protect the hair by trapping damaging lightener residues.

Bond Ultim8 System includes 3 products:

Step 1- Amplifier—a liquid additive, which needs to be added to your lightener/color mixture to protect the bonds, preserve hair fibers, and reduce breakage during chemical processing. The product doesn’t require any additional timing or reformulation.

Step 2 – Conditioning sealer treatment—supposed to lock in the benefits of Step 1, restore weakened bonds, and prevent further breakage.

Step 3 – At Home Sealing Treatment—designed to provide ongoing nourishment. This treatment should be done weekly, to help maintain hair strength.

Bond Ultim8 can be incorporated into a hair glossing treatment or it can also be performed as a standalone rejuvenating hair bond treatment to improve the overall condition of your hair.

Blonde hair after bond-repairing repairing treatment

Schwarzkopf Fibreplex Bond Enforcing System

The Bond Enforcing System uses Magnesium Citrate in its formula to maintain the pH level and stabilize the inner structure of delicate lightened and colored hair.

The system includes the following three products:

  1. Bond Booster is added to the bleach or color mixture to protect the structural hair bonds from damage and reduce breakage.
  2. Bond Sealer is an intensive treatment that helps create new bonds, seals the cuticle, and provides softness and shine.
  3. Bond Maintainer is made for home use to protect the hair from mechanical damage and keep it strong.

Bond Angel Plex Effect, Bond Multiplier Treatment Kit

Bond Angel is a three-step hair-protecting system designed to restore damaged hair and prevent damage from bleaching and coloring. It helps multiply hair bonds, eliminating the risk of hair breakage after chemical processing.

The product is designed primarily for blonde hair and helps achieve the desired shade of blonde without serious hair damage.

The Bond Angel Treatment Kit contains three bottles:

1. The Bond Builder in bottle number 1 needs to be added to your color/bleach. It acts as a chemical protector, ensuring that your hair will undergo the coloring/bleaching process without being damaged or broken.

2. The second bottle contains Bond Reconstructor which conditions and restores your hair, keeping it strong and healthy. The Bond Reconstructor has a light, delicious scent.

3. Bond Angel – Bond Fortifier in the third bottle helps intensify the results that you have achieved during steps one and two, keeping your hair strong, healthy, and shiny. It can be used for home care regardless you have performed the previous two steps or not.

The application process: 

Step 1: Mix 0,5 teaspoon of Bond Maker with 1oz of bleach powder and apply it to the hair as usual. When your hair is lightened enough, wash it out thoroughly using water only.

Step 2: Use 3-4 teaspoons of Bond Reconstructor to soak your hair. Use a fine-tooth comb to distribute the product throw the section of your hair. Leave the product on the hair for 15 minutes, then shampoo and condition it. You can also use the Bond Reconstructor periodically, in a similar way as you use a deep conditioner, regardless you have performed the bleaching process or not.

Step 3: This is a home hair care treatment and can be used twice a week. Apply the Bond Fortifier to freshly shampooed hair and distribute it evenly. Let the product sit on your hair for 5 minutes. Rinse and style as desired.

The Bond Angel as a Stand-Alone Treatment

Similar to Olaplex Bond Angel can be used as a stand-alone reconstructive treatment:

  1. Dilute the Bond Maker (Step 1) in drinking water at a ratio of 1:6.
  2. Apply the mixture all over your hair and leave it in for 20 minutes. Don’t rinse.
  3. Apply 4 teaspoons of Bond Reconstructor (Step 2). Use a comb to spread the product evenly. Let it sit on the hair for 20 minutes, then rinse.
Gorgeous blonde woman with bond-multiplier nourished hair

Benefits of Using Bond Builders

  1. This group of products offers greater possibilities for stylists and their clients to create different shades without sacrificing the hair’s integrity.
  2. You can change your color more often without harming your hair. You will experience less breakage after drastic color changes.
  3. Bond multipliers also help prolong the vibrancy of your hair color.

Which Bond Building Product Works Best for You?

Olaplex is the preferred choice for most professional colorists, while others believe that competitors’ products can provide a similar level of protection as Olaplex. Stylists often use Olaplex alternatives because they are more affordable for their clients.

If you want to increase your level of protection during coloring/bleaching, it is best to consult an experienced colorist and determine which product to choose.

All bond-reinforcing products, except home care kits, are supposed to be applied in the salon by a professional colorist.

If you do your color at home, Pronexa Hair Bond Repairing Complex is the easiest to use.

If you prefer using vegan products, try colorHplex.

If you wish to stick to your favorite color brand, you might want to try an “upgraded color service,“ which includes the use of a bond-reinforcing product from the same brand as your hair dye, such as Matrix BOND ULTIM8, Redken pH-Bonder, L’Oréal Professionnel Smartbond, Schwarzkopf Fibreplex or Keune Bond Fusion.

Attractive blonde model with blonde wavy hair

The Best Hot Air Brush for Your Hair Type

The latest style-perfecting gadget is a hot airbrush, which is a hairdryer and a round brush in one device. This versatile product blows hot air through a vented barrel to finish drying your hair while you style it.

The hot airbrush is not designed to replace your regular hair dryer because it doesn’t have enough power to fully and efficiently dry wet hair. Your hair should be blow-dried until it is about 80% dry before you start using the hot air styling brush to give it the desired finish.

The hot air brush won’t make curly hair pin straight; it is typically used to smooth curly hair or add gentle curls to straight hair.

There is a bit of a learning curve to master this tool, but with time and practice, you will be able to get that stunning “just back from the salon” blowout. You can also use it on dry hair for touchups between hair washings.

A walking girl with smooth hair styled with a hot airbrush

A hot air hair brush works best if you have short or shoulder-length hair. People with fine hair will get the most benefit. The blowing hot air delivers explosive volume while the round brush provides control and style, leaving your hair flowing and shiny.

Types of Hot Air Brushes

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1. Stationary hot air brush dryers have the brush in a fixed position, so you have to manually roll it to style your hair. Some people prefer stationary over rotating brushes because they don’t tangle the hair.

Popular brands: Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush and HOT TOOLS Professional 24K Gold One Step Dryer Volumizer.

2. Rotating hot airbrushes have a rotating brush head, which gives your hair more volume and makes your styling routine easier. The rotating feature is optional, so you can also choose to use the brush without rotation.

Popular brand: One-Step Hair Dryer Brush by CORNMI.

3. Hot air brushes with the spinning feature tend to catch the hair more than stationary brushes, and it also takes more time to master a rotating hair brush dryer than one you rotate manually.

4. Brushes with dual rotation have two directional buttons, so they can spin either forward or backward, which makes them equally convenient for both lefties and righties—and both sides of your head!

5. Hot air brush dryers with interchangeable brush heads have one dryer unit and two or more brush attachments to fit different hair lengths and create different styles.

6. “Tangle-free” drying hairbrushes have a release button that allows the barrel to swivel to release a tangled section of hair.

Some hot air brushes utilize advanced ionic technology to dry hair faster while eliminating static and frizz.

Popular brands: All-in-One Dryer Brush by Conair and Hot Air Brush by TDYJWELL.

Hot brushes typically range anywhere from 250 to 1200 watts of power. 250 watts may be sufficient for fine hair. For thick and coarse hair you will need much more power.

young woman using  brush hair dryer to style hair

Benefits of Drying Hair Brushes

1. A hot air brush dryer gives great volume, unlike a flat iron, which can leave your hair too flat. You can get close to the roots, which gives your hair more life and body than you can get from your flat iron.

2. It is convenient to have it handy in humid weather. It helps tame frizz and gives a shiny finish to your hair.

3. With this tool, you can get your ends rolled under beautifully. You can also use it for touch-ups between hair washings. A hot air styling brush can be perfect for the last touches before a special event.

4. A hot air styler is lightweight and easy to maneuver which is great for your wrists. It’s also easier to use than using a hairdryer and a separate round brush for styling your hair. Your arms won’t get exhausted and you can use your other hand to hold the section and help with styling.

5. A hot air round brush doesn’t get as hot as your flat iron. This is important if you are concerned about the damage that could be done to your hair with the high heat from styling tools.

6. A hot air styling brush is great for traveling. You can take just one item with you instead of overloading your suitcase with several heat-styling tools. When you are on the vacation, you can just air dry your hair a bit and then use this hot airbrush to finish drying and styling your hair.

How Do Hot Air Stylers Work for Different Types of Hair?

When shopping for a new hot airbrush, it is important to select the tool that will work for your hair type and is also suitable for the length of your hair.

Fine hair: Hot airbrushes are great for people with fine, limp hair. They can get close to the scalp to lift the roots and leave your hair fluffed up. If you have super fine hair, look for soft to medium bristles. If your hair is over-processed or damaged, choose a brush with a ceramic heater and use a lower temperature setting. If your hair is frizzy, select a hot air styler brush that has an ion generator.

Thinning hair: A hot air brush styler works well for thin hair because it adds body to thin hair, tames frizz, and boosts shine. If you have thinning hair, apply some volumizing mousse before styling it with this tool.

Straight hair: A hot air hairbrush can be used to give a gentle curve to straight hair and add more body and shine. For a more lasting volume, you need to apply a volumizing mousse or hair spray. If you have straight hair, the brush won’t give you a lot of curls, but it can give you a little bit of casual wave or a touch of curl at the bottom of your hair.

Short hair: A hot airbrush is a perfect tool for people with short and medium-length hair. It is especially great for a short bob because it lifts short, fine hair and gives it body. However, be aware that for short hair, you need a small barrel. It can be tricky to get very short hair around the barrel, especially if it is straight. For really short hair, choose a barrel no bigger than 1 inch in diameter.

Long hair: Section off your hair and work small sections for a big bouncy look. If you want loose waves, go over each piece a few times while twisting and turning the brush. Do small portions at a time. If you grip too much hair, it might get caught in the brush. For very long hair, look for a “tangle-free” brush.  You’ll need the release button to untangle sections of hair.

A hot air styler works exceptionally well on shoulder-length hair.

Coarse hair: If you have coarse and thick hair, make sure to pre-dry your hair well, then use this tool to finish your style; a hot styling brush is not powerful enough to dry and style thick, coarse hair. If you keep trying, the tool gets pretty warm, which causes the bristles to become softer and less efficient in managing your hair. For coarse hair, use stiffer brushes and select a higher heat setting. Make sure to choose a unit with higher wattage that provides enough heat and power to properly dry and style your hair.

Curly hair: A hot air styling brush won’t give you stick-straight hair like a flat iron; it will smooth the hair and slightly turn it under. If you want to make your curly hair straight, you’ll still need to use a flat iron. You’ll also still need to use your flat iron if you want your ends straighter because the round brush tends to curl your ends.

a girl styling her hair with a hot air brush

How to Use a Hot Air Round Brush

A hot airbrush is not made to be used straight out of the shower, as it will take forever to dry your hair. Allow your hair to air dry or use a regular hair dryer to pre-dry it. When your hair is about 80% dry, use the hot air styler to finish drying and create the style you desire. Keep your hair sectioned with clips, wrap a small portion of hair around the brush, and slide downward.

It takes a little practice to get used to it, especially to a rotating hot airbrush.

Read the manual and watch a few videos on YouTube to figure out how to use it.

Always use a heat protection spray.

For maximum body, position the brush close to the roots, wrap your hair around the brush, and hold the brush in place for a few seconds. Gently pull your hair away from your head, then move the brush down the section. Make sure to select a large barrel if you want more body and fewer curls.

The hot air brush styler does not get hot enough to curl your hair. It is not a good choice if you want to achieve tighter curls. Curls also do not last long as using a curling iron. Depending on the length of the hair and the diameter of the brash, you can get some curls or slight natural waves.

To get a curlier style, wrap a portion of your hair around the brush and hold the brush for about 10 seconds close to your head before unrolling your hair from the brush. Work on just one small section at a time. For tighter curls, use a barrel not wider than 1”. Use a 1.5″ barrel or larger if you want to get more. To get big soft waves, slide the brush vertically.

If your hair gets tangled, press the release button that allows the barrel to swivel to untangle the hair. If you use a brush with dual rotation, you need to change directions to let your hair out of the brush.

Once you have finished with the hot settings, use the cool setting to set the style and add more shine to your hair.

How to Choose the Right Barrel Size?

For longer hair, choose a larger diameter of brush. The 2-inch barrel will probably work perfectly if you have long hair.

If you have short hair, choose the 1″ barrel. Larger barrels will not work on short hair, as hair cannot be wrapped around the brush.

Select 1-1/2″ barrels if you have medium-length hair.

The 1-inch will give you tighter curls.

The 1.5-inch barrel gives you more relaxed curls.

The 2-inch barrel will give you a straighter style with more volume. It can also give you loose, short-lasting curls.

Ceramic or titanium barrels tame frizz and smoothen hair more beautifully than those made of plastic material.

A Few Words about Bristles

Most hot air stylers have nylon bristles. Plastic bristles transfer heat well, easily pick up the section of hair, and don’t have a tendency to tangle hair. Nylon bristles are suitable for styling coarse hair.

Brush bristles are softer than plastic ones and work best for fine hair.

Attractive blonde woman posing indoors

Benefits and Limitations of Battery Operated Flat Irons

What do you do if you need to straighten your hair but you are out of the house? Or if you just need to make a small touch-up to fix it on a humid day. A small, rechargeable straightener could be the answer. With this magic tool, small enough to fit in your bag, you can style your hair anywhere. In this post, we’re going to explore whether a battery-powered flat iron can do the job.

Battery-powered flat irons are preferably designed for quick hair fixes when you’re on the go, or for occasional full styling when you don’t have access to a power source.

This appliance is not meant to take the place of your regular flat iron although can be incredibly helpful in situations when using a traditional hair straightener is not possible.

Women with short, fine, or already straight hair can use battery-operated flat Irons for full straightening jobs, while those with long, thick coarse hair may find them useful to freshen up their hairstyle and tame flyaway hair.

Whireless hair straightener

How Do Battery Powered Straighteners Work?

A battery-operated flat iron comes with a removable lithium battery that needs to be charged to enable the appliance to work. Some models include a wall charger, but most new cordless straighteners can be charged with a USB cable plugged into a wall adapter, laptop, or iPhone.

The charging process takes about 2-3 hours, which gives you 30-60 minutes of usage. The actual usage time depends on the battery capacity and the temperature settings you’re using.

The battery should have about 500 discharge/charge cycles before you need to replace it.

Benefits of Battery Powered Flat Irons

1. Can be used everywhere: A battery-powered hair straightener enables you to style your hair without a power outlet. The rechargeable battery makes it portable and suitable for traveling, camping, music festivals, etc. It’s also great for touch-ups in the car, in a restroom, at the office, or any other place.

2. Compact and very portable: A battery-powered hair straightener is small enough to fit in your purse or your gym bag. Its compact size will take up less space in your suitcase than regular heat-styling appliances.

3. Comfortable to use: Battery-operated flat irons are more convenient than regular hair straighteners. The absence of a cord allows you to focus on the desired results instead of constantly dealing with a tangled cord.

4. Great for touch-ups: This tool is perfect for occasions when you need a quick touch up such as when traveling, after the gym, or at a party. It is the perfect tool to make you photo-ready on special occasions.

5. Convenient charging: Newer models come with a USB cable, so you can charge your flat iron with any device that has a USB outlet. Conventional flat irons need to be compatible with different international voltages, but micro-USB is a worldwide charging solution, making battery-operated flat irons easy to recharge, regardless of the destination. In addition, USB out ports can make your battery-powered straightener an emergency power bank. You can use it to charge your phone or tablet when you are traveling.

Limitations of Battery-Operated Flat Irons

1. Don’t get hot enough: A battery-powered hair straightener does not get as hot as regular flat irons, so this may not work for you if your hair requires a temperature of over 400 F. If you try, it will take time and effort to get your hair straight. Also, using it at a high temperature continuously will drain the battery rapidly. This is a good reason not to use it for full straightening if you have coarse unmanageable hair.

2. Small plates: Rechargeable flat irons also have fairly small and narrow plates, which is another reason why they are not effective for straightening thick, coarse, or long hair. To get your curly hair straight, you must go over the same section several times. To recap, this type of wireless flat iron will work best on fine, short, or straight hair.

3. Can only be used when unplugged: You cannot use a rechargeable straightener during the charging process; you must wait until the charging cable is unplugged.

If you decide to use a portable flat iron for straightening, make sure your hair is completely dry before flat ironing it. Let your hair air dry after washing or thoroughly blow dry it if possible. To obtain the best results, press the plates tightly, and slowly run the hair straightener down the length of your section of hair.

Other Types of Cordless Flat Irons

1. Butane-Powered Flat Irons

Unlike battery-powered flat irons, this flat iron runs on replaceable butane cartridges that can last 3-6 months, depending on how often you use the tool. Butane refills are available for purchase online or you can find them in the camping section of your local store.

Butane-powered straighteners are very convenient for trips and camping. They are more suitable for touch-ups than for full straightening since they don’t get as hot as electric straighteners. The heat they produce is not consistent enough to straighten curly hair. When used for full styling, butane-powered flat irons can smooth the strands, but will not make your hair pin-straight like regular flat irons would.

Some restrictions may apply if you bring this type of hair straightener on the plane.

cordless hair straightener

2. Hair Straighteners with a Rechargeable Base

Some cordless flat irons are heated by inserting them into a stand that is plugged into the wall. You remove the straightener from the stand and use it for about five minutes until it starts to cool down. It takes 1-2 minutes to get it ready for the next pass over the sections of your hair.

The main advantage of cordless irons is cord-free straightening. You can take them with you if you stay at a hotel, but generally, this type of hair straightener is not as highly portable as battery-powered hair straighteners.

Girl in a camper with hair styled by battery-operated flat iron

6 Color-Safe Dandruff Shampoos

If you’re plagued by an itchy, flaky scalp, you have surely wondered how to treat it without damaging everything else you’ve worked so hard to achieve with your hair. You’re not alone in dealing with this problem; dandruff affects almost half of the world’s population. 

The most common causes of dandruff include fungal infections, overactive oil glands, excessively dry skin, and other skin conditions such as seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis.

To determine the cause of your scalp issues, it is best to consult a specialist who will help you manage the condition.

Anti-dandruff shampoos are the most commonly used product for managing dandruff. Special medicated anti-dandruff shampoos are available with a prescription, while over-the-counter dandruff shampoos can be purchased freely in pharmacies and drugstores.

Woman washing her colored hair with dandruff shampoo

Medicated Dandruff Shampoos

The active anti-dandruff ingredients found in medicated dandruff shampoos are synthetic anti-microbial agents: selenium sulfide, salicylic acid, sulfur, zinc pyrithione, piroctone olamine, and ketoconazole.

Although effective for dandruff, medicated shampoos can be harsh on colored hair. Selenium sulfide, coal tar, sulfur, and piroctone olamine may stain light hair or cause discoloration of hair dyes. They also don’t smell great.

Most over-the-counter dandruff shampoos are also packed with harsh cleansing agents and other chemical ingredients that can leave your hair dry and may cause your color to fade faster.

If you want to keep your color vibrant and shiny, you must avoid chemical-based antidandruff shampoos.

Your goal is to effectively treat your dandruff while maintaining the luster of your color, which can be quite tricky. Pay attention to the ingredients on the product label to ensure that the shampoo is formulated to improve your condition without stripping the color.

Beautiful young woman washing her colored hair

Color-Safe Dandruff Shampoo Brands

Plant-based dandruff shampoos are a safe alternative to the various synthetic additives currently used in prescription shampoos and over-the-counter dandruff shampoos. They can help to control dandruff without unwanted effects.

Color-Safe dandruff shampoos contain naturally-delivered antifungal agents and scalp-soothing ingredients such as plant extracts and essential oils. Herbal ingredients in hair shampoos that have anti-dandruff properties are henna, neem extract, tea tree oil, rosemary oil, licorice, sage extract, eucalyptus, jojoba oil, basil extract, witch hazel, soap nuts, sandalwood, and Aloe Vera.

Here are some natural anti-dandruff shampoos that are color-friendly and won’t leave your hair overly dry.

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1. Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo (also available at Walmart) is filled with essential oils that can help naturally manage dandruff. This sulfate-free shampoo contains a blend of essential oils and is gentle on color-treated hair.

Active anti-dandruff ingredients:

  • Salvia officinalis: Sage oil has amazing anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties to combat dermatitis, a common cause of dandruff.
  • Rosmarinus officinalis: Rosemary essential oil has potent anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, making it a perfect remedy for controlling dermatitis, dandruff, and eczema.
  • Melaleuca Alternifolia: Tea tree oil has powerful antimicrobial, antiseptic, and skin healing properties that help eliminate yeast infections and soothe a dry, itchy scalp.
  • Simmondsia Chinensis: Jojoba oil balances your natural oil production and helps dissolve accumulated dead skin cells.

2. Scalp Rescue Shampoo by Max Green Alchemy is formulated to support scalp health and make your hair stronger and more manageable.

Botanical extracts such as licorice root, burdock root, tea tree, calendula, rosemary, geranium, lavender, and aloe vera help soothe the itchy, flaky and irritable scalp and relieve dandruff.

This pH-balanced shampoo is gentle and safe for color-treated hair.

3. Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo contains a potent blend of dandruff-fighting ingredients including Tea Tree Oil, Peppermint oil, Eucalyptus oil, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Grapefruit Seed Extract, and Aloe Vera Leaf Juice.

It is designed to deeply cleanse hair and scalp, alleviate dry scalp flaking, and boost blood circulation to the scalp.

It leaves your scalp clean and invigorated. The minty smell doesn’t linger in your hair.

4. 100% Pure Burdock and Neem Healthy Scalp Shampoo is developed to cleanse the scalp and hair, boost circulation, and help control dryness, itching, and flaking.

Active herbal ingredients that help maintain a healthy scalp include neem extract, aloe leaf juice, burdock root, rosemary leaf, peppermint leaf extract, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil.

This shampoo is gentle on your hair and scalp and suitable for all hair types, including color-treated hair.

Check for availability in DermStore.

Young woman holding shampoo in supermarket

5. The Wonder Seed Hemp Shampoo is made to help manage a dry scalp, provide dandruff control, and relieve an itchy scalp.

Ingredients with antiseptic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties include Aloe Vera, Camphor Essential Oil, Borage Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Echinacea Extract, Licorice Root Extract, and Ivy Extract.

This hemp oil shampoo also contains a blend of botanical ingredients to prevent hair loss and encourage hair growth.

This organic formula is safe for color-treated hair.

 6. T’zikal Deep Hydrating, All-Natural, Organic Shampoo is formulated with 30 natural, plant-based ingredients that possess reparative and protective properties. It is pH-balanced, hypoallergenic, cruelty-free, and safe for colored hair.

The formula uses Sodium Coco-Sulfate– a gentle coconut oil-delivered surfactant that is a safe alternative to harsh sulfates and is also biodegradable. This cleansing agent can create a rich foam, while gently cleansing your hair and scalp without stripping natural oils.

Lavender extract has antiseptic properties that help keep the scalp soothed and refreshed with a refreshing aroma.

Botanical extracts and powerful essential oils moisturize the scalp and hair and keep the cuticle healthy and subtle. This helps keep the color inside the hair shaft and improves softness and shine.

How to Properly Use Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

Make sure to read the directions before using your shampoo, but here are some general guidelines on how to get the most out of your anti-dandruff shampoo treatment while preserving the luster of your color:

  1. Apply the recommended amount of the shampoo to wet hair and massage gently into your scalp using circular motions for about two minutes.
  2. Use a shampoo massage brush to help distribute the treatment evenly. The scalp massage loosens the dead skin cells, lessening the number of white flakes in your hair.
  3. Keep the shampoo in your hair for a few minutes before rinsing it off thoroughly.
  4. Rinse your hair with warm or cool water to keep your color vibrant for longer.
woman with long colored hair in white dress 1

How to Properly Use a Wet-to-Dry Flat Iron

Straightening your hair using a conventional flat iron can be a time-consuming process. You must blow-dry your hair completely before straightening it. This two-step process ensures that you won’t experience severe heat damage when straightening wet hair.

The new generation of flat irons claims to solve this problem by enabling you to straighten towel-dried hair without having to blow dry it first.

How Is it Possible?

Wet-to-dry flat irons are designed to straighten your hair, whether it is slightly damp or completely dry. New wet-to-dry straighteners are equipped with a special venting system that extracts excess water from damp hair, converts it to steam, and releases it through specially designed holes in the plates. Unlike conventional flat irons, these innovative straighteners dry and straighten the hair in one step.

The manufacturers claim that the steam vent technology helps prevent hair damage.

Girl using a Flat Iron to style her hair

Advantages of Wet-To-Dry Straighteners

Time Savers: Wet-to-dry flat irons are designed to dry and straighten hair simultaneously, which can speed up your styling routine—but don’t expect miracles.

Straightening damp hair takes longer than straightening dry hair, and the wetter the hair, the longer it takes. If you use a wet-to-straight flat iron on dripping wet hair, it will take several passes to get your hair dry and straightened, and it can cause heat damage to the hair as well as a frizzy appearance—not what you’re going for!

If your hair is almost dry, the flat iron will straighten your hair much quicker. In the end, a wet-to-dry straightener can still save you time on your styling routine.

Lasting results: When used on almost dry hair, a wet-to-dry hair straightener leaves hair straight and smooth for longer than a conventional flat iron. It makes curly hair look straight and sleek until the next shampoo without needing frequent touch-ups.

Less Frizz: When used properly, a wet-to-straight flat iron eliminates static and keeps your hair frizz-free for longer than regular flat irons. Natural moisture is retained inside the hair, while excess water is converted into steam. The cuticle is closed and smooth, keeping hair shiny, silky, and frizz-free.

How to Use a Wet-to-Dry Hair Straightener

A wet-to-dry flat iron should be used on towel-dried and untangled hair.

If used on very wet hair, a wet-to-dry straightener will produce quite a bit of steam, which can burn you, especially when you use it for the first time and aren’t expecting it. For best results, blow-dry your hair about 80 percent before drying/straightening with this iron.

The entire process goes like this:

  1. Wrap your hair in a towel to get out excess water.
  2. Use a wide-toothed comb to get all the tangles out.
  3. Use a heat protectant to prevent damage.
  4. Since you can’t get the straightener close to the roots, blow-dry them before straightening; leave the rest of your hair slightly damp.
  5. Make sure the unit is set to wet mode. Choose the appropriate temperature setting for the type and condition of your hair.
  6. Style the lower sections of your hair first. The unit makes a hissing sound as excess water escapes as steam.
  7. Point the vent holes away from your head and hands to avoid burning yourself, especially if you’re not used to this type of flat iron. Steam burns are still painful burns!

Some wet-to-dry straighteners are equipped with comb teeth built into the plates; they help disperse and detangle hair while you dry and straighten it. The straightening combs also give you more control than traditional smooth plates when grabbing and straightening a section of hair.

Precautions

Despite their name, wet-to-straight flat irons shouldn’t be used on wet hair—only lightly damp hair. Styling wet hair can result in a wavy or frizzy look, damaged hair, and a much longer styling time. With almost dry hair, you will get smoother and more lasting results.

To avoid heat damage, avoid going over a section more than twice. Wet hair is harder to grip and you need to go over the section a couple of times to get it dry and straight—yet another reason to get your hair drier before you start straightening.

Since you cannot come close to the scalp, this kind of flat iron still leaves the roots wet, making it difficult to achieve volume at the roots. This can make thin hair look even thinner and can leave an unnatural contrast between your roots and the rest of your hair. To prevent this, use a blow dryer for a few minutes to lift the roots, then use the hair straightener to finish drying and add a straight and glossy finish to the hair.

A girl styling the hair with a hair straightener

How to Purchase a Quality Wet-to-Dry Flat Iron

Since a hair straightener is a long-term investment, carefully read the product description to know what you’re getting. A wet-to-dry straightener, like most regular flat irons, has either ceramic or titanium plates.

Ceramic flat irons generate far-infrared heat, which is the gentlest way to straighten your hair with a flat iron. Ceramic plates also produce negative ions that counteract the positive ions in damaged and frizz-prone hair. Ceramic plates are often infused with the mineral tourmaline for better heat protection and a shinier finish.  Plates that contain tourmaline produce six times more negative ions than plain ceramic plates.

A wet-to-dry straightener with ceramic plates infused with tourmaline could be the right choice if you have fine and delicate hair. 

Titanium flat irons are lightweight, fast-heating, and very durable. Titanium plates also produce negative ions and can be infused with tourmaline. Wet-to-dry flat irons with titanium plates are suitable for individuals with thick or coarse hair.

This new generation of flat irons is a great help. Just be sure to use them properly and you’ll have great and lasting results in much less time than before!

hairstylist using wet-to-dry hair straightener