‘This $28 conditioner saves me $300 with every use’

While blonde is notorious for requiring a huge commitment, there’s a lesser known shade that also has high maintenance personality traits – red.

Red is definitely less likely to frazzle your locks as you can achieve vibrant shades of red without having to bleach the hair, making it less damaging than blonde – but unfortunately, it doesn’t last as long.

“Red hair fades faster than most other colours. This is due to the fact that the red colour molecule is larger than all other colours,” Rita Marcon, associate director of channel strategy, sales & marketing, ANZ at Kao Salons told news.com.au’s The Beauty Diary.

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“Due to its size, the molecule is unable to penetrate the cortex as deeply as other colour molecules. Instead it sits closer to the surface allowing it to wash out faster.”

That doesn’t mean other colours don’t fade at all, they just don’t fade as fast – so anyone who has opted to go red will inevitably end up spending more time and dollars visiting their colourist.

“All colours fade over time and are accelerated by mechanical stress (brushing, styling, washing, etc), frequent hair washes, hot styling tools, UV radiation and pool/sea water,” Rita explained.

When I first changed my colour up from brunette to post box red in January last year, I’ll admit I was a little clueless about the upkeep it needed. But I learnt hard and fast that a Jessica Rabbit hue didn’t stick around for the usual eight weeks.

About four weeks in, my locks were a coppery colour, which while I didn’t mind at all, just wasn’t the vibe I was going for.

As going to the hairdressers every four weeks was absolutely out of the question, when I next had a colour, I chose to go for a deeper shade in a bid to keep maintenance down to a minimum.

I also used colour protecting shampoo and conditioner as well as a heat spray with built-in “sunscreen” for my hair.

But I still always ended up with lacklustre copper hair after a few weeks.

The dreaded fade happens in blonde hair too, resulting in a brassy hue on bleached strands, which is easily fixed using a toner, best known as a purple shampoo.

The violet pigments neutralises the yucky yellowness and leaves blonde hair fresh and revived.

So I headed to Priceline to see what the redhead version is, and was surprised to learn there really isn’t one.

But after mentioning my issue in The Beauty Diary Facebook page, someone flagged Goldwell Color Revive, a range of coloured conditioners that is designed to refresh or intensify salon hair colour at home between appointments.

There were a series of different colours including four blondes, two brunettes and two reds. Ka-ching! This was what I had been looking for.

The specialist product wasn’t available in places like Priceline or Chemist Warehouse, but I found it for $28 online at Oz Hair and Beauty.

Adore Beauty also stocks five of the shades, but it’s a little more expensive, coming in at $32.95.

Naturally, when it arrived I decided to document the process for you guys, and let me just say — WOW. I’ve been truly blown away by how much of a game-changer this product is. Not only did it refresh my colour, it has also held now for more than two weeks with no sign of fade. Here’s how I applied it.

Step one:

Brush through your hair to remove any knots and tangles. Pull on an old top you don’t mind getting dye on and grab a pair of gloves to protect hands.

Step two:

Put on gloves and begin applying conditioner to hair. Yes, you read that right. I started with the conditioner, applying the product thoroughly through my hair in the same way I would if I was doing an at-home hair colour.

Step three:

Once product is evenly through hair, double check you’ve not missed any spots, and tie it up on top of head to keep hair off your shoulders. Leave for 20 minutes. Clean up any product that has transferred to your face and shoulders to ensure you’re not left with any lasting stains on your skin.

Step four:

Wash it out with shampoo. There’s no need to condition again.

After I followed these steps, my hair was left soft and full of colour, and I honestly couldn’t believe how well it worked.

But the real winning point for me was how well it lasted. It has been over two weeks since I used the product and my hair is still a lovely vibrant red. There’s no sign of copper anywhere and I’m loving it.

The colour hasn’t transferred to my white pillows or clothes and feels super fade resistant. It’s worth noting I have been using KMS Color Vitality shampoo ($39.95)and conditioner ($39.95) to try and minimise fading too.

Rita said the reason the conditioner was so effective was due to a “microPROtec technology”, which essentially contains a dye that provides “quick and even distribution of colour” to help refresh the hair.

You can go for a softer refresh by using the product daily and leaving on for two minutes in the shower, Rita also explained.

The best part is, I still have heaps left in the bottle, making it a super affordable way to keep my colour up, saving me $300 a pop in hairdresser appointments.

This column is not advertorial content. Every review is independent, honest and ad free.

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