A big question I get asked a lot is, “Can I highlight my curls?”
The simple answer is yes. The more in-depth answer is “Yes, but as long as you have a post colour routine that focuses on the health or your hair” It is also important to note that you should only colour your hair when it’s already in a healthy state. In 2018 I grew all of my colour out as it was so damaged. Once that damage had gone and my hair was in a good place, then I went back to colouring with my new found knowledge.
2018 – Coloured hair with no aftercare. 2023 – Coloured hair with aftercare
Firstly, lets look at what happens to your hair when you colour it. The colour alters the chemical makeup of your hair by creating a chemical reaction. The cuticle needs to swell to allow hair colour to get in and the structure of your hair is changed which is what leads it to become fragile and more prone to damage and breakage.
Does that mean that all is lost and you have to sacrifice healthy hair to get the colour you desire? Not at all. It’s all in the aftercare and how you maintain it.
Go Low & Slow!
How you colour you hair plays a big part is maintaining the health of it. It is much better to go with a lower developer and leaving it on for a longer period of time. This is something to discuss with your stylist but all of the ones I have met have agreed that’s the best way to use bleach with curls without frying them! Also make sure that your stylist is using something like Olaplex 1 & 2 or an equivalent during your treatment. Number 1 is added to the colour and number 2 is applied after the colour.
Bonding Treatments –
When we choose to colour, the disulfide bonds in the hair strands are broken. Simply put these bonds help to stablise proteins by maintaining the overall structure of the strands. When you look at the 2018 photo above, and can clearly see that I had lost all of my curl pattern, this was due to the disulfide bonds being broken through both heat and colour damage.
Enter the bonding treatment! These treatments work to repair the disulfide bonds so that the integrity of our hair remains intact. For several years Olaplex had the market on bonding treatments but in the past few years several brands have come out with their own and we’re spoilt for choice.
Favourite Bonding Treatments –
Curl Keeper Rapid Hair – My number one pick! Discount code CURLYCAST15
Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Restructuring Treatment
Aveda Botanical Repair Intensive Strengthening Masque
Protein Treatments –
Coloured hair is a higher porosity, due the raised cuticles. This means that extra protein is needed as it goes into the hair strands and fills in the holes (porosities) which in turns strengthens the hair strand.
Bonding Treatments – Repair
Protein Treatments – Strengthens
There are several protein treatments to choose from but my favourite for my coloured hair is rice water rinses. You can find the instructions for it here.
On top of protein treatments we need to also make sure that we’re using some products with protein in them on washdays. This also stops us from needing to do full protein treatments every week!
Deep Conditioning –
Coloured hair can be on the dryer side and this is where it can get tricky for fine hair. Fine hair typically doesn’t need as much moisture and can get weighed down by deep conditioners easily, so those with a finer texture have to balance those two needs.
You can do this by choosing a lightweight deep conditioner and not leaving it on for too long. Normally just five to ten minutes does the trick. Those with a coarser texture can be more liberal with the timings. It can also help to choose a deep conditioner that contain some amount of protein. Although a deep conditioner with protein will never being a “protein treatment” as by design it has to be moisturising.
Discover Treluxe Restorative Protein Mask – Discount code CURLYCAST
✔️Adds strength and structure to straggly strands
✔️Improves the color and vibrance of over-stressed strands
✔️Coats and reinforces brittle and thinning hair
✔️Increases strand-by-strand moisture uptake for bounce-back curl resilience
Toning –
Now toning is definitely more about aesthetics rather than the health of your hair but if you’re spending all that money on colouring your hair, you want it to last! Blonde hair can easily pull yellow tones so purple shampoos can help to keep your blonde, well blonde! If you have hard water or swim regularly, this can fade your colour a lot faster so I find incorporating these shampoos from the get go is far more beneficial than waiting until I see that yellow hue!
Top Toning Shampoo’s
Innersense Bright Balance Hairbath
Boucleme Toning Drops – Add 3-4 drops to any shampoo (when its in your hands) to make it a toning shampoo – Discount code LIANE15
US Link for Boucleme Toning Drops – Code is also LIANE15
Before committing to highlights I think it’s important to ask yourself are you ready to commit the extra time and money on the aftercare. Lets call a spade a spade, the curly hair life is already expensive enough with the average curly hair product already costing a lot more than a ‘standard’ hair product. However if you are ready for that extra commitment, then there nothing stopping you from getting the colour you desire whilst keeping those healthy locks!
