How to look after your gorgeous red hair

If you’ve got red hair and have never used Davines Alchemic System Alchemic Conditioner in red, do yourself a favour and try it.

Having red hair deserves a bit of extra care to keep the colour just right. In order to help us, we tracked down a Davines superfan at the BeautyDepartment who has the following red hair hacks:

• I have a custom conditioner made. You have to find a Davines salon and get a pro to make you one, but it’s worth it. HERE is a salon locator. So many conditioners out there for redheads are off on their tone. They’re either too pink or too yellow or too translucent. Trust me on this. Find a salon and let them mix your exact shade.
• Cool water washing isn’t a myth. In the winter time, I will even knock up the heater temp in the bathroom just so I can handle the cooler water setting. It doesn’t need to be cold, it just shouldn’t be hot. Changing my water temperature did slow the fading and made my hair more reflective in the long run.
• Swimming in a chlorinated pool? NO. Hair exposed for long periods of time in the sun? NEVER. Just don’t do it. Not unless you plan on getting your colour done within the next couple days. No… just no. I only swim in salt water or fresh water. If I get in a chlorinated pool, I just won’t put my hair in, end of story.
• Spray leave-In conditioner is a must. They seal, protect and shine like the top of the Chrysler Building. If I leave on a trip without it, it’s the first thing I have to locate when I land.
• Permanent colour, then gloss. So for my own formula, I have someone apply my root colour first which is a cream-based permanent colour, then I put another cream-based permanent colour through the ends. And THEN I go the extra mile and gloss over that while at the shampoo bowl (after my colour has been rinsed). It takes about 20-25 minutes and it’s a similar process to a deep conditioning treatment. My hair used to fade like crazy when I didn’t put a gloss over the permanent colour. I attribute most of my current vibrance to glossing over the regular cream-based colour. You’re definitely going to get charged for that at the salon, but it’s not insanely expensive and it isn’t sold to people without a license.
• Glosses in between colours. Again, it takes the same time as a deep conditioner so prioritise! I do my roots every 2 1/2-3 months, so I find a time right smack in the middle of my color appointments to get glossed.
• I definitely keep blowdrying to a minimum. I’m not saying I skip blowdrying because my hair has strong wave/frizz and needs to be blown out, I just wash less (see next tip!). I’ve never done my own scientific study on this, but I know from experience that running hot air into my red locks on the daily is a no.
• Invest in a great dry shampoo. Once I became a dry shampoo addict, I started seeing my color fade much less. Obviously the less you’re washing, the less you’re fading.

Davines Alchemic System Alchemic Conditioner Red enhances natural or cosmetic red or mahogany hair.

Evenly apply a suitable amount of product on washed damp hair. Leave to work for 5 to 8 minutes, comb through, then rinse.

Natural active ingredients:

• Direct pigments – pigments that colour directly without the activator use.
• Hydrolyzed milk proteins – intense conditioning and protecting action.
• Specific colour conditioner – to give shine and silkness to the hair.