Are you rocking a new cut and color? Spring break is the perfect time to debut your latest look, but as anyone with colored hair knows, maintaining your shade on vacation can be an uphill battle.
But here at Colorproof, nothing stands between our customers and vibrant, expressive color — no matter where the road takes them!
Here’s how to stunt this spring break with seven easy hair care tips for preserving color on the go.
How to Protect Color-Treated Hair on Vacation
Let freshly colored hair set for at least one week pre-vacay
Even though fresh color looks and feels like the best version of your hair, traveling right after a salon session puts your shade at risk. Spring break typically involves environmental stressors like sunrays and swimming, so it’s best to let your color set and settle before exposing it to your itinerary!
Aim to schedule your appointment 1-2 weeks before your trip. If your first post-color wash coincides with vacation, using a color-safe formula is a must.
From Moisture Shampoo to Volume Shampoo to Smooth Conditioner, everything in the Colorproof collection enhances and extends the life and vibrancy of your color. Be sure to browse our Travel Size collection before you go!
It’s simple: wear a hat in direct sunlight
UV rays are one of the top contributors to premature color fading. If that sounds alarmist, think of it this way: if the sun can burn your skin, it can distort your hair color, too!
While some color-safe products – including everything at Colorproof – include UV filters to shield your hair from sun damage, wearing a hat will go even further. Anytime you’re lingering in sunlight, do your colorist a favor and block those rays entirely!
This also contributes to a healthier scalp environment. And the happier your scalp, the happier your hair. If scalp health is a top concern, check out our Biorepair® Thicken collection for more solutions.
Pre-wet your hair before swimming
Whether you’re swimming in a pool, lake, or at the beach, wetting your hair before jumping in greatly reduces damage from chlorine and salt water. Wet hair is extremely absorbent, so it’s better to let your strands soak up tap water than leave them thirsty for ocean and pool water!
If your swimming hole doesn’t have a shower, use a bit of bottled water instead.
Use leave-in as a shield against chlorine
You can also take your pre-swim hair prep even further by applying Essential Leave-In after wetting your hair. This quick step creates a barrier between external contaminants and your hair cuticle, giving your color its best shot at staying in place. Just don’t forget to reapply throughout the day!
However, we only recommend this tip for pools, as hair products can interfere with natural ecosystems in oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Put down the hotel hair products!
Long-time color enthusiasts know that drugstore formulas are rarely safe for colored hair—hotel products included. But if you’re new to color protection, allow us to set the record straight: using explicitly color-safe formulas, especially shampoo, is the only way to maintain your color’s shade and vibrancy between salon sessions.
If you don’t want to pour your favorite Colorproof products into travel bottles, our line of Travel Size formulas includes fan favorites like:
- Moisture Shampoo and Moisture Conditioner
- Volume Shampoo and Volume Conditioner
- Smooth Shampoo and Smooth Conditioner
- Clear It Up® Shampoo
- Baobab Recovery Shampoo and Baobab Recovery Conditioner
- Curl Shampoo and Curl Conditioner
Do your best to air dry
Between Insta-worthy styling sessions, long pool days, and high-stress travel, spring break often puts strands through the wringer. To help your color last, try eliminating every additional hair stressor you can along the way, like swapping blow drying for air drying.
If you can’t skip the heat, protect your strands beforehand with one of our heat protectants. These ones shield against up to 450 degrees:
- Essential Leave-In
- Plush Locks Leave-In Smooth
- Lift It® Mousse
- Super Plump® Whipped Mousse
- Moisture Styling Crème
- Volume Blow Dry Spray
- Biorepair® Thicken Blow Dry Spray
Remember to deep condition, even on the go
Our last tip is simple: add either Moisture Masque or Instant Reboot Treatment Masque to your packing list!
Whether preventing color fading, repairing damage, or improving manageability, routine treatments are the best solutions in your colored hair toolkit. Using them once or twice a week will transform the look and lifespan of your color — even while traveling.
Happy Spring Break, color enthusiasts! We can’t wait to see Colorproof in action during your trip, so remember to tag us on Instagram and TikTok with the hashtag #ColorproofHair.
See you there!
Xx,
Colorproof
