I spend hundreds getting my hair coloured, here’s how I stop it fading between salon visits

“The subtle art of safeguarding your colour.”

When transforming your hair colour, it’s easy to underestimate the level of upkeep involved. Over the years, I’ve cycled through more shades than I can count: full blonde, balayage, dark brown, pink with natural roots, blue with natural roots (a particularly regrettable era), and now, copper.

Unlike the others, this shade tends to invite a certain assumption. Strangers often ask whether it’s natural, perhaps because it works so seamlessly against my fair skin and freckles. While I’m always flattered, what they don’t see are the three-hour salon appointments every seven weeks, or the maintenance routine required to keep the colour looking as rich and glossy as it does on day one.

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The first time I ever coloured my hair, I admit I was not particularly diligent with maintaining it. Spending upwards of $400 per visit, only to be told I also needed to invest in specialist shampoos and treatments, felt excessive. So I kept using my usual products without much thought.

Unsurprisingly, my cool blonde quickly turned brassy, and my hair texture suffered just as much. Think: straw-like ends and chronic dryness. Not long after, I found myself back at the salon, reluctantly purchasing the purple shampoo my colourist had recommended all along. Lesson learned.

Compared to blonde, copper is far less high-maintenance, though it still demands a considered routine and the right products to preserve both tone and shine. Since making the switch, I’ve trialled countless formulas claiming to protect coloured hair — from pigment-depositing masks to restorative conditioners — yet most have delivered underwhelming results at best. Nothing disastrous, just nothing particularly transformative either.

That was until I discovered evo’s colour protect trio: a shampoo, conditioner and leave-in spray. Having trialled all three, I’ve built a foolproof routine to maintain my colour between salon visits.

My haircare routine

Shampoo

While I always try to space out my hair washing days as much as possible (an extra way to safeguard my colour), when the time inevitably comes, I start by double cleansing my hair and scalp in the shower with evo’s atonement colour protect shampoo. The first thing you’ll notice when using this shampoo is the scent: a delightful woody fragrance that lingers subtly in the hair for days after washing.

Formulated with nourishing ingredients including vitamin E and sunflower seed oil, the shampoo noticeably removes oil and build-up without stripping my colour. Aloe leaf juice also helps replenish moisture, preventing the dryness and breakage that so often comes with coloured hair.

Conditioner

With my scalp feeling sufficiently clean, it’s time to move on to conditioner. Unlike many formulas I’ve tried previously, evo’s atonement colour protect conditioner doesn’t rely on artificial pigment to maintain tone. Instead, it works to preserve colour by protecting against environmental damage and preventing premature fading.

Designed to complement the shampoo, the conditioner combines acidic pH technology with mineral-blocking actives to help seal the hair cuticle, effectively locking dye molecules in place during the washing process. In other words: less colour loss, more longevity. Hydration-wise, it delivers exactly what coloured hair needs. The glycerine and shea butter work together to smooth, soften and nourish the hair fibre, which leaves my ends noticeably shinier, healthier and far easier to manage.

Leave-in treatment

Once I’m out of the shower, it’s time to lock in all that nourishment. As someone with a lot of hair, air drying is basically out of the question unless I want to spend the entire day with a soggy scalp, so heat styling is unavoidable. After towel-drying, I spray evo’s hue-dini colour protect leave-in treatment generously throughout my hair, using my fingers to distribute the product evenly before blow-drying.

Acting as the finishing touch to my routine, this leave-in spray is impressively lightweight and non-greasy, a major plus for someone like me who dislikes the feeling of product lingering in their hair once dry. Its acidic, protein-rich formula, combined with jojoba and panthenol, provides an extra layer of hydration and shine. Most importantly, though, it contains UV filters designed to shield the hair from both sun exposure and heat styling damage, two of the biggest contributors to colour fade — and, admittedly, two things I’m constantly exposing my hair to.

If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from my years of colour experimentation, it’s that expensive-looking hair is less about the colour itself and more about how well it’s maintained. Copper may be my most complimented colour yet, but it’s also the first shade I’ve had a streamlined routine for. And thanks to evo’s colour protect trio, keeping my hair feeling healthy and vibrant finally feels like easy work.

Explore evo’s colour protect range here.