You spent three hours and a good amount of money at the salon. For two weeks your hair looks great. Then, wash by wash, it starts to feel dry and frizzy again.
It isn't your imagination. Chemical treatments change the outside of the hair, and treated hair loses moisture faster, especially when it is washed often in hard water.
You can't stop that completely, but you can slow it down with what you do before each wash.
First, what not to do
- Don't wash too soon. Follow your salon's advice on the first wash, usually 48 to 72 hours.
- Don't wash every day. Two or three times a week is enough for most people.
- Don't use very hot water. Lukewarm is kinder to treated hair.
- Don't skip the ends. They are the oldest, most treated part of your hair.
The prewash routine for treated hair
- On dry hair, apply a prewash cream from lengths to ends. Use less near the roots; treated hair can get flat if the scalp is too coated.
- Smooth it down the lengths with your palms. Don't rough it up.
- Twist your hair into a loose bun or braid and leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Wash with a mild, sulphate-free shampoo, then use your usual conditioner on the ends.
- Pat dry. Don't rub.
Why a cream rather than oil?
Both help, but many people with smoothened or keratin treated hair find heavy oils hard to wash out without scrubbing, and scrubbing is exactly what treated hair doesn't need. A cream sits on the lengths and rinses out more easily.
Our Damage Repair Prewash Cream suits hair treated at a salon well: aloe vera, coconut oil, onion seed (kalonji) oil and kapur kachri, in a cream that washes out with a normal shampoo.
Shop Damage Repair Prewash Cream →
A word of honesty
No cream can undo a treatment or make it last forever. What a good prewash does is make each wash gentler, so your hair stays softer and easier to manage for longer between salon visits. Always check with your stylist if your treatment came with specific aftercare.
Read next: What is a prewash, and why your hair needs 30 minutes before shampoo
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