I wish I could time travel back to college- color-depositing shampoo and conditioner in hand. My freshman year, Missy DeGennaro  dyed the underside of my hair hot pink with something from Hot Topic. “It’ll come out in three weeks,” she said. “I know what I’m doing, my mom’s a hairdresser,” she said. WELP what was supposed to last Halloween-Thanksgiving actually lasted Halloween-Easter with two regular colorings in between.
Never trust another freshman to dye your hair, ladies.
But with all the color shampoos and conditioners out now, you can change your mind and try a new color on a pretty consistent basis, as long as your hair is light enough, but I’ll get to that later.
I was originally using Celeb Luxury Viral Colorwash in first silver, then lavender in my blonde hair, then amber after I went red. I don’t typically follow directions, so I used it way more often than suggested… like every day. It did a heck of a job giving me fun highlights, but it dried my hair out.
I switched to One N Only Argan Oil Condition Color in Burgundy, and while that also did a decent job of keeping my red deep, it was a holy mess to work with and didn’t do a great job of actually conditioning my hair.
I’m going back to blonde next month, but until then, I’m trying to keep my auburn/ red/ strawberry situation from looking completely haggard, and I stumbled across Keracolor Clenditioner Color Depositing Conditioner Colorwash in rose gold.
This stuff is kind of amazing. Where my hair felt and looked dead and sad, it’s now soft and shiny. It doesn’t deposit much actual color, but that’s because I’m using a pastel on darker hair. They’re really pretty clear about which colors you should and should not be using with your starting shade:
My ends are tinted a slightly pinker version of what they were, but not so much that anyone has noticed. I’m mostly just impressed with how a “clenditioner” works:
Color while you cleanse! Keracolor Color + Clenditioner is a non-lather conditioning cleanser designed to instantly infuse color into hair with every wash. Add stunning hues, maintain vibrancy and kick up your color between salon visits. Keracolor products are Keratin based to promote strength, shine and softness. Their motto is ‘do no harm’, so they’re products are vegan and never tested on animals. Sulfate and paraben free!
Foam is not your friend! Shampoos that lather uprichly do so by using harsh ingredients that can cause drying and breakage of the hair. This low-foam clenditioner cleans away dirt and debris while depositing true and rich color. Our motto is-do no harm, so we’ve eliminated parabens from our formulations as well.
I’ve heard of the “no-poo”/anti-shampoo thing, but I never thought it would work for me because I have a fairly oily scalp. But you know what, because my hair is so soft and smooth, I’ve eliminated the need for a leave-in conditioner/detangler and my hair feels better than ever. I think once I’m blonde again, I may use the platinum clenditioner to keep that shiny and fresh. I’m also pretty curious to see how the rose gold will look with lighter hair, to be honest.
Would you ever ditch a bubbly shampoo for a different kind of cleanser? Let me know in the comments below!