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Give hair a colour boost

by LIZ STOUT, femail.co.uk 12:41pm 25th May 2001

Surprisingly nearly half (44 per cent) of the female population of the UK colour their hair - either with highlights, lowlights or block colour.

Once you've had your hair coloured you want to hold onto your new shade for as long as possible. With this in mind there is now a wealth of products designed to protect and enhance your colour.

Nicky Clarke's Colour Therapy range contains subtle pigments and colour boosters to help build tone, while super-conditioning the hair and keeping it protected. There's also a collection of styling products to add extra shine and depth.

There are five main colour types to choose from, from brown or black hair to blonde and red shades. Shampoos and conditioners cost £4.45/250 ml and each colour range has a Shape Me controlling balm (£4.95/125ml) and Touch Me texturiser (£4.95/75ml) to keep you styled to perfection.

Aveda produce a very popular range of plant-based shampoos and conditioners, containing specially chosen ingredients to help make the most of your particular shade.

At £16/200ml, they aren't cheap, but bear in mind that you don't have to use an enormous amount each time you wash.

Brunettes will love the Clove Shampoo (£16/200ml), which enhances and enriches warm tones as it cleans and conditions the hair. Blondes should opt for the Camomile, which is especially good for highlights that are in need of a wake-up call.

Alternatively try their Blue Malva formulation, which is suitable for any hair colour.

It enhances dark hair particularly well and is great at reducing the nasty brassy look that can affects blondes.

Aveda's corresponding colour conditioners are the perfect choice. They contain enriching cherry bark plus coconut and palm-derived conditioners to moisturise your hair without heaviness and they smell divine.

L'Oreal have recently launched a new range of Serié Expert Gloss Color shampoos (£6.50/250ml) available exclusively from selected salons (call 0800 072 6699 to find the one nearest you), they come in six rich shades.

These new colour enhancers use special micro-colourants to penetrate the hair fibre and enhance the existing tones. At the same time, tiny polymers smooth the hair cuticle - which is what gives your hair that irresistible gloss.

Simply massage in and leave for 2-5 minutes - depending on how intense you want your colour boost to be.

John Frieda's Sheer Blonde collection of shampoos, conditioners and styling aids add glossy brightness to blondes who've lost their lustre. They also remove the minerals in tap water which can darken your colour and take away the green tinges caused by chlorine.

The highlight activating shampoo costs £4.95/250ml and the conditioner is £4.25/250ml.

A recent new addition to John Freida's blonde portfolio is the Beach Blonde collection. The Lemon Lights hair lightener (£5.50) harnesses the power of real lemons to subtly lighten blonde hair as well as add sun-kissed highlights to light brunette shades.

For a stronger look, try the Sun Streaks heat-accelerated highlighter (£6.50). A gentle peroxide-based gel, it helps to create big chunky highlights or softer sun-kissed streaks.

It's also handy for filling in those gaps that suddenly appear when your roots need re-doing - but proceed with caution and don't get too carried away if you want to hold on to a natural look.