I can’t tell you guys the number of times per week that I get asked the question “how do you keep your hair so red?” I usually answer with a variation of three of my go to responses, which I’m going to share with all of you in case you were wondering the same thing!

1) I dye my hair often: Thanks to my fabulous Vidal Sassoon box color, I can dye my hair whenever I want from the comfort of my home. The color I use is called Runway Red and it’s part of their London Luxe collection. I am absolutely OBSESSED. Because the box color is so affordable (about eight dollars per box), I dye my hair once a month for the best results. I used to pay a lot of money at the salon for a very similar shade of red, and the cash that I’ve saved is incredible! If you’re looking for a fierce red from a box color, I can’t recommend Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red enough!

2) I rarely wash my hair: I only wash my hair once every two weeks. And all of you can say that that’s gross and foul and whatever, but I call it dedication! Seriously, if you want red hair, you need to do the work for it – the cold water washes, the redying, the dry shampoo…if you don’t, then don’t bother. Constant washing of your hair is going to bleed your color out faster than you can say “oh shit, my hair color is bleeding out.” (I pinky promise that my hair doesn’t smell! And lucky for me my hair never gets oily or greasy so it’s super easy for me to go for a long time in between washes.)

*Pro tip when you are washing your hair: WASH IT IN COLD WATER! I can not stress this ENOUGH. During my two monthly hair washes, I stand outside of my shower and stick my head into the freezing cold water so none of it drips on my body. (Brrr! I also recommend wrapping a towel around your neck just in case. The cold water drips are the worst!) I never shampoo my hair, I usually just use the conditioner provided with my hair color that helps prevent the color from bleeding out during hair washes. Works like a charm, honey!

3) Dry shampoo is your friend: Why wash your hair when you have dry shampoo? Dove has a really fantastic line, but right now my sister and I are using Batiste brand and I like it a lot. Batiste smells a lot better than Dove’s line, which smells awfully baby powerdery. Batiste’s dry shampoo literally takes all of the odor out of your hair and leaves it feeling fresh and looking shiny. I smoke, and thanks to this product you can never smell the lingering odor in my hair – which is a major plus! With products like this, there’s literally no need to wash your hair as frequently as you would think. If you aren’t convinced, ask any of my friends or family members if my hair smells and I’m confident that they’ll answer with a big fat NO!

If you think you have what it takes to be a red hair warrior like myself, then be sure to follow these tricks to help maintain your gorgeous locks! These tips apply to any artificial color though…in fact you should be using these steps no matter what color you dye your hair for best results. I earned my nickname Lil Red from one of my beloved old coworkers, and I plan on keeping the locks that earned me this adorable nickname till the day I die! #teamredhair

What was the craziest color you ever dyed your hair? What are some of your pro tips for maintaining your color treated hair? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah