Beauty: Protect your hair colour

We know that protecting our skin with sunscreen is a health issue, as well as wrinkle defense. Perhaps a little less serious on the beauty scale is protecting your fresh new hair colour job from UV rays. Still, when you’ve invested time and money in colour (whether at a salon or at home), who needs the sun to make it brittle, fade the colour or bring out the brass? Wearing a hat obviously helps. Apart from sun protection, shampooing less frequently, and using sulfate-free shampoo can also help maintain colour.

Here are a few new products:

Marc Anthony has a variety of products that can nourish hair and help against colour fade. Argan Oil Shampoo (sulfate-free) and conditioner control frizz and preserve colour, as do Bye.Bye.Frizz Keratin Smoothing Shampoo and conditioner. $9.99 each at drugstores.

Marc Anthony Salon Expert Color Care is a sulfate-free collection of seven products, from shampoo and conditioner infused with antioxidant acai berry, to Sea Kelp Extreme Rescue Mud, all formulated to maintain vibrant, shiny hair. $14.99 each product. At Shoppers Drug Mart.

Matrix Biolage Colorcarethérapie is a line of "fade-fighting" hair care  with a moisturizing orchid complex. Biolage says the orchid has flavanoids that guard against UV rays and maintain shine. Color Care Shine Shake, pictured above, is a leave-in spray that protects colour freshness and shine in a lightweight formula. $19.95 at salons.

Alcôve by Oligo Professionnel Finishing Spray contains UV Defense Microcapsules that protect the hair fibre so that colour remains "true" and hair hydrated.
$14.95  at salons.

L’Occitane Aroma Radiance & Colour Care is three products for colour-treated hair–sulfate-free shampoo, conditioner and mask–available in July. It contains five essential oils, antioxidant grapeseed extract, and a UV screen. It’s "designed for coloured and vulnerable hair that requires extra-special care." $22 to $36 at L’Occitane boutiques.