Care for Colored and Highlighted Hair
Color that fades in three weeks, dry ends, and porous hair: colored hair needs gentleness and lipids. Our formulas are sulfate- and silicone-free, made with active organic floral hydrosols, to preserve color rather than strip it away wash after wash.
The routine consists of three steps: Shampoo to cleanse without stripping the hair, Mask to seal the cuticles and restore shine, and Day Serum to protect against heat and UV rays.
- 97 to 99% natural ingredients
- Free of sulfates, silicones, and parabens
- Made in France
3 products
The routine
Preserve shine, repair, and protect the hair shaft
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Step 1: Clean
Shampoo€35.00Wash your hair with sulfate-free shampoo to preserve pigments and prevent oxidation.
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Step 2: Treat
The Mask€49.00Then apply the Mask once or twice a week: it deeply moisturizes, repairs sensitized hair fibers, and prolongs color retention.
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Step 3: Protect
Day Serum€35.00Finish with the Day Serum, rich in antioxidants and protective filters, to smooth the ends, seal in moisture, and protect against UV rays and heat. The result: luminous color, repaired hair, and lasting shine.
Protect color, repair hair, maintain shine
Hair coloring opens the cuticle to allow the pigment to be deposited. Once it closes again, it never closes completely: the hair shaft becomes more porous, allowing both water and color to escape at the same time. This is why colored hair loses its luster and dries out faster than natural hair, regardless of the quality of the dye.
Our formulas replace plain water with bioactive floral hydrosols—free of sulfates and silicones—to cleanse without stripping the hair and to seal the cuticle rather than leaving it open.
Color ProtectionA gentle cleansing agent that doesn't strip away pigment with every shampoo.
Repaired HairPlant-derived ceramides to restore what oxidation has weakened.
Protected ShineA UV- and heat-protective veil on the most exposed sections.
Alexis's "Madame" Routine for Colored and Highlighted Hair
Three treatments, three steps: cleanse without stripping, repair damaged hair, and protect color between color treatments.
Shampoo — Wash Without Rinsing Out
Sulfate-free · 98% natural
★★★★★ 4.9/5 · 159 reviews
- Preserves color with every wash
- Plant-based keratin and hyaluronic acid
- Close the cuticle that has been opened by the color
The Mask — Repair Bleached Strands and Lengths
Plant-Based Ceramides · Nutrition
★★★★★ 4.9/5 · 121 reviews
- Fills in the gaps caused by oxidation
- Organic Apricot and Jojoba Oils
- Restores flexibility to long hair
Day Serum — Protect Your Radiance Every Day
Dry oil · No rinsing required
★★★★★ 4.8/5 · 28 reviews
- Filters out heat from the dryer and UV rays
- Plant-based ceramides and organic jojoba
- Restores shine without weighing hair down
Why Hair Dye Weakens the Hair Shaft
Understanding what happens during a hair coloring treatment helps you choose the right aftercare products and stop treating the symptom instead of the cause.
How Hair Dye Affects the Cuticle
For a pigment to penetrate the hair, the cuticles surrounding it must first be opened. This is the role of the alkaline agent—ammonia or its substitute—which causes the hair fiber to swell and spreads the cuticles apart so that the color can reach the cortex. The oxidizing agent, meanwhile, bleaches out the natural pigment to make room for the new one.
The problem isn't the process itself; it's what it leaves behind. The cuticle never closes completely—it remains slightly open, and the hair shaft becomes porous. Water enters and exits quickly, the pigment washes out with every shampoo, and the lipids that provided shine have been partially dissolved. Colored hair is hair that leaks.
Why Highlights Require Even More Attention
Highlights or balayage involve bleaching, which is a more aggressive process than coloring alone: pigment is removed before new color is applied, sometimes over several shades. The lightened areas are much more porous than the rest of the hair, and they are most often found on the mid-lengths and ends—the oldest parts of the hair, which are already the most fragile.
In practical terms, a single head of hair can have two different types of hair: healthy roots and highlighted lengths that absorb the treatment but don’t retain it. That’s why you should apply the mask primarily to the highlighted areas, rather than evenly throughout.
Which shampoo is best for colored hair?
It's the product itself that determines how well your color holds—much more so than the treatment you apply afterward. Two factors matter.
Why Should You Avoid Sulfates After Dyeing Your Hair?
Sulfates are effective detergents: they remove sebum, but also some of the pigment trapped within a cuticle that’s already slightly open. On colored hair, every sulfate-based wash washes away a little color—this is the main cause of color fading, even more so than sun exposure. A mild cleansing agent significantly slows this process, and the color visibly lasts longer between salon visits.
Hydrosol base or aqueous base: what's the difference?
In a conventional shampoo, water often makes up the bulk of the base. It is an inert water: it simply carries the ingredients; it does not act on them. Our formulas replace it with organic floral hydrosols of Damask rose, chamomile, and orange blossom, which are active in their own right and provide natural antioxidants. For the same volume, the concentration of protective agents is incomparable—and on porous hair that doesn’t retain moisture well, this concentration makes all the difference.
Which product is best for colored and highlighted hair?
The three products in the line, designed for color-treated hair, each play a distinct role in addressing the porosity caused by coloring.
Shampoo: The Step That Preserves Color
It’s what determines how long your color will last. Its sulfate- and silicone-free formula cleanses without stripping away the pigment, and its base of organic floral hydrosols replaces inert water with active ingredients. Plant-based keratin binds to areas of the cuticle damaged by oxidation and seals in the split ends, while cationic hyaluronic acid locks moisture into hair strands that have lost their ability to retain it. The results are most evident over time: less color fading with each wash. See The Shampoo.
The Mask, to restore what oxidation has destroyed
Hair coloring dissolves some of the lipid cement that holds the cuticles together. The Mask replenishes it with plant-based ceramides and compensates for the loss of natural oils with organic apricot and jojoba oils. On highlighted hair, focus the application on the lightened areas—they’re the ones that have lost the most. Once or twice a week is sufficient, with a minimum application time of five minutes—a mask rinsed off too quickly leaves almost nothing behind. See Le Masque.
Day Serum: Your Shield Between Hair Color Treatments
This is the most overlooked step in caring for color-treated hair, and yet it’s the one that protects against the biggest causes of dullness: heat and UV rays. This leave-in dry oil is applied to damp hair—two to three drops along the lengths—and forms a protective veil that limits the impact of the blow dryer and the sun on the pigment. It also restores shine, which is the first visible sign of fading color. It’s silicone-free, so it doesn’t leave behind the occlusive film that suffocates the hair over time. See Day Serum.
| Your Situation | Priority Care | Frequency | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color that fades quickly after a salon visit | Sulfate-Free Shampoo | 2 to 3 times a week | The pigment stays in place longer |
| Dry, coarse, layered lengths | The Mask, on thinned-out areas | 1 to 2 times per week | Reconstructed fiber, restored flexibility |
| Dull color, lifeless hair | The Day Serum | After each wash | Restored shine, UV and heat protection |
| Frequent hair coloring, weakened hair | The Three Steps of a Complete Skincare Routine | Live | A fiber that better withstands the next step |
Making Your Hair Color Last: The Steps That Matter
Wait before your first shampoo
Wait 48 hours after your salon appointment. It takes that long for the cuticle to close, and washing your hair too soon will wash away some of the freshly applied pigment.
Wait 48 hours after your salon appointment. It takes that long for the cuticle to close, and washing your hair too soon will wash away some of the freshly applied pigment.
Lower the water temperature
Hot water reopens the cuticles and causes the color to fade. A final rinse with cold water closes the cuticles and immediately restores shine.
Hot water reopens the cuticles and causes the color to fade. A final rinse with cold water closes the cuticles and immediately restores shine.
Protect from the sun and the pool
UV rays break down pigment, and chlorine oxidizes it. Applying a serum before sun exposure significantly reduces both effects.
UV rays break down pigment, and chlorine oxidizes it. Applying a serum before sun exposure significantly reduces both effects.
How often should you wash colored hair?
Two to three times a week. This is the most effective way to make your color last—and the one we tend to overlook the most: every time you shampoo, a small amount of pigment is washed away, even with a gentle formula. Reducing the number of washes from five to three will make your color last much longer than any so-called “color-locking” treatment.
If your roots get oily quickly and force you to wash your hair often, apply the shampoo only to your scalp and let the lather rinse through the lengths without rubbing them—that’s where the color is. Also, keep in mind that a mild cleansing agent reduces excess sebum production after a few weeks, which naturally extends the time between washes. That’s why a sulfate-free shampoo protects your color in two ways at once—it strips away less pigment, and it allows you to wash your hair less often.
Madame d'Alexis's tip: On highlighted hair, never apply the mask from the roots to the ends. The roots haven't been lightened, so they don't need it, and the treatment will weigh them down unnecessarily. Start halfway down the length, where the bleaching actually took effect.
Frequently asked questions about colored hair
Which shampoo should you choose for colored hair?
A sulfate-free shampoo—that’s the most important factor. Sulfates strip away some of the pigment with every wash, affecting the cuticle that the hair color has left slightly open. Next, look for a formula that’s truly rich in protective active ingredients: our shampoo replaces plain water with organic floral hydrosols and adds plant-based keratin and hyaluronic acid to seal the cuticle rather than leaving it open.
How long should you wait before washing your hair after coloring it?
48 hours. That’s how long it takes for the cuticle to seal over the freshly applied pigment. Washing your hair within the first 24 hours washes away a significant portion of the color, no matter how gentle the product is. After that time, the nature of the cleansing agent becomes the primary factor affecting color retention.
How do you repair highlighted or bleached hair?
Bleaching removes pigment and breaks down part of the hair fiber’s lipid cement; therefore, it’s important to rebuild the hair, not just moisturize it. Use a mask rich in plant-based ceramides and oils, applied only to the bleached areas once or twice a week, leaving it on for at least five minutes. The unbleached roots don’t need this treatment, and the product would weigh them down.
Why does my hair color start to look dull after a few weeks?
There are three contributing factors. Pigment leaches out with every wash through the cuticle, which remains porous. UV rays break it down, and the heat from the hair dryer accelerates the process. Finally, the loss of lipids makes the hair’s surface less smooth—and therefore less reflective: the color is still there, but it no longer reflects light. A protective serum addresses all three issues at once.
Can you exfoliate your scalp if you have colored hair?
Yes, as long as the formula is gentle. That said, a scalp scrub works on the scalp, not on the colored hair strands: it doesn't improve either the color's longevity or the condition of the hair shaft. Our guide provides detailed information on scalp scrubs after coloring.
Do you have any other hair concerns?
Dry hairGreasy hairFine, flat hairDamaged and brittle hairIrritated scalpCurly and wavy hairAdvice from Madame d'Alexis
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