The beauty of highlights is pretty self-explanatory: they highlight, adding shine and dimension to flat-looking strands, and make your favorite facial features pop — which means there’s no better time to book an appointment than right before the start of summer. But after three months of sun overexposure and chlorine buildup, highlights that once looked subtly sunkissed now appear stripe-y and unnatural, like you doused your head with a bottle of Sun-In — and you have zero idea how to deal. “An excessive amount of UV exposure can strip the glossy coating and change the shade and composition of your hair,” says Laura Estroff, colorist at Brooklyn-based Kennaland. The same goes for frequent contact with chlorine or salt water, which lift color, notes Roman Kusayev, stylist and founder of the Roman K Salon. No need to send out an SOS to your colorist for your super-light strands. These hair pros spilled their easy secret for touching up sun-saturated highlights — no salon appointment needed.
The trick for toning it down? Treat your highlights as you would brassiness — with a color-depositing shampoo. Depositors are formulated with dye, so they essentially re-introduce a deeper (or lighter, depending on the look you’re going for) color to your hair each time you lather up. Blondes can revive overly-bleached strands by using a violet shampoo like Catwalk by TIGI Fashionista Violet Shampoo, then coating wet strands with a thick, hydrating cream post-shower. Kusayev recommends Shu Uemura’s Color Lustre Cool Blonde Shade Reviving Balm.
For deeper brunette hues, Estroff suggests looking for a green- or blue-based shampoo like Joico Color Balance Blue Shampoo, which instantly eliminates unwanted warm, orange-y tones in your hair. And, if you’re looking for a significant color overhaul, try Pravana Nevo Color Enhancer Treatment, which can take you a full shade darker. Leave on as you would any hair mask, and rinse after 15-20 minutes.
But a word of warning: color-depositing shampoos aren't intended for everyday use — they’re an affordable alternative to going to the salon to touch up your highlights, and more intuitive than at-home toner kits, but they shouldn’t be used daily. Work them through your strands no more than two or three times a week and watch as your color comes back to life.
Also, check out: [These New "Topcoats" For Your Hair Allow You to Choose a Pearl, Matte, or Metallic Finish] (http://www.teenvogue.com/story/hair-topcoats-pearl-matte-metallic)
