Colored hair is a lot of fun, but it can be a pain to maintain. The good news is that we can mitigate and overcome the initial damage which our strands sustain during the coloring process by using the right kinds of products in the following days and weeks. This is our Matrix Biolage Colorlast shampoo review. The idea behind this product is simple: give your colored locks some oomph, watch them come alive, and keep them happy.

Some people out there have all the luck. They can bake and fry and zap their hair into oblivion, and then they shake it off and still look awesome. But us mere mortals would probably find a shampoo for color-treated hair useful. I’ll be darned if there aren’t times when recently-colored hair can look like a beaten mop and feel like cheap plywood. In other words, lifeless.

Matrix Biolage Company Overview

The Matrix brand has a name of its own, but it’s also owned by another leading company, L’Oreal. The hair care and hair color company was founded in 1980 by Arnie and Sydell Miller. Prior to this, Mr. Miller served for over 20 years as a hairdresser, and he also created individually applied eyelashes. He started by forming one company, Ardell, but he ultimately sold it in order to work on establishing Matrix, which he designed to sell its products only to professional hair care buyers.

The Millers wanted to provide hairdressers with quality products which would help them unleash their talents. Well, it’s safe to say that they accomplished this goal. Arnie created Biolage in 1990, in order to deliver top hair care products using botanical ingredients. Today Matrix Biolage is well-known throughout the world, and they’ve created an amazing line of items for both professional and personal use. Their vision highlights using uncomplicated products, and they prioritize sustainability in their work. Keep on reading to learn more about this company and some of their products!

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Why Color Treated Hair Needs Special Shampoo\

Dyed hair.

Whether you color your hair at the salon or at home, you probably want to make that color last. Whatever treatment you have undergone, it’s worth investing in the post-color phase. First of all, it makes sense from a financial perspective. You spent good money on a product or salon appointment, so you might as well make it last. Second, it makes sense from an aesthetic point of view, of literally having it look good. Ideally, you want to take care of your hair in such a way that it regains its health and also manages to grab hold of the new color. This post-color care can be just as important as the initial process. It helps prolong the life of the initial treatment and it works to bring your hair back to some kind of balance and normalcy after the dye job.

The primary function of shampoo is to clean the scalp and hair. Any other function – such as nourishing the strands, canceling out brassy tones, and providing additional protection – is secondary to that. Color-treated hair is not ordinary, however. You need to give it some extra love if you want to keep it happy, and this is why it requires a special shampoo. After waiting several days for the pigmentation to settle, you’ll want a product that will manage to clean the scalp and hair, without messing up the color or leaving the hair devoid of nutrients and moisture. This is the main reason why you should invest in more expensive products after dyeing your hair.

Damage can spread if you don’t keep it in check. Most professionals recommend washing your hair three or four days after the coloring has been done. Those frays and splits which appear after the process can be detrimental to the rest of your locks, which is why some people choose to trim severely damaged sections immediately following the treatment. Just to make sure they nip the situation in the bud.

It is highly recommended that your hair is in tip-top shape before you dye it. Because the process can be very taxing on your delicate hairs, it’s best that your hair is healthy, hydrated, and happy before you take the proverbial hatchet to its roots and strands. If your hair is healthy going in, you will have less of a problem post-dye. That’s true even after exposing it to those harsh ingredients which are present in the dye. Speaking of ingredients, let’s take a look at what’s inside the Matrix Biolage Colorlast shampoo.

Matrix Biolage Colorlast Shampoo Ingredients Breakdown

Don’t be afraid of using SLS on colored-hair, but certainly don’t use it too often!

At a glance, this shampoo formula seems somewhat odd, because one of the first ingredients is SLS – sodium laureth sulfate. For a long time, I was under the impression that color-treated products should not contain sulfates in any way, because supposedly it strips the color. But as it turns out, that’s not entirely accurate. Sulfates could cause the color to fade faster, that is true, but it doesn’t actively strip the pigments off of your strands.

Don’t be afraid of using SLS on colored-hair, but certainly don’t use it too often. It’s a great cleaner, so it’s worth using if you need to. Nonetheless, it’s a chemical which could also cause the color to fade quicker. As we all know, fading will take place no matter what you do. Color fades, so the name of the game is prolonging its stay and providing it with vibrancy for as long as it lasts.


Other ingredients worth noticing in the Matrix Biolage Colorlast shampoo ingredients breakdown are the different acids which are at work. They help to clean the scalp and refresh it, and the fatty acids – like glycol distearate, sodium cocoate and methyl cocoate – help to lock in moisture. Other elements in the shampoo’s formula, like the perfume, linalool, limonene, and coumarin, keep the product and your hair smelling good. Hair conditioners are also present here, in the form of sodium hydroxide and guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, and they help minimize frizz and encourage uniformity.

There are also other standard foaming agents and cleaning agents, but an ingredient worth noticing is extract of orchid. It’s a nice touch, but – hardly surprising – is at the bottom of the list, so there probably isn’t much of it. If you are buying it for the orchid content, save your money.

No matter what the ingredients list or label say, there is no such thing as a “color safe” product. There is only “less harmful”, because as long as you are rinsing your hair with water and exposing it to the environment, some amount of fading is going to take place. Please don’t take this to mean that all products which are marketed as “color safe” are a sham. The good ones do possess the ability to reduce issues which colored and/or damaged hair tends to have. So, ingredients-wise, there’s nothing too special about this shampoo. But how does it fare with hair?

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Matrix Biolage Colorlast Shampoo Review

This shampoo is part of a duo (there is a colorlast conditioner in the series). But its partner is not a bare necessity by any means. You could just as well condition with any other brand, though you may not get the results you’d like to see. Matrix obviously recommends using their colorlast duo together. And they have a point. With colored hair, it’s better to invest in a more professional product. There are cheaper alternatives, and there always will be. That said, it’s important to accept the fact that some professional products are actually worth the money. Matrix is one of those companies. I have no doubt you will be able to find a product which suits you.

This particular product won’t fit everyone, but thankfully it fit me! It keeps my hair shiny and soft, while maintaining the depth and tone of the color. Keep in mind it manages to do this without drying up the scalp or causing irritation, so that’s a plus. Also, I have to say that I am enjoying the fragrance. It’s not up to the standard of Oribe’s signature fragrance quite yet, though.

The consistency is of the shampoo is nice, and is very reminiscent of gel. It lathers up nicely, and rinses out just as easily. Like I said, using the sister-product – colorlast conditioner – was pretty optional, but maybe give it a shot like the company recommends and see what happens.

Tips To Naturally Care For Color Treated Hair

Color-treated hair.

Let’s just break down some quick tips that will help you naturally care for your color treated hair. As mentioned, try to wait at least 3 days before washing, once the treatment has taken place. Some people wait longer, maybe 4 days, depending on the quality of treatment they got at the salon. Speaking of washing, any fake blondes out there should be making use of purple shampoo! Generally speaking, you’ll want to use a purple shampoo once every 10 days to avoid brassiness, but this is a personal process. 

Color treated hair is easily stripped of color. This means that my next tip is to use lukewarm or cool water when you wash your hair. Hot water opens up the hair strand’s pores, and could inadvertently allow color to escape through the gaps. The same goes for when you rinse out shampoo, conditioner, or other products. On that note, avoid over-rinsing and washing, because with every shower you’re shortening the life of your dye job. A good dry shampoo can go a long way in retaining hair color for those non-wash days. 

Now for styling tips. Color-treated hair tends to be more fragile and prone to breakage, so keep that in mind when you’re styling. Using hot irons or blow-dryers is okay, but watch the angle and heat-intensity, and use a proper heat protectant. And my final tip applies to washing, styling, and anything else hair related: sulfates and parabens are best avoided. That said, as I mentioned before, it’s not the end of the world (or your hairs) if you use products which contain them. Just be aware and read ingredients labels to protect your hair and your body as best you can. 

Conclusion

Coming back full circle, I want to state again how much FUN colored hair can be. Frosted tips, golden highlights, a full head of pink, layers of black and blue,  and rainbow locks, too! There are many ways in which colors can help us out. They can help us look better, feel better, and become more confident. It is not by chance that there is such a thing as a “good hair day”!

So if you want to continue experiencing good – nay, great! – hair days, consider using a professional shampoo and conditioner which is designed for color-treated hair. If you settle for a supermarket or drugstore brand, you might pay significantly less. but the quality will often also be reduced. And if you want your dye job to last and for your colors to continue to shine, you could use a shampoo like Matrix Biolage Colorlast.

Don’t take anyone’s word for it. This is something you need to try out for yourself.  Color-treated hair is often roped together with damaged hair, because where you find a dye job or bleaching, you will often find hair which is lacking and  thirsty for attention. This doesn’t have to be the case, though. You can make it so your hair gets exactly what it needs from the very first post-color washing session. It’s all about using the right products, and finding a healthy routine.

You want to make that color last? You want to get your hair back on track after a treatment? Matrix Biolage Colorlast could be the thing for you. It’s certainly not the only shampoo out there designed for color-treated hair, but it is totally worth a trial period.  They’ve got a travel size bottle, so be sure to pick one up and find out just how vibrant your hair can become!

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