Please don't wash your hair for the first 72 hours after your appointment. Colour and glosses take roughly 48 hours to fully bind to the cuticle, so giving it that extra buffer means your colour locks in properly and lasts as long as it possibly can. We know it's a long time, resist the urge, your future hair will thank you.

Use salon-quality shampoo and conditioner. Supermarket products often contain ingredients that strip colour and dry out the hair, if you're not sure what to grab, just ask and we'll point you in the right direction.

If you have vivid hair, avoid hot water wherever possible. Cold water keeps your colour vibrant for longer, if you can brave it, even better.

For everyone else, keep the water lukewarm. Your hair is the first place water touches before it cools and runs over the rest of your body, which means what feels comfortable on your shoulders might actually be hot enough to cause heat damage up top.

Always, and we mean always, use heat protection. No exceptions, even for "just a quick touch-up."

The biggest myth in haircare is that air-drying is the safest option. It's actually the opposite. Hair is at its most fragile when wet, so anything it touches (towels, pillowcases, your hoodie) creates friction and damages the cuticle. Blow-drying actually closes the cuticle and seals everything down properly.

If you're using straighteners or curlers, you don't need to crank them above 180°C. If your irons are more than 7 years old, the heating plate has likely lost its accuracy and may be running well above what the dial says, time for an upgrade.

When using straighteners or curling wands, make sure your hair is 100% dry first. Heat plus wet hair is a fast track to breakage.

If you have vivid hair, keep your head out of the water and wear a hat or swim cap wherever possible. Chlorine and salt water are the quickest way to send your colour fading into the abyss.

For natural colours, you'll fade slower than vivids, but you'll still notice it. And to my blonde clients: if your hair is feeling dry, please skip the swim altogether. Chlorine and salt water on dry blonde hair is a rough combination.

Vivid: For some colours I can sell you an at-home refresher to extend the life between appointments, but I recommend coming in every 5 - 7 weeks for a proper refresh.

Scalp Bleach: Touch-ups every 6 weeks.

Foils: You can stretch these out as long as you like, but I recommend a full head every 3 - 6 months, maintained with partial or half heads in between.

Gloss: You're always welcome to come in for a gloss top-up every 6 - 8 weeks to keep your tone looking fresh.

Cuts: Trims every 8 weeks. Split ends keep splitting upward over time, which means the longer you leave it, the more dramatic the next cut needs to be. It really is true what they say, the more often you trim, the longer your hair will grow.

BRUSHING: A surprising amount of damage happens here. Always brush from the ends up to the roots (not roots down) to avoid yanking through tangles. For wet hair, only ever use a wide-tooth comb or a wet-brush, anything else is asking for snapped strands. 

SLEEP: A silk or satin pillowcase is a tiny investment that pays off massively. It reduces friction overnight (less frizz, less breakage, less colour fading). For vivids especially, consider sleeping with your hair loosely tied up so your colour isn't rubbing off on your pillow all night. 

TREATMENTS & MASKS: A weekly hydrating mask or bond-building treatment is the difference between hair that survives colour and hair that thrives with it. Think of it as moisturiser for your strands, happy to recommend the right one for your hair type. 

SUN & UV: UV fades colour just like it fades the paint on your car. If you're spending a long day in the sun, a hat or a UV protectant spray will be your colour's best friend. Vivids especially are prone to sun-fade. 

THINGS TO AVOID: Box dye (please, I'm begging), clarifying shampoos used too often (they strip colour), and any "purple shampoo every wash" routines (overuse can leave hair dull and dry, try a purple mask every so often, or come in for a toner).