How I’m Stretching My Demi Permanent Hair Color For All It’s Worth

In the mid 2010s, I was a loyal balayage girl. Every two months, I would spend over two hours in the salon having my hair painted, foiled, and washed, and walk out looking like I just spent the last week surfing in Los Angeles. That was then. And now? I just colored my hair a few weeks ago for the first time since having babies and entering the strange time vortex that was the early 2020s and… let’s just say the experience has been a little bit different.

For one, I wasn’t interested in jumping in on the buzzy trend of the moment; nor did I want something that required constant upkeep. Luckily I had IGK Co-Owner and Colorist Olivia Casanova to guide me toward a deep chocolate brown with reddish undertones — essentially a similar version of what I’m naturally working, just better. Because it was my first foray into the world of hair dye in almost seven years, she suggesting going with a “demi permanent” option, which lasts about 28 to 30 shampoos and subtly fades away over time.

“You're not going to have a solid line of demarcation,” Casanova explains to me a few weeks later. I’m so pleased with her handiwork I’ve called her for hair care recommendations and some advice on properly caring for and maintaining my new hue. “You're not going to oxidize as brassy and as quick as you would with permanent color. So that's the upside to it. The only time I use permanent color is if someone's really like 75 to 100% gray, or if they're doing a major change to their hair, like going red or something like that.”

I don’t know if I’ll be going full ginger anytime soon, but I am seriously considering a long-lasting version of my current chestnut shade. In the meantime I’m stretching the life of my current color with the products below.