No there really isn't anything you can do. I have my colored professionally and the same thing happens...It last longer than 3 weeks however....but still doesn't last long.

June

I am finding the same thing happening.. I am a redhead, and now having it colored to cover gray and I find it fades so fast! I have it done at a salon though, wouldn't try it at home. I have heard reds fade faster. I also use a color safe shampoo the salon recommmends, Redken, but it doesn't seem to help. I only have it done every 6 weeks or so, cannot afford any more often. Hope someone here has a solution for us. Thanks for posting this.

June

You have to wonder if the manufacturers of the hair dyes are making their solutions weaker. I don't remember having this problem years ago. I have my hair colored every 6 weeks also, and can't afford to have it done anymore. I am beginning to wonder if those special shampoos have something to do with it. I think I will stop using them after my next hair color and see what happens.

No problem here, and I am on a 7 week schedule...professionally done.

Complain - ask your colorist for a solution...also, your salon might be doing some cost-cutting with solutions, to keep prices down.

Have you spoken to your hair dresser? Maybe she needs to try a different mixture of chemicals. Different brands work differently on different people. For the price of professional hair coloring, three weeks is unacceptable.

Are you SURE your hairdresser is using permanent color on your hair and not semi-permanent? Some will use the semi-permanent which will tend to wash out in the time you noted....better/easier on your hair if it's dry and if you get it colored a lot... plus it will make you come into the hairdresser more often. She may be switching off using perm. sometimes and semi-perman other times. I'd ask to clarify. Maybe even your hair dresser may just need to leave the dye on a little longer. I'll tell her what's happening. How long have you had the same hairdresser?

Certain colors like red fade faster. Gray hair is more difficult to take on color, so even if you have been coloring for fashion reasons, for years, if you are now going gray, the color will not take as well as it has in the past. Bring this up to the colorist. They usually keep your "recipe" on file so they always use the same one over and over. You may need to have the formula tweaked to one that has more 'lift' or one with more pigment.

Do consider using a clear coat Cellophane, or even a tinted one over the color to keep it lasting longer.

Do you go to a trained colorist?

In my eternal cheapness which I like to see as frugality I dye my hair at home. It costs less than $10, lasts about 6-8 weeks. I find that pricing very reasonable.
I am leary of shampoos that supposedly make the color last, so many products these days have additives that actually have the opposite affect of what they supposedly prevent or lessen.
I may have a grey poking through here or there by the time I redye my hair, but I see those as character hairs and don't worry too much about it. If I paid big salon money to have my hair dyed I would hope I would not be looking at a redye for at least a couple of months - something seems wonky there and I'd definitely be asking what's up with the short staying power of the color agents.
Suzan J

Are you SURE your hairdresser is using permanent color on your hair and not semi-permanent?
I use semi-permanent hair color that I apply myself and it lasts maybe 6 weeks. I do not shampoo daily if it is not dirty...as in worked outside and sweated or it was windy making hair oily.

Would a gentle shampoo maybe like a baby shampoo be milder and maybe help some? You might try asking over at The Beauty Forum

Sue

The Beauty Forum is not very active that is why I asked the question, you get a much quicker response on the KT.

I only wash my hair twice a week as I have very dry hair, so the problem is not over washing. I will have to ask her if she is using permanent hair color.

Thanks for all your responses, it has been very helpful.

I used to frost my hair to cover my grey and said I was not going to sit in a maternity ward with grey hair. I started to get grey hair in college. My dad had white hair, never saw him with any color in his hair. So I inherited the early grey, and two of my kids have too.

When I had an allergic reaction to a permanent, I quit the frosting and had the hairdresser cut off all the frosting so I would not look have to deal with it growing out. Lo and behold, when he dried my hair, it still looked frosted, but with white highlights and not blonde ones. I even had women ask who did my hair color! Now my hair is completely white and has been for many years. Saves me lots of time and money to just let Mother Nature be my colorist.

It may actually be your water.
Even with washing.

I use Feria (*at home), I use a warm tone brunette to end up with auburn toned hair, because I have alot of natural high lights in red and blonde. My hair bleaches very easily from the sun, and I spend alot of time outside. I will get brassiness, but not so much fading in about 4 weeks.

I'm betting that your water is heavily clorinated.

Try washing or atleast rinsing with distilled water.

I've seen a few stylists to the stars and models that NEVER use tap water for hair prep.

I finally invested in a good salon formula shampoo and conditioner and no longer have the problem. It just about killed frugal me to spend almost $100 on shampoo and conditioner. I bought it two years ago and still haven't used it up because you use so much less. In the long run I saved money.I used to spend around 8 to 10 dollars a month on the drugstore brands. The ones for colored hair never worked despite their claims. I alternate between Purology and Bumble&Bumble. Our water is heavily chlorinated too. Sometimes I can smell it.

Is you water hard? That will affect your color too. Hard water not only leaves minerals in your hair that can cause fading but also doesn't rinse out all your product. Stay away from things like hot oil treatments and other hair products that contain oils. They will fade your hair faster than anything.

I second the recommendation for Purology shampoo.

You may fall over when you see the price but I've never found anything quite nearly as nice as it is and that includes trying all the expensive brands.

Mine fades too...but I dye mine at home...when it starts fading I use Roux Fancyful...It's just a rinse...I use it when I wash my hair and sometime to touch up between...Keeps it pretty nice.

patti

When I experimented with coloring my hair at home, I ruined towles and carpet. Another reason I don't color.

I color my own hair at home; never had it done professionally! Mine is good for 6 - 8 weeks. I don't wash my hair the morning that I color it. I've heard that the color won't "stick" as well. My hairstylist has complimented me on it and I think I do a good job. It sure is a lot cheaper than having it done in the salon!

You shouldn't have to ruin towels; I use an old fashioned shower cap while I'm letting the dye soak in. Then, twenty minutes later while I'm rinsing it out I rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more. I use an older, dark blue towel to wrap my rinsed hair in. Also, I put moisturizer on my face, neck and ears and it helps to repel the dye. When I have the shower cap on I go to the mirror with a paper towel and a dab of liquid soap and clean up my neck, ears and forehead.

It helps too to have a Chlorine blocking shower filter installed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shower filter

I used to be a hairdresser, not a colour specialist though. I do want to add that talking to your hairdresser about your colour vs graying hair and having an update to your file is due. Products have changed immensely since the 80's when I worked so I cannot comment on today's salon products.

I can say that 'baby shampoo' is not a light shampoo like many people think. It's actually harsher than adult shampoo because it's designed to remove the extra oil babies have that can build up quickly like a waxy deposit - years ago it was called 'cradle cap' if not washed off well enough. I do not recommended using baby shampoo on coloured hair at all.

Hair can behave in many different ways, especially if you have been colouring your hair for years. Sometimes the hair gets overworked causing the cuticles to stretch open so far they don't hold colour well anymore, become fragile. Years ago my own bleach blonde (Madonna look) got so worn out I actually had to have just the colour (no peroxide) first put on to soak in and put a base colour down and then do the normal colouring with the peroxide to hold the colour. Like I said that was over 2 decades ago and products change. If you go to a local salon that does not have a colour specialist you could ask your hairdresser to talk to their beauty product supplier or call the 1 800 number for the product itself to speak to the manufacturer colour specialist to see if there is something else they can do. If you are not happy with your local salon, go to another one. Ask what the name of the professional product is that the hairdresser is using on your hair and how much peroxide is being used. It's your hair, you have a right to know. Maybe it's time for an adjustment. If you don't tell your hairdresser what is going on, they won't know how you are feeling.
Just my 2 cents.
Here's a site I refer to myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hair Boutique

Oh I have to jump in on this one.

I am a hairdresser, and I know level 6 shades (permanent hair color) fade out faster. Our salon switched last year from the brand Goldwell, because it seemed like it wasn't covering the gray, and it was fading in the brown shades. Also Red is the hardest color to get in the hair, and the hardest to remove. I would check and see what brand of color your salon uses, and what level. If it's Goldwell, that could be the problem.

I'm also a stylist...
Dorio pa says "I am a hairdresser, and I know level 6 shades (permanent hair color) fade out faster."
I think what she wanted to explain is that there are levels of hair color... #1 being the darkest (blue black) and #10 being the lightest (white blond)and that the mid shade range #5-#7/8 of chemically treated hair appear to fade sooner than the much darker or much lighter shades.

Dilly dally's suggestion of using a clear cellophane product or something called glossing etc. would certainly help hold the color in ones hair. Ask your stylist about trying this. An added benefit about having a glossing treatment is that it can add a beautiful sheen to dull over processed or hair. (Almost looks as it did as a teenager) Because as we age, we lose the reflective nature that creates a sleek shine to mature hair. (Not everyone certainly, as we've all admired someone with glorious white hair)

If your silver hair doesn't seem to be "holding" or taking the color, it might need to be pre-softened, as the cuticle layer of silver hair can be extra stubborn. Ask your stylist about this process.

Roux Fanciful is an option...I just wish it didn't have that smell...drives me batty :)

Do not use baby shampoo, just as mcpeg states. It is a harsh product. During a class we were able to give a permanent wave using baby shampoo as the perm solution!

Mature hair loses some of its "interior goodies" which color attaches to...your hair specialist should be able to either create a solution or educate themselves in making your hair the best that it can be....if not, move on.

I'm a salon owner and a color expert. There is no good reason for your hair to fade so soon if the right products are in use so here's what you do. If you are attempting to cover gray hair then you need a product called GREY MAGIC. You can get it at any Sally beauty supply. You add four or five drops ,depending on the length of your hair, to the hair color solution and mix it well. It will make the color hold for six weeks without any fancy shampoos. Buy your own bottle and have your stylist put it in for you and use it every time. I think you'll be happy with the results.

I have the exact same problem if I want to go darker! Blonde is just fine. I want more dimension but it never stays. Different salons, different stylists over the years....doesn’t matter. My current salon uses Paul Mitchell products. I just tried heavy lowlights between 6.5-7..... it’s been a week.....it’s .lightening up to a strawberry blonde already, from what was a beautiful cinammon.I use color safe products, girls have tried fillers.....no use. Why won’t it hold darker colors? I’m tired of being all blonde.

Thanks