Food for bleached hair: why I treat it before I wash it

If I could give every client with bleached hair one product to take home, it would be this one. In the salon I call it food for bleached hair, and for chemically treated lengths it is worth its weight in gold.

Here is why. Healthy hair has a thin, natural oily layer on its surface that helps it repel water and feel smooth. Lightener strips that layer away. So do repeated colour, relaxers and perms. Once it has gone, the surface of the hair behaves differently: it soaks up water quickly, swells, dries out quickly and feels rough, straw like and tangly however much conditioner you use.

Then comes the shampoo. Shampoo is designed to lift oil away, which is exactly what you want at the roots. On bleached lengths, though, it takes away what little softness they had left. By the time conditioner goes on, it is playing catch up.

A pre wash treatment changes the order. You coat the lengths in rich oils and butters first, give them time, and then wash. The shampoo cleans the scalp, but the bleached lengths are not left bare.

Why I use it before a wash, not after

Oils and butters do their best work on dry hair. Put them on after washing and they sit on top of wet hair that is already full of water, and you can end up with lengths that feel greasy rather than soft. Put them on before, and the hair is coated and cushioned before the water and shampoo arrive.

What it is and who it is for

The Avocado-Pre Wash Hair Treatment is a 100ml rich blend of plant oils and butters that you apply to dry hair before shampooing. It has a soft, balm like texture and a herbal scent from rosemary and lavender essential oils.

It suits:

• bleached and lightened hair, including highlights, balayage and platinum
• chemically treated hair, such as hair that has been coloured many times, relaxed or permed
• dry, rough or straw like lengths that never feel soft enough after washing
• heat styled hair that feels crisp at the ends
• thick, coarse, wavy or curly hair, which loves a richer treatment

If your hair is fine, you can still use it. Use a small amount on the ends only and leave it on for a shorter time. If your roots get oily, keep it well away from your scalp.

What is inside, and why I chose it

Olive oil. The largest part of the blend. A classic, rich plant oil that leaves dry lengths feeling softer and more supple.

Shea butter. A rich plant butter that gives the treatment its body and softens rough ends.

Coconut oil. One of the most widely used oils for pre wash treatments. It gives the blend its balm texture and leaves hair feeling soft.

Avocado butter. Gives the treatment its name. It is avocado oil blended with a hydrogenated plant oil to give it a soft, butter like texture, and it adds richness to the blend.

Jojoba oil. Lighter than the others, so it helps the treatment spread easily through the hair.

Castor oil. A thick oil that adds slip and shine.

Cetyl alcohol and BTMS. A fatty alcohol and a small amount of conditioning ingredient. They help the treatment feel creamy rather than greasy, and BTMS helps with detangling as you rinse.

Vitamin E. Protects the oils in the blend from going off.

Rosemary and lavender essential oils. Give the treatment its fresh, herbal scent.

What makes it different

This is a treatment with no water in it, which means it is almost entirely oils and butters. There is nothing to dilute the richness, and a little goes a long way.

I built it as a colourist, for the hair I see after lightening. It cannot undo bleach, and nothing can. What it does is give chemically treated lengths back the softness, slip and shine that lightening takes away, so they feel more like hair again and are kinder to comb.

How to use it

1. Start with dry hair. Oil and water do not mix, so dry hair takes the treatment more evenly.
2. Warm a small amount between your palms until it softens.
3. Work it through your mid lengths and ends, where hair is driest. Add more where it feels rough.
4. Cover your hair with an aluminium cap to keep it warm, and a towel over the top if you like.
5. Leave it on for up to four hours.
6. Shampoo and condition as usual. You may need to shampoo twice to remove all the oils.

Use it once or twice a week.

My tip from the chair: the trick to washing out an oil treatment is to add shampoo before you add much water. Wet your hands, lather the shampoo bar between them, and work the lather straight into the oily hair. The cleanser grabs the oil first, and then you rinse. If you soak your hair before shampooing, the water and oil fight each other and it takes much longer to feel clean. Follow with a mild everyday bar such as Rice or Coconut, so you are not undoing the treatment with a harsh wash.

What it is free from, and why

This treatment contains no silicones, no mineral oil and no added water.

Silicones and mineral oil are not harmful, but they create a smooth feel by coating the hair. I wanted a treatment where the softness comes from plant oils and butters that wash away with your shampoo. No added water also means the treatment stays rich and concentrated.

Looking after your treatment

Store it in a cool, dry place out of sunlight, with the lid closed. Coconut oil and the butters soften in warmth and firm up in the cold, so the texture changes with the seasons. That is normal. Use clean, dry hands or a spatula, and keep water out of the jar.

Try it

If your hair is bleached or chemically treated and never feels soft enough, whatever conditioner you use, try treating it before you wash rather than after. The Avocado Pre-Wash Hair Treatment is an easy weekly habit, and it pairs beautifully with the Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar afterwards. For blondes, finish with Blue Vibes now and then to keep the tone cool.

You will find the full ingredients list on the Avocado Pre-Wash Hair Treatment product page. If you are not sure how much to use on your hair, send me a message.

Eliz, colourist and founder of ECBEAUTYLAB