Give Me The Works aftercare: first 72 hours & summer tips
By Angie Curly Hair Stylist | July 17, 2026
Pleasantview / Southgate area (south-central Edmonton) | Call: +17805407857 | Email: angie@angieelder.com
You just spent four hours in our chair for Give Me The Works, which includes a toning gloss, tip out, shadow root, and a full haircut and style. The most important rule now is simple: wait 48 to 72 hours before you wash. That pause helps your tone settle so your brightness stays bright, your root melt stays soft, and your gloss keeps its shine, even with Edmonton summer sun and pool season.
First 24 to 72 hours: protect the gloss, root melt, and brightness
In the first three days, we generally recommend you treat your hair like fresh paint. Keep it dry, keep it cool, and keep it clean of anything that can push your tone around.
Quick rule: No washing for 48 to 72 hours, and avoid heavy sweating and steamy heat. It makes a bigger difference than most people think.
Do this right away
- Keep hair dry for 48 to 72 hours. If you need to shower, pin it up and keep the spray off.
- Sleep gently. A loose bun or a soft scrunchie helps reduce friction, which helps your fresh style last longer.
- Let us know if anything feels off. If your scalp feels unusually irritated or your tone looks very different in the first day or two, we want to see it early.
Hold off on these for now
- Intense workouts for the first 24 to 48 hours if you can. Sweat and heat can dull a fresh gloss faster.
- Hot tools for a couple days. Your hair just went through lightening and toning, so give it a breather.
- Clarifying shampoo or anything labeled “deep clean.” It strips tone quickly.
The first week: sweat, chlorine, and sun are the fastest way to fade
Once you hit that first wash, the goal shifts to keeping the color looking fresh through real life. A lot of our Pleasantview and Southgate clients are busy, commuting, and fitting hair care into small pockets of time. Good aftercare does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be consistent.
Swimming and hot tubs: Avoid pools, hot tubs, and seawater for at least one week. Chlorine and minerals love to grab onto freshly lightened hair and can shift tone fast.
If you have to swim: Wet your hair with clean water first, smooth on a leave-in conditioner as a barrier, then use a swim cap if you can. Rinse as soon as you’re done.
Edmonton sun: Sun fades color. If you’re outside a lot, a hat helps, and so does keeping your heat styling low. Shine lasts longer when hair stays hydrated.
And yes, winter matters too. Edmonton dryness can make color-treated hair feel rougher, faster. That’s not your color “going bad.” It’s usually moisture loss, and it’s fixable with the right wash routine and conditioning.
Your wash day routine: sulfate-free, cooler water, and fewer “deep cleans”
If you only change three things, make it these: use color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo, rinse with cool to lukewarm water, and don’t over-wash. Those habits do more for “prevent hair color fading” than chasing a hundred products.
What we like for freshly colored hair
- A sulfate-free shampoo labeled color-safe. If you’re unsure what “sulfate-free shampoo for color treated hair” looks like on a label, bring what you’re using and we’ll check it.
- A good conditioner every wash. Focus it mid-lengths to ends, where highlights and balayage live.
- A weekly deep conditioner. Think of it like keeping your gloss shiny by keeping the hair surface smooth.
If you love a super squeaky-clean feeling, that’s usually the exact thing that fades tone. Keep clarifying shampoo for true buildup days only, not as your regular wash.
Heat tools after Give Me The Works: when it’s fine, and how to keep the shine
We get it. You leave with a fresh cut and style, and you want to keep that look going. If you can, give hot tools a short break for the first couple days. After that, you can absolutely use them. Just use them like you want your tone to last.
Our simple heat rules for the first week
- Use heat protectant every time. Don’t “save it for special occasions.”
- Keep tools on the lower end of your temperature range. Higher heat fades tone and dulls shine faster.
- One slow pass is better than five quick ones. Less repeated heat means happier hair.
If you’re curly and diffusing, keep the airflow moving and avoid hovering in one spot. That helps protect both your curl pattern and your color.
If something feels “off, ” reach out. We’ll talk it through.
We’re big on clear communication in the chair, and that doesn’t stop when you walk out the door. If your tone looks too warm, too cool, or uneven once you hit your first wash, let us know. A quick message with a couple photos in natural light usually tells us what’s going on and what the next step should be.
“I had such a wonderful experience with Angie. She really explained everything she was doing as we went along so that I would be able to recreate the same look at home.”
one of our regulars
If you’re in south-central Edmonton near Southgate Centre, it’s easy to pop in for a quick check. And if you’re coming in from Sherwood Park, Beaumont, Leduc, St. Albert, or Spruce Grove, these same aftercare steps still apply. When you’re ready to keep your brightness looking fresh, we’ll plan your next toner or refresher timing based on how your hair holds tone.
Need help fast? Reply to your confirmation email or reach us at angie@angieelder.com. If you’re booking around Southgate LRT commute times, ask us about evening openings so you’re not rushing your appointment.
A quick reminder: Give Me The Works is high-brightness color, so aftercare is part of the service
Give Me The Works is designed to add significant brightness with highlights or balayage, then lock everything in with a gloss and a shadow root so it grows out softer. The aftercare steps above keep that “just did my hair” look going longer. If you keep the first 72 hours clean and dry, avoid chlorine for a week, and stick with sulfate-free color-safe wash days, your tone usually stays truer and your shine lasts longer.