How well are you caring for your color?

Highlights and any other sort of hair color are an investment. It takes time and money to get (and maintain) the hue you desire, and at-home care can make or break the longevity of your results. This is where shampoo, conditioner and various other treatments come into play, and specially-formulated products are key for protecting the look of your color.

Enter Rene Furterer’s new “Radiance Rituals,” which are designed to meet the needs of specific shades of hair. Including Okara Color (for all color-treated hair), Okara Blond (for natural, highlighted and bleached blondes) and Okara Silver (for gray, white and platinum hair), these targeted haircare ranges are designed to maximize the longevity of your color, prevent fading and enhance healthy shine.

I’ve been using the Okara Blond Radiance Ritual and so far so good! For starters, the golden shimmery shampoo is so pretty to look at—and that’s even before you suds up. Featuring Okara extract (which is actually the protein-rich leftovers that result when soybeans are processed to make tofu and soy milk) along with a unique ReflectLumiere complex of lemon peel and sugar cane extracts with alpha-hydroxy acids that repairs and illuminates blonde hair, the shampoo and conditioner leave my hair feeling soft, smooth and strong. The blonde ritual also includes the Brightening Spray for an extra brightening boost that naturally lightens your color by at least a shade—because there’s no such thing as being too blonde, right? This can be used as a detangling, shine-enhancing leave-in treatment, or on dry hair for extra glossiness between washes.

I also “stole” the Color Protection Mask from the Okara Color range, and this weekly treatment has worked wonders on my hair. With triple the concentration of Okara extract (as compared to the other new products) plus witch hazel to preserve your color, it helps repair damage and maintain radiance for up to eight weeks—and I love the pump dispenser because I always manage to get water in my mask when it comes in a tub.

Let’s be honest… Color upkeep is expensive (regardless of your hue), and I’m a firm believer that using high-quality haircare helps keep my strands silky and prevent them from becoming straw-like. And it turns out, these new Rene Furterer products are the perfect way to do it.