I love having some sort of blonde in my
hair whether it’s highlights or a full color.
Now that spring has sprung, ladies everywhere are looking to
lighten their strands.
But before taking the platinum plunge, it’s important to
know what to do, in order to ensure your color looks natural and hair stays
healthy.
Dyeing your hair blonde comes with its challenges.
Here are some tips if you’re thinking about making a switch
to the lighter side.
Open up to your colorist
When you go to a salon to make the big change, make sure
your colorist knows everything about your hair history.
Let your colorist know if you’ve already dyed your hair
before, how often you color it, what colors you’ve dyed your hair etc. - coloring
previously colored hair and virgin hair is different.
When people dye their hair, months later the previous color
is actually still in the hair. So if you were light in the summer and went darker
in the fall, the colorist needs to be prepared for any orange and red tones
from the previous hair dye.
Deepen the roots
You want to make sure your roots are darker than your ends
so the color looks natural and grows out nicely.
The ends should be a little lighter than the root area,
otherwise the color can look too artificial and not natural.
My favorite reason for Balayage highlights!
Wrong box color
If you are dyeing your hair blonde at home, choose the box
color you want to go with very carefully – because what you see isn’t always
what you get (I know from experience)!
Don’t rely on the picture of the model on the box, it can be
misleading.
Instead, focus on the words used to describe the shade.
Colors described as:
Ash is good for
people looking to combat brassiness.
Golden will
incorporate more yellow tones and are great for people looking to conceal grey
hair.
Violet in it will
have purple tones.
Neutral can mean
several different things, but usually implies a blue base to the shade.
Take a break from heat styling
After you make a color change, you’ll need to give your hair
a break.
Usually hair that’s been lightened generally is done with a
little bit of bleach and bleach plus heat from a blow dryer, flat iron or
curling iron will cause breakage.
For example: When I straighten my bang section I’ll go over
the front sections over and over, so that’s always the area I find breakage
happens.
Use a purple Shampoo or Conditioner
It may look scary to put a purple product all over your light
hair, but trust me, it works.
This helps neutralize yellow-orange brassy tones, which can
occur from washing your hair, environmental stressors and naturally.
I recommend using a purple shampoo or conditioner once a
week to combat that unwanted brassy look.
I am a huge fan of John Frieda products. So here is my
favorite shampoo and conditioner.
John Frieda Sheer Blonde Color Renew Tone
Restoring Shampoo brightens the hair color while reducing the
brassiness.
This conditioner isn’t purple but has the same benefits. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Highlight
Activating Enhancing Conditioner uses Natural lemon peel, chamomile and
sunflower seed to brighten the hair. It also brings out highlights while
maintaining brassiness and renews hair to a silky texture.
Is there ever any chance of hair turning purple from Purple shampoos or conditioners?
It’s possible, but very rare.
On really light, white blonde hair, you could end up lilac but
it’s a very temporary.
Colored hair is dry hair
No matter what color you choose to dye your hair, the ends
will end up dryer than before, especially the case for blondes.
People also underestimate how summertime activities, like
swimming in the pool and ocean, can dry out your hair.
Using a deep conditioner or mask in at least once a week will
help with the dry ends.
Eva NYC Therapy Sessions Hair Mask
has Keravis protein and Argan oil to help deep condition the hair. I like that
it repairs and strengthens the hair.
If you don’t have 20 minutes to do a hair mask, leave your
conditioner on for one or two minutes longer than usual especially on the dry
parts.
Are you thinking of going blonde for spring and summer?
~Jennifer
