Things To Know Before Going Blonde
Brighter future ahead?
Are you planning for a brighter future? Going blonde is exciting, fun, and can totally change your look! There are so many different shades, tones, and ways to marry the colors with your natural look that the possibilities are endless. Haven’t tried blonde before? Are you blonde but still have some issues with your color? Going blonde and staying blonde takes some care on your part to keep your hair as healthy as it can be. Here are 10 things that you need to keep in mind if you are considering going blonde, or switching up your current blonde.
1. Where You Start From Matters
If you have naturally brunette or darker hair, you might not be able to achieve your dream blonde on the first visit. Listen to your stylist when they recommend multiple sessions or bring to your attention that it will take more than one appointment to get to your hair goals. The reason they will tell you this is not because they want you to book and come back for multiple sessions, but because they are taking the integrity of your hair into consideration. If your hair is damaged (previously colored, heat damage, etc.) it can affect the hairs ability to lift and lighten. There is also a concern when using lightener on compromised hair, that it needs to take more sessions because a gentler formulation needs to be used on hair that is fragile. Not to say that it isn’t possible to go from deep brunette to bright blonde in one session, that session might not be the best plan for your hair health.
2. Your Hair Will Need Some Extra Loving
Lightening your hair multiple times can lead to weaker hair strands that are dry, and more prone to breaking and splitting. Why not elect to get a treatment when you are in the salon? If that doesn’t fit into your schedule, a hydrating mask at home can help keep your hair in tip top shape. Some of our favorites are Kevin Murphy HYDRATE-ME.MASQUE, RE.STORE, STAYING.ALIVE and LEAVE-IN.REPAIR. If you are curious what might work best for your hair, ask your stylist next time you are in!
3. You Will Be Spending More Time At the Salon
Keeping up with your blonde will require some dedicated time in the chair with your stylist. The most high maintenance blondes would be all over platinum blondes, which need to be touched up every 3-5 weeks. If you are looking for something that doesn’t require as much maintenance, look into balayage. Since this technique utilizes a deeper base tone and gives more brightness through the ends, you won’t be running back to the salon as often to cover your roots.
4. Purple Shampoo: Meet Your New Best Friend
Any blonde will tell you that their hair care routine is very particular. Any old shampoo and conditioner just won’t do. You need to have moisture, and adding a little violet pigment doesn’t hurt either. Using the right purple shampoo (or conditioner) for your hair is a must in order to keep your blonde bright and vibrant. Stopping brassy tones in their tracks, purple shampoo should be cycled in once a week or every third shampoo. Be careful not to use pigmented products too often though, as they can make your blonde look dull if there is too much build up of the violet pigment on your blonde.
5. Now is Not The Time to Go Rogue
Now, there are many things that we can DIY at home and they come out fabulous. With that being said anyone who has seen the highlight reels of “Pinterest Fails” online knows that messing with chemicals and your hair at home doesn’t always work out the best for people. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but I promise that you will likely need someone to correct it. No one wants to be left with brassy color, or worse, overlap on previously processed hair and give themselves a chemical haircut. As good of an idea as it may seem like at the time, leave it to the professionals.
6. Blonde Has Many Different Tones
When it comes to conveying what type of “blonde” you are going for, bringing in photos or creating a Pinterest board for reference will greatly help explain what you are looking for. There are many times that a picture speaks louder than words, and hair color is most certainly one of those times. Just because you told your stylist that you wanted “ash” blonde, that could mean many different things to different people. By being on the same page about the colors that you like, and dislike will help to ensure you get the blonde of your dreams.
7. Let Your Skin Tone Be Your Guide
Not sure what tones will look good on you? Feel like you see people with blonde hair and something just doesn’t look quite right? Usually that is due to the fact that the shade of the blonde doesn’t work with their skin tone. Generally speaking, people with cooler, pale skin tones look best in ashy, pearly shades, and people with warmer skin tones look their best in golden buttery hues.
8. Change Your Hair, Change Your…. Makeup?
This might not apply to everyone, but some people find that when their hair color changes, they need to change the palette of colors that they are wearing. It could be as simple as switching out to a different eyebrow pencil, or trying a different lip color. Are you not sure how to go about your makeup after a big color transformation? A great option would be to go to a makeup counter to get a professional opinion on what works, and what might not work anymore for you. Switching up your look is a great way to discover new colors that you may not have thought to try before!
9. The Texture of Your Hair May Change
The more processing and hot tool usage that we put our hair through, the more likely it is to change the natural texture of our hair. If you have curly hair, you may notice that the ends of your hair are straighter, or their curl pattern isn’t as tight as it used to be. Lightening hair dries the strand, which affects the texture. On the flip side, if you are one that has straight hair you might find that you have more volume that you didn’t have previously. Lightening the hair roughs up the cuticle, which then gives more volume to the overall look.
10. Don’t Tell Me No Lies
Sometimes we would like to forget our past hair transgressions, but it truly is important to be honest with your stylist about your hair history. No one is judging your at-home color use, or how many times you may have gone back and forth between colors. What we need to know is the truth about what your hair has been through so that when your color is formulated, it will get you the results that you are looking to achieve!