The Blonde Bible

5 WAYS TO CARE FOR YOUR BLONDE HAIR

Let’s be honest, unless you are one of those rare unicorns, gifted with natural light blonde hair, you are paying a pretty penny to be a member of the #blondesquad.

Blonde hair can be finicky. Shades can range from warm honey, beige and boujee, to ice queen silver, and everything in between. (Side note, naming blonde shades is one of my favorite pastimes. I particularly love comparing shades to various food and drink.) And different shades of blonde require different tender love and care. Blondes may have more fun, but they also have more maintenance. Fear not, I’ve got you covered.

I will scream this next statement from the rooftops: If you are investing in having your hair professionally done- protect your investment by using good products! Tough love time. If you are spending hundreds a year at the salon to get the pinterest hair of your dreams, why in the world would you not protect your investment? Think of good products as hair insurance. Professional products are not some gimmick made up to make more money. You get what you pay for. So let’s dive in, and show your blonde locks some love.

GLOSS LIKE A CHAMP

Here’s the honest to god truth, if you get a gloss (or toner) between foils/root touch ups, you can extend your amazing color. Lightening your hair can be damaging. This is not a secret. Extending time between your lightening services gives your hair a little vacation. I can hear you now- “but Nicole, my hair gets so brassy, and I hate seeing my line of roots!”

By getting a gloss in between, you are refreshing your desired shade of blonde, and softening that line of demarcation of your regrowth. Added bonus, a gloss will also make your hair extra shiny and soft. I recommend getting a maintenance gloss every 4-6 weeks, or midway to your next blonding service.

GIRL, GET A TRIM

Cut your damn hair. There, I said it. No one said you had to go from mermaid to pixie. I promise you, by not getting a trim, you are actually putting yourself in a position to have to cut more off in the long run. This is science. When you have split end, the hair is fracturing at different parts, splitting up the hair shaft. When you get a trim, and get rid of the damaged hair, you are preventing the hair from breaking any further. If you do not trim the damaged hair, the actual hair shaft will get weaker and weaker. Hair ends up looking straggly and thin because, well, it now is. If you simply commit to cleaning up your hair’s split ends after your blonding service, you are ensuring your hair remains as healthy as possible. Taking that dead stuff off can actually end up making your hair look longer, simply because it will be full and healthy.

MASKING: A BLONDE LOVE STORY

Self care is important. Blondes push their hair to it’s limit. A weekly mask can help combat the drying damage of a chemical service. I highly recommend applying a deep conditioning mask once a week, or once every 3-4 washes. Leave your mask in for 5-20 minutes. Take the time to shave, soak in a bubble bath, or wrap your hair and get some stuff done around the house. Do your thing. Focus the mask on your midlengths and ends, where your hair needs it the most. I swear by GlossME Hydrating Mask by DesignME. It is the perfect amount of moisture, without weighing my hair down. Plus, it is packed full of natural ingredients. I am a huge fan of this vegan, cruelty free hair brand.

BUH-BYE BRASS

Brassy blonde… the most dreaded of all blondes. Depending on the lightness of your shade of blonde, the underlying tones will vary. If you are a darker caramel blonde, you may see orange. While lighter, cooler blondes may cringe when they see yellow. This is why using a blue/purple shampoo and/or conditioner is helpful. But which one should you choose?

Let’s break out our color wheel knowledge. If you look at orange, directly opposite on the wheel is blue. Opposite of yellow, is purple. To combat orange tones, you need a blue based product. To combat yellow, you need a purple based product. I only recommend using a toning product like this when you see that brass shine through. Use once a week, or as often as you need based on your brass level.

Pro tip: I recommend toning conditioners over shampoos, and here’s why. Using a toning shampoo can partially strip or disrupt the gloss/toner you had done with your blonding service. A conditioner is going to deposit the blue/purple only.

USE PROTECTION, ALWAYS

This rule goes out to everyone, blondes, brunettes, redheads, and my funky fresh unicorns. Heat will get you every. single. time. I am not just talking about heat from blow drying, or your favorite hot tool of choice. The sun does damage too! Did you know that many hair products contain sunscreen? Thank goodness too, because most of us aren’t thinking about that.

The real enemy is our hot tools. And the frequency we use them in days as well as repetition over sections of hair. If you really think about it, do you go over the front sections of your hair more than the back? If you’re like 99.9% of the population, you are focusing on the area of hair that you see. That is totally normal. Now that you are aware of it, try to be gentle with the area that is succumbing to the most strain.

If you put on an oven mitt before touching anything hot on a stove, or SPF before a day in the sun, why not show your hair the same love and respect? Yes, heat protectant is amazing. But most products will give you a barrier between harmful heat and your luscious locks.

As always, if I didn’t cover something, or you have a topic specific question, comment below. I’m here to help.