I’m going to level with you. Blondes do not always have more fun.
Is it fabulous feeling like your hair is a summer’s day in tangible form? Yes. Does it really put the wind in your sails whenever Claude Debussy’s ‘Girl with the Flaxen Hair’ comes on and you get to imagine that it was a melody made for you and your hair specifically? Yes.
Is it also stressful? Tiring? An ode to hairdressers who tried and failed? Is it a sonnet of products that don’t work and empty purple shampoo bottles? Yes, and yes again.
I made the decision to trade my brunette locks for a buttery blonde rollercoaster when I was 18 years old. I’ve never gone back to the dark side, but every few weeks, I have to fight the temptation for a simpler path.
Every time I come across a new guide on going blonde (which in our industry, is quite often) I feel lied to. Where are the honest conversations about what you really need to know when sitting under the bleach firing line? What do I wish I had known all those years and rands ago? I am not a hairdresser, but there are dime-a-dozen things I’ve learnt over the years.
If you’re thinking of going blonde, or are new to the blonde way of life, here are a few important things to consider:
An honest guide to going blonde
1. Choose your colour with the precision of a graphic designer
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Whether you’re making the blonde jump or are touching up, you need to show your hairdresser exactly what you want. Multiple images, different angles, the works. The more specific you are, the better chance you have of joining the blonde club in the way you imagined.
Consider the skin tone of the models you’re basing your choices on, the colour of the background in the image, all the fine print. Remember, your hairdresser is purely looking at the colour.
Decide whether you’re opting for highlights or full bleach based on your hairdresser’s advice.
Still, there are chances that it doesn’t work out for you. Maybe your natural brassy tones were too overpowering. Maybe you needed a little more time bleaching than you got, or maybe your hair broke in the process.
Give the experts as much of the detailed bigger picture as you can, but again, listen to their advice when they tell you that doing more will harm your hair (especially if you’ve done bleaching treatments before). Colour corrections are possible and wonderful and jovial when they happen, but they don’t always happen perfectly for every head of hair.
The blonde expense
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You’ll need to allocate a few thousand of your hard-earned tom—or up to the price of a small getaway depending on your salon choice— every six to eight weeks (eleven if you’re really pushing it) to avoid an obnoxiously obvious regrowth. This is if you’ve got highlights. In most cases, if you’ve done a full bleach, it’s roughly the same time period, but you’re adding an extra cost: the health of your hair (especially if you’re going for a platinum look).
Then there are the hair treatments you’ll need—keratin treatments, hair masks and of course the post-salon care sets (and no, not all purple shampoos work in the same way).
If you think you don’t need the treatments, your hair will laugh at you in brittle tones. Count your losses. Or, choose to see your hair as a ‘bill’ like any other, unless you want to look like a small vehicle could park atop your head.
If your hair grows quickly, colour it creatively
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I know we all clutched our pearls in envy when Kim Kardashian pulled off that icy bleach aesthetic. However, not many people have the same resources as Miss Kim, and the regrowth on hair like that would be a cardinal sin.
If you know your hair grows quickly and you don’t want to spend a lot of cash, then you need to get creative with how you colour your hair from the offset. Allow some darker tones to blend into your lighter shades from your roots, so that your persistent natural shades at least look blended. You can also allow a little more regrowth this way and put off root-touch-ups a little longer.
The after-salon survival kit
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It’s all gloss and mirrors at the salon, but without proper care, your hair can become dull, more coarse, a jungle of tangles and worst of all as brittle as a cheap paintbrush.
In your survival kit, you’ll need:
- A good shampoo that’s free of sulphate (this helps brighten the hair too)
- A purple shampoo and conditioner to keep the brassy look as far away as possible (try these) but don’t overdo it; your hair can dry out.
- Fewer washes a week
- Frequent hair cuts
- Hair oil (Argan oil works wonders!)
- A wet brush for after you shower (so your hair doesn’t tangle as easily)
- A hair mask ( use at least once a week)
- Non-heat curling products
Dealing with toner’s grey woes
Everyone’s hair responds to toners and bleaches differently. Factors like how often you’ve coloured your hair or whether it’s virgin hair play their part—a very important one. Typically, virgin hair bleaches much faster. When it comes to toners, there’s always the fear that your hair might get the greys, and there is a very real chance of this, no matter how boujee the salon you’re at is (I speak with the experience of someone who dealt with this the day before a wedding).
If you do end up in the 50 shades of grey faculty, you can:
- Kindly ask your hairdresser to fix it (don’t bully anyone, no matter how much you’re fuming inside).
- Try dandruff shampoo or
- Try a clarifying shampoo
Say goodbye to heating things up
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I’m not saying never apply heat to your hair ever again. But especially in the waking hours after the fact, it’s not a top-shelf idea. Exchange hair straightening, curling irons and blow-drying moments for hair masks and oils as mentioned above. Tell your straightener you two won’t be spending as much time together, but that you’ve appreciated the journey and avoid the damage.
If you absolutely can’t live without your curler, try heatless curling rods or rollers.
Manage your expectations
Accept, from day one, that there can be moments of orange or brass—especially if your hair is dark and rich—when the toner eventually washes out (it will). Know that the more blonde you go, the more maintenance you’re signing up for. And last, keep in mind that if you’re willing to put in the time, money and effort, the results will be worth it.
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Feature Image: @kimkardashian/Instagram
