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Going... Going... Blonde!
Welcome to the blonde life! It's (literally) much brighter over here.
It's also a little more upkeep but don't go back to dark just yet!
I'm giving you my five best tips for keeping your blonde looking and feeling good.
PROPER PRODUCTS
Now that you're rocking the most expensive color, it's time to upgrade your shampoo and conditioner with it. You want to be using gentle, sulfate free, moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Every person's hair is different so the exact products will differ from person to person so take the recommendation of your stylist, and no I don't mean the cashier at CVS. Feeling yellow? Use a purple shampoo and/or conditioner to neutralize those unwanted tones.
Hot tip: For a extra anti-yellow, after shampooing, towel dry hair, heavily apply purple conditioner from roots to ends, comb it through with a wide tooth comb and leave in your hair for 20-30 minutes.
TREAT YO HAIR!
Something so crucial that tends to get overlooked: treatments! Often times guests view treatments as a luxury versus a necessity but that's like saying you only change the oil in your car when you feel like "treating yourself". Imagine?! So much happens to your hair in between your salon appointments. Hot tools, outside climate, weird food, top knots. My best advice is to set up an appointment for a bond rebuilding treatment either with your color appointment or in between, while also using an at home treatment every few washes.
YOUR HAIR DOES NOT LIKE IT HOT
Now it's time to address the number one culprit for sad hair... heat! If you are able to, it's best to let your hair air dry. If you aren't able to do that, it's important that you use a heat protectant when blow drying and again when using any sort of hot tool. For fine or thin hair, 360° should be your max heat setting. For thick or coarse hair, 425° should be your max heat setting.
DIRT DON'T HURT
Did you know that washing your hair everyday is bad for your hair and your scalp? Your scalp produces natural oils that nourish your skin and hair so its good to let those oils do their job. If you are feeling too oily, using a dry shampoo will help you from looking like a greaseball. Now that you aren't washing your hair every day, you have to provide some TLC for those hairs that don't get the benefits of the oils from your scalp. Using a pump or less of a lightweight serum, rubbing it into your hands and then lightly spreading it through your ends will help your ends from drying out in between washes.
WAIT... BLONDE CAN FADE?
Lastly, the tone of your blonde will inevitably fade in between retouch times. That's not because your stylist didn't do a thorough job, it's your toner slowly washing out. The natural state of blonde lives in a very warm color spectrum, so if you are someone who especially loves to see cool tones or ashy tones (I'm looking at all you silver hair people especially), setting up an appointment for a toner in between your retouch appointments will help you fight that warmth.
Hot tip: hot water rinses cool tones much quicker than cool water does. If you can bare it, rinse your hair in cool water when washing it.