POV: You’re finally taking the plunge and taking your dark locks blonde. But wait, should you cut your hair first? Show up with dirty or clean hair? What if you don’t like the blonde? How blonde is too blonde for you? You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.
Having freshly coloured hair can make you feel like the best version of yourself. When it comes to spending time and money on a lengthy salon visit, it's only natural to have high expectations for the perfect blonde. What does it take to get the *perfect* shade of blonde though? Our experts share a realistic breakdown of things to consider before, during, and after the big change.
Time Commitment:
Take It Slow. Transitioning gradually over multiple colouring sessions prevents excessive damage, especially if you have dark or red hair. Fine hair requires extra caution, so be prepared to set a realistic timeline for achieving your desired blonde shade.
Going blonde is a transformative process that demands dedication and patience. It's not always a change that can happen overnight; rather, it can require multiple salon visits and a substantial time commitment to achieve the desired blonde. Each step of the colour transformation, from lightening the hair to toning and maintaining the blonde shade, takes time and precision to ensure a flawless outcome.
The journey to blonde hair often involves several appointments spaced out over weeks or even months, allowing your hair to adjust to each stage of the colour change gradually. Rushing through the process can lead to damage and compromise the health of your hair. By spacing out the salon visits, you give your hair the necessary time to recover and maintain its strength throughout the transformation.
Hair History:
Before transitioning from brunette to blonde, discuss your hair colour history with your colourist to ensure that the transformation process is suitable for your hair, in terms of texture and health. This helps your colourist determine how much time will be needed to achieve the desired results. They will also take into consideration any previous hair colour treatments you may have had and whether this will be a factor in your desired colour.
Old hair colour stays in the hair for a long time, making it harder to achieve the desired blonde results as your ends are where the most damage can come from. The colourist will typically ask how long it has been since your previous hair colour treatment to identify how much colour has grown out and how much needs to be worked around.
In some cases, the old colour buildup may hinder the hair's ability to lift or lighten, leading to uneven colour results and potential damage. To prevent this from happening, the colorist may need to strip away some of the old colour by performing a strand test to verify that the hair can withstand the colour transition.
Budget:
When it comes to transforming your hair colour from dark to blonde, it's important to consider your budget. While it's tempting to look for the most affordable option, it's often best not to skimp on price for a major colour change.
Professional hair colour services, especially for complex transformations like going from brunette to blonde, usually come with a higher price tag. This is because the process requires specialized techniques, high-quality products, and the knowledge and experience of a trained colourist, remember that you are paying for a professional service that prioritizes your hair's health. Investing in a reputable salon and colourist can significantly impact the outcome of your hair colour transformation.
Skin Tone & Features:
Choosing the right shade of blonde that complements your natural complexion and eye colour can make a significant difference in how the final result looks on you.
Your colorist will assess your skin's undertones, which can be warm, cool, or neutral. Warm undertones are characterized by hints of yellow, peach, or gold, while cool undertones have hints of pink, blue, or red. Neutral undertones have a balanced mix of warm and cool tones. Understanding your undertones is essential in determining which shades of blonde will work best for you.
Based on your skin tone, your colourist can recommend blonde shades that enhance your complexion and bring out the best in your features. It’s one thing to see the perfect shade of blonde online, but will that translate to your specific features?
In addition to considering your skin tone, your colourist will also take into account your eye colour. They will help identify whether you have cool-toned eyes (blue or green) or warm-toned eyes (hazel, and browns). By pairing the right shade of blonde with your eye colour, your colourist can create a cohesive and complementary look that enhances your overall appearance.
Bear in mind that these are general guidelines, and there are numerous variations and subtleties within each skin tone and eye colour, which is why having a consultation with your colourist is an important step for having a blonde you love.
Maintaining Your Blonde Hair:
It's important to treat your hair gently, as it may be more fragile and prone to damage after each colour transformation process. Regular trims are crucial because split ends can not only make the hair appear dull and damaged, diminishing its overall look, but if not cut off, the split ends cause unnecessary breakage. Deep conditioning treatments with high-quality hair masks help to restore moisture, protein, and shine to the hair, preventing hair from snapping off and brittleness. Using colour-safe products formulated specifically for blonde, and colour-processed hair can help protect your hue's vibrancy and prevent it from quickly fading. It's also essential to avoid exposing your hair to excessive heat, including from styling tools, without a heat protector as high temperatures can cause damage to the hair shaft and contribute to colour fading.
What to Do Before Your Salon Appointment:
Colourists are not a one-size-fits-all. Researching to see which colourist aligns with your desired goal will help in terms of communication right from the beginning, are you looking for someone who specializes in lived-in blondes, or a platinum blonde savvy colourist, or maybe you want to take things slow and do tone-on-tone. Once you have your consultation booked, make sure to bring inspo pics, the more the better. Describing in detail what you like about the inspo photos helps your colourist understand what you are and are not looking for in terms of blonde goals.
If you're going to cut your hair by more than 4 inches or get new bangs, cut your hair before going into your colour appointment. There is nothing worse than spending hours getting your colour done only to have most of it chopped off.
Arrive at your actual appointment with clean hair! The old wives tale that the dirtier hair the better is false. When you don’t have clean hair, the build-up of product and oil acts as a barrier to your strands, preventing the colour from penetrating your follicles, and can cause patchy work for your colour.