Being Blonde
Being blonde, keeping on top of your hair can sometimes be a struggle. The bleach from blonde hair dye damages your hair a lot more than darker dye and unless you have a balayage or ombre hair then roots are the bain of your life (some people are good at making this work but personally I hate my roots when they start to grow back). I’ve had dyed blonde hair since I was about 13 – before this I was naturally blonde but as I got older my hair started to get darker. I started the get highlights when it started to get darker but being the impatient teenager I was I didn’t like the wait for the highlights to build up, so I threw a bleach box dye on top – NOT something I recommend doing. I box dyed my hair for a few years being a teenager and they are absolutely awful, especially for blondes due to the bleach!! They kill your hair off, make it really dry and you get really blocky roots that are a pain to stay on top of – not to mention all of the chemicals in the dye. Moral of the story: stay away from shop bought!
When I was 16 I decided I’d had enough of the box dyes so I went back to my hairdresser and started having a full head of highlights and since then I’ve had this done every 8-10 weeks. After not a very long my hair felt sooo much better, the condition had started to repaired itself and my hair had a nice even blonde colour.
Now 5 years later I still have the same colour hair (maybe slightly more silvery / ashy blonde) and my hair is much thicker and longer. I think you learn as you go along having blonde hair and you work out ways that are best for you to sustain it. In the last part of this post I’m going to discuss tips, products and toners I use to keep my hair looking fresh and healthy while keeping a good colour.
Having my hair done by @georgiamayhair
Last weekend I had my hair done by Georgia May (@georgiamayhair) and I absolutely loved my result! She’s based at Chambers and Neal in Lutterworth, Leicester which is near where I’m originally from. We went for a full head of highlights with a toner for a silvery finish and a cut and blow dry. Georgia is really amazing at what she does, we spoke about the look I wanted to get in the end of it and then she made it happen. I only wanted a tiny cut (I had 5 inches off only 4 months ago and have had it trimmed twice since then so I want to try a grow it a bit now) and a silvery finish as I like a cooler shade of blonde.
I had a lot of foils I have quite a lot of hair (it’s quite fine but there’s a lot of it). Georgia regularly checked these until the correct colour was achieved from the bleach and then shampooed my hair and left a toner on for a short while – this is to take any of the warmer blonde colour away and move towards a cooler, silvery tone. Then my hair was conditioned and cut, blow dried and straightened. This is a very similar routine to what I’ve been having done for the past 5 years every two months, but I had a more silvery finish this time and it looked amazing! She also took care in taking out all of the previous toner and purple shampoo that I had used to ensure I had an even finish.
I love the way it looked in the end and I had a nice even colour and was super silvery! Georgia is also AMAZING at styling – see the screenshot of her insta grid below & give her a follow!! Her wedding and occasion hair is to die for and I’d recommend her to anyone, especially if you have an event coming up! She has loads of experience as she’s been a hairdresser for five years now, and you can see for yourself her work on her Instagram (@georgiamayhair).
TIPS
I’m also going to share a few tips I’ve learnt over the past few years being a blondie; so the first…HEAT. This goes for all hair colours and types, but the more heat you use = the worse your condition. Now obviously, avoiding heat altogether is pretty much a no go for most girls. I love to have my hair straight and sometimes wavy, so I would never not use my straighteners. However, I find that letting my hair dry naturally every single time I wash my hair has really helped me a lot because yes, the hair dryer counts as using heat. My hairdresser once described this to me as a hairdryer being the same as dancing around a fire, whereas a straightening iron is like being in the fire. So if you can use the hairdryer instead of the straighteners then great, but if not then stopping using the hairdryer is a good way to maintain your condition.
Hair-up days are also good and there’s loads of ways to do this! (Headbands are also a good alternative eg I straighten my hair after washing it, then on the second day have it pushed back with a headband or in a pony tail etc).
I also got sent a hair straightening brush from Dafni hair and this is also a better alternative to hair straighteners, simply due to the fact that it straightens your hair using the hot prongs rather than clamping your hair between a straightening iron.
Sleeping with your hair loosely tied can also be beneficial to your hair as you’ll experience less breakage than if your hair is down. Your hair is much more likely to tangle if it’s down rather than up or tied back.
PRODUCTS
I have a few favourite products I love to use (most recommended by my hairdresser) which I’ll share below:
I use Moroccan Oil Moisture Repair shampoo which is the nicest one I’ve ever tried and smells amazing (£16 from LookFantastic) and Bed Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor conditioner (£7 from B&M – £15 most places online!). I alternate shampoos with my toning purple shampoo but I’ll explain more about that in the next paragraph. The Moroccan Oil Treatment is also good and I’ve used that for a few years, however you have to be careful not to use much of this when you apply it as it’s quite greasy. All of the Moroccan Oil hair products are so good for your hair but they’re a little on the expensive side.
I now use Colour Wow Dream Coat spray after I’ve washed my hair (£25, LookFantastic) and this is a really good product no and leaves your hair feeling super silky.
Let’s Talk Toners..
If you blonde then you probably know the struggle or have experienced that brassy, warm shade of blonde or when some parts of your hair haven’t picked up the bleach as good. I use Provoke Touch Of Silver Brightening Shampoo nearly every hair wash and sometimes do half and half with the Moroccan Oil shampoo as toners can be quite harsh on your hair. I usually leave it on for a few minutes and this keeps my hair looking bright and a cooler blonde. The shampoo itself is bright purple and super cheap, about £3 a bottle and you can get it from most supermarkets. I wouldn’t recommend their conditioner however as I didn’t find it very nourishing at all.
Now if you want to be SUPER silver, there is something called Fanola No Yellow– you can buy this from Amazon for around £15 for a huge bottle (I think this is wholesale size). I wouldn’t recommend using this often if you’re regularly using another purple shampoo, this is VERY strong!! I tend to use it about once every 3 weeks at most. It is dark purple and even stains my hands (they’re fine by the end of the shower) and smells very chemically. My hair typically feels a bit dryer than usual after using this, however the colour is very effective and will give a silvery look after one wash as opposed to having to wait for the toner to build up as with other purple shampoos. I also wouldn’t recommend leaving this on your hair for long as it’s strong, I usually just wash it as I would with normal shampoo. (I’ve probs made it seem like some sort of dangerous chemical there but it’s perfectly safe to use and was recommended by my hairdresser, just a very strong shampoo!)
So I’ve covered everything I’ve learnt about looking after blonde hair and how is best to keep on top of it but if anyone also has any product recommendations or tips I’d love to know about them as I’m always looking for new ways to make my hair better!
Millie xx
Millie Violet : Fashion & Lifestyle 