Whether you’re a natural blonde or rocking salon-coloured highlights/balayage etc. there's no denying you will have to follow a hair maintenance routine. No matter how exceptional your hair regime is, even the best routines can’t stave off dullness and prevent premature colour fading that comes from normal washing, UV exposure and heat damage. Invest in your hair, it’s the crown you never take off.
As experts, our bhave stylists know, that when working with blonde it’s not just about creating the perfect hue but also offering the right after-care advice. Pretty much everybody’s heard of brassy, warm blonde, but how do we go about preventing it? It all starts with shine-boosting, tone-enhancing products. Basically, if you want to maintain your gorgeous platinum blonde or aaah-mazing strawberry hue, the perfect hair care partnership will help maintain and eliminate any dullness.
Before we start taking blonde hair care products, and how it’s a staple in your routine, let’s just cover some facts about your blonde.
WHAT YOU SHOULD AVOID
When maintaining freshly coloured hair, there are a few things to consider to ensure your money and colour don’t go down the drain…literally. Chlorine, shampoos containing sulphates and UV rays all cause hair to fade quicker than you desire.
4 WAYS TO AVOID/CORRECT BRASSY LOCKS INTO YOUR HOME HAIR CARE ROUTINE
1. REFRESH EXISTING COLOUR
I guess you can picture the scene, you’re 3 or 4 weeks out from your last colour appointment and there’s no question your highlights have turned yellow like a construction sign. This is where our Slate Intense Toning Masque and Violet Toning Masque can really add hydration and impart those subtle little doses of toning pigments to neutralise and eliminate those unwanted brassy tones.
Keep in mind, toner does not lift or permanently alter the colour of hair, but rather adds a tone over it. This means that it will help you renew your cool, silver or ash tones while nourishing your hair at the same time. Whether it’s reversing brassiness or protecting your ash/platinum/golden/honey/bronde blonde tresses or simply making your hair shine and dazzle between salon visits, toning masques is your go-to at-home product.
2. USE A COLOUR-CORRECTING SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER
Yellow and violet are opposites on the colour wheel. Violet pigments are used to cancel out overly warm, brassy tones. Using our colour care shampoo and conditioner that are also pH-balanced and free of sulphates will prove to enhance and extend the life of hair colour. Invest in our bombshell blonde shampooandconditioner to help crush brassy tones for a cooler, brighter blonde for longer.
3. DEEP CONDITION FOR SHINY, HEALTHY-LOOKING HAIR
Both protein (keratin) and moisture are essential components of healthy hair—if they’re missing, your hair colour could fade quicker and will appear more dull and unable to achieve shine.
If hair is in poor condition (we’re looking at you split ends), a protein or moisturising treatment may be needed before you colour. This will help “fill in” empty spaces in the hair and give the colour molecules a better anchor point, resulting in longer lasting colour results.
It may seem simple, but the more healthy, soft, and supple your locks are, the less likely your colour will fade or turn. This can be accomplished by using our deep Intense conditioning hair masque.
4. PROTECT YOUR BLONDE FROM UV RAYS
We all love the sun, but excessive sun exposure can dry out your hair and fade your blonde colour. When your hair is exposed to UV rays, your hair's underlying warm tones are revealed, and — before you know it — brassiness abounds. If you can't stay out of the sun, try wearing a hat to protect your locks and use a spritz of our super nova multi-purpose elixir or leave-in conditioning crème which contain UV-protectant properties to help avoid unwelcome brassiness.
So, for all those tired golden manes out there who want fresher for longer blonde, let’s aim to restore vibrancy and add some salon-level shine with your home care routine.
NOW LET’S GET BACK TO BASICS…
- STEP 1: Lather up – wash your hair with bombshell blonde shampoo, repeat, leaving the shampoo in for 2 minutes on the second shampoo (that’s when the ‘work’ is done - the hair cuticle is open when wet which allows for the keratin and toning pigments to penetrate)
- STEP 2: Apply the intense toning masque – on damp/towel-dried hair working from the root to the tip (concentrate on areas that have faded the most) making sure the formula reaches every strand and leave in your hair for between 3-10 minutes (depending on your desired result). Slate toning masque is ideal for cool, silver, ash or grey tones. Violet toning masque is ideal for platinum/icy tones.
- STEP 3: Condition your hair to a glossy silky finish using our pigmented bombshell conditioner. Comb it through – use a wide-tooth comb, gliding it from root to tip.
- STEP 4: Finish with our UV protected, hair strengthening super nova multi-purpose elixir containing high doses of essential fatty acids and sunflower seed oil. bhave super nova multi-purpose elixirwill transform dry and brittle hair to smooth, shiny, lustrous locks.
TIP: Spray on clean, towel-dried hair. Just pump a small amount into the palm of your hair, start at the ends and work upwards.
On a side note, for those of you wanting to go blonde but have severely dry and brittle hair, we recommend a routine of bhave intense repair rescue shampooandconditioner (at home) before beginning the process. If you’re cautiously concerned about the integrity of your hair post transformation, then it’s worth consulting your bhave stylist about an in-salon rescue repair treatment.
image: Tina Sarrou at the Glossbox Salon UK
You’re now fully equipped to revive your blonde tresses and restore that brilliance to your strands. No one wants a hurdle in their journey to a glorious blonde mane, so shake up your hair care routine by optimising the products available to you!
