Going Blonde; The Process, Home Care Part 3
It’s time! We are finally talking how to maintain your gorgeous blonde hair. You’ve spent all this time and cash getting your dream color now lets talk about what you need to keep it looking it’s best!
First-up Washing Your Blonde Mane
I recommend washing every 2-3 days
preferably 3 you can use the Orbe dry shampoo to help you get through the 3rd day it smells amazing and its NOT flakey or it doesn’t leave a white cast on your hair. It’s seriously a dream!
For shampoos I recommend the Schwarzkopf professional “Blonde Me” shampoo and mask. It comes in 3 different colors for every type of blonde. All blondes, Cool blondes (has a blue based ash tone for cool blondes), Warm blondes.Its a Shampoo and mask that can be used for every wash.
Let’s talk purple shampoos, they are great for helping maintain your color but beware that if you over use them they can dry out your hair. It should only be used about 1 a week or as needed.
My purple shampoo of choice is the Schwarzkopf Professional Purple Shampoo.
STYLING
There are a few tools and styling products that are key
Lets start with brushes. On the days you wash your hair I recommend using The Wet Brush to brush your hair BEFORE you wash it to help get rid of any tangle. It’s also great to use after your get out of the shower to brush your hair. It has silicone based bristles which glide through your hair without breaking it.
Blow drying the Izutech Blowdryer and a Wet Brush with boar- bristles are an unbeatable combo they will leave your hair feeling soft and silky smooth. You may be thinking why do I need another brush to blow dry well the answer is simple Wet Brush is made with silicone and the one you use on your wet hair can’t with stand the heat of your blow dryer.
Now for the last flat iron you’ll ever buy the Izutech Flat iron. I use this flat iron to create my signature beach waves in the salon and at home.
Let’s not forget styling products.
The Schwarzkopf Professional Blonde Me leave-in conditioner spray, it has purple sparkles that help tone your hair while it conditions, it also helps to detangle.
Schwarzkopf Professional Rescue Repair it helps repair your hair from the inside to prevent split ends.
Maintaining Your Style
Say it with me SILK PILLOW CASE… it’s everything. Using a silk pillow case really helps keep your hair from tangling and breaking. Not to mention it’s great for your skin! Helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. To sleep wearing a your hair in a loose braid or bun to help protect your hair. Shower caps not only do they help keep your hair dry when you shower its also a great way to help keep your style looking great longer. Just to reiterate using the Orbe dry shampoo between washes to keep your hair looking and feeling fresh. It is probably the best dry shampoo I’ve ever used. Lastly always remember that using good products is key to maintaining your color and the integrity of your hair.
All of the products and tools mentioned above are available for purchase at One to One salon.
Going Blonde; The process, The Maintenance, and The Aftercare Part 2
Hi I’m back with part 2 of our Q& A all about blondes!
Q: What are the worst things for my blonde?
The worst things are chlorine, salt water, too much heat (straightening and blow drying), over washing, and over use of purple shampoo.
Chlorine and salt water seriously dry out your hair and chlorine can cause your blonde to go green. Avoid them as much as possible but if you must swim make sure that you shampoo and condition your hair immediately after.
I recommend washing your hair as little as possible every 2 - 3 days is best. By washing your hair less you give your natural oils the chance to condition and re-bond your hair. It also cuts down on the amount of heat you use on your hair because you don’t have to blow dry your hair.
Purple shampoo should only be used once a week it will dry out your hair if you over use it.
Q: How many tones of blonde are there?
That is like ahh there are soo many tones of blonde and can be blended together to give you different looks you can have 2 different tones of blonde in you hair at the same time. The possibilities are really endless!
Q: If I have black hair (natural or dyed) am I a hopeless case or can I still go blonde?
You are defiantly NOT HOPELESS but that being said you have to be realistic (even if it is natural), it’s going to happen in stages because I am all about the integrity of your hair. I’m not going to fry your hair so you can get it in one service. If you are wanting it in one day and I think your hair can handle the process that is a day rate charge and my prices start at $150 an hour for this type of process, which can get very costly pretty quickly. My personal preference is to break up the Blonding Service over multiple sessions because like they say, "slow and steady wins the race.”
Q: Is this going to damage my hair?
If you are like the above question and a black box or natural and want it in one go then yeah you are going to see some damage. We have to strip that out and thats 9 levels of lifting because you are starting at a 1 and want to go to a 10. I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t going to damage your hair. Now we can minimize the damage if we take a slower approach like I mentioned before.
Q: Is it ever possible to get the color in one session? Have you ever done it?
Yes and Yes but that is usually “virgin" clients that have never been colored before and again it is more costly than going slowly.
I specialize in Blonding and it is one of my favorite services to provide. I love all tones of blondes, it is more maintenance both in the salon and at home so be prepared! Stay tuned for an in-depth step by step guide on how to keep your newly blonde locks looking and feeling their best!
xoxo
Nicole
Going Blonde; The process, The Maintenance, and The Aftercare Part 1
Going blonde can be daunting! I did a little Q&A with a client who is debating going blonde. She had a series of questions that I think anyone who is going blonde should know the answers to! Here we go…
Q: If I’m on the low maintenance side what is the best way to go blonde?
There are many ways to go blonde but the best way if you are low maintenance is a typical balayage. It is commonly referred to as sun kissed hair or lived in blonde, and is very on trend at the moment. What this means is the blonde is not right at your root but rather there is a transitional blend from your base (root) to a lighter blonde color on the tips.
Q: How long realistically can I go between touch ups?
This really depends on how high you want your balayage/blonde, so anywhere from 4 to 6 months. However in between your touch ups I recommend a glossing and a trim. A glossing is essentially a toner that gives you shine, evens out the porosity in your hair and it gives you the tonality of the blonde that you want (ash, gold, beige, sand, etc.).
Q: In your experience what is the hardest color to lift out when going blonde?
This is an amazing question! Because a lot of people don’t realize how crucial it is to be honest with your stylist about what is on your hair. Whether it’s box dye or permeant color the hardest colors to lift out are black, darkest brown, or anything lower than a level 4 (level 1 is black). You will defiantly go through the orange and red stages of going blonde if you have these colors in your hair so be prepared.
Henna and stains are another challenge on their own because they have metallic salts that interact with the Blonding Service. So if you have these in your hair it is a DEAL BREAKER and a hard no on going blonde until you grow this completely out of your hair.
Q: Is there anything I can do to help prepare my hair for this process?
Yes! Doing condition treatments and leave in treatments. You can also use a stripping shampoo, which is a detoxifying shampoo. It removes build up from minerals in the water, hair product build up from your scalp, and it evens out the porosity of your hair for the Blonding Service.
When it comes to after care I recommend the Schwarzkopf Blonde Me shampoo and conditioner as well as a mask.
For a more repair focused system I recommend the Schwarzkopf Repair Me shampoo and conditioner system. It uses inner active bond repairing bonds that repair the inner structure of your hair after the Blonding Service.
Q: If I have “virgin” hair how does that affect my blonde process? Can I get to my desired color faster?
Having “virgin” hair will get you to your desired blonde much faster! Because there aren’t layers of colors to lift out. How dark your natural hair color is does play a role in how quickly we can get you there but it is no were near as long as lifting box dye or permanent hair color out.
Q: How come some people can get to their desired tone in a few sessions and others take longer?
This kind of goes ties into the virgin hair question. People who have been dying their hair for years have layers and layers of color that needs to be lifted out. It’s kind of like paint on a wall, there are layers of paint and I have to go through each one and lift them out. So the longer you have been using dark colors on your hair the longer your lifting process will be.
Q: Do you recommend getting my hair cut before or after going blonde?
It just depends on how long your hair is and how short you want it after the Blonding Service. If its damaged I may need to cut before the Blonding Service because it may not hack it through the process so ill end up having to cut it after anyway.
Part 2 coming soon!
One to One...
What can I say besides the last 15 years at Salon 9 have been amazing and full of growth. I have formed bonds with people that will last a lifetime. My coworkers have become my second family. I spend as much time with them as I do my actual family. Lol. Isn’t that the case for everyone? Well, I guess not everyone LOVES their coworkers but, in my case, I’ve had the pleasure of being surrounded by amazing, supportive and all-round badass people for the entirety of my time at Salon 9.
For those of you that don’t know Salon 9 started in Anaheim and then moved to Old Towne Orange and has truly blossomed and become an integral part of the community. From Treats in the Streets to the annual International Street Fair it has all been so rad!
If these walls could talk, they’d tell you that they watched me grow from a young stylist into a mother, a wife and now a seasoned professional. My journey here has been riddled with many highs and some lows, but the one constant has always been Salon 9 and the amazing people that work there. They have been there for me through a divorce, watched by babies grow, watched as I fell in love and became a wife.
My clients are everything! (shout out to my day one’s!) You have all been such an integral part of my growth. We started with basic highlights and root touch ups and we have graduated into balayage, color melts and natural lived in color. It means so much to me that you have always trusted me to take you into new trends and I hope you will all join me in this new chapter.
For the past 5 years my professional growth has surpassed my expectations (in the best way) both through one on one connections in the community and on social media. You have all played such a huge role in this, with your kind reviews on yelp, sharing my content on social media and always sending new clients my way. It is with this growth that I’ve realized that I have outgrown my current space at Salon 9 and have decided to take the plunge. After much deliberation, wrecked nerves, sadness and telling myself “I don’t wanna leave all of my friends!” I’ve decided to give myself a chance to grow even more at a NEW SALON!
Drum roll please…… I will be moving to the One to One Salon under the direction of Savas Kudci and Brian Kudci located in Irvine. Savas has been our color rep for Schwarzkopf professional for the past 7 years. He has a mobile business of buses that travel all around Southern California. They offer color services and tools to salons and stylist. In that time, he became my mentor he connected me with the team at Schwarzkopf Professional. I have recently completed their program to become a ‘Ask Expert’ which means I can now provide color classes at other salons. His partner and brother Brian has been a stylist in Orange County for the past 20 years, together they created the One to One Salon.
One to One Salon is a brand-new sprawling high-end salon located in Irvine off MacArthur with 23 stations. It is a Schwarzkopf Exclusive Salon and all the color and products used will be Schwarzkopf. They will carry products from Orbe and Alterna. One to One believes in providing their stylists with the opportunities to further their education. What does that mean for you? The best and most up to date techniques will be gracing your locks, of course! Myself and my wonderful assistant Taylor will be joining the new family at One to One starting on June 25th 2019! See you there!