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 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!