Blonde hair is fabulous. Obviously. But have you considered everything you need to know before you ask your stylist to apply bleach?
So you want to go blonde – who can blame you? With so many variations of lightness and brightness and techniques ranging from all over highlights to balayages and subtle ombres – the choices really are endless. But before you make that salon appointment, make sure you pop in for a free consultation as it gives stylists time to assess your hair and let you know what you can and shouldn’t expect from your first blonde service. In fact, to help you out, we’ve detailed below everything you need to consider before you embark on your blonde colour journey.
1. Have realistic expectations: going blonde is a journey
There’s a lot of noise out there about how you can go from having very dark hair to blonde – but here are the facts. If your hair is very dark, it’s not going to transform into a platinum blonde in one sitting – it’s just not a thing – sorry! The world of hair colouring has come a long way in recent years, sure, but without risking the integrity of the hair, it’s simply not possible to make this sort of transformation in one appointment – despite the fantasy illusion created by celebrity pics on social media. And it’s not due to a lack of stylist expertise or a weakness in the colour formula, it’s actually down to simple chemistry (well, simple for colourists anyway!).
Everyone’s hair is different – even if you have the same natural colour as your friend, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will lighten in the same way. Hair will only lighten as light as it will go, and no good stylist will push processed hair past its limits. Magic can sometimes happen where the blonde shade turns out surprisingly lighter than expected – but going in with that expectation is a no-no – or you’ll seriously risk disappointment!
We put together a handy little guide on how colour works and some of the chemistry behind it, so give it a read if you want to learn a little more about the process of colouring hair.
2. Without proper care your blonde hair will become drier and yellow toned
Advances made in hair treatments and colouring services over the years have made it a little easier to safely push the limits of hair colouring. But that’s not to say that bleach doesn’t damage the hair, it still does – but there are treatments available to curb the more severe affects you can sometimes find yourself lumbered with after intense bleaching.
Thanks to treatments like TIGI Copyright’s SOS, hair can be cleaner, stronger and more protected against chemical aggressors that you find in bleach and colour formulas, making it the perfect starting canvas for salon professional bleach. As well as booking in for treatments, before, after and during your colour service, our stylists strongly recommend salon professional hair products to help maintain your colour at home and keep those brassy yellow tones at bay. Blonde hair requires upkeep, and there are lots of hair products out there on the market that are simply not up to par when compared to salon quality formulas – so ask your stylist to recommend the best salon products for your hair type and shade of blonde.
3. Be honest about your budget
Knowing the blonde shade you want and understanding the price of your transformation is important. The lighter you plan on going, the longer you’ll have to spend in the salon, usually with repeated trips to the wash basin and back to the salon chair. As we’ve already mentioned, taking your hair from dark to light is a process, and your end goal won’t necessarily be met in the first colour service, so it really depends on how willing you are to take your hair lighter in stages.
The more patient and realistic your expectations are, the more you’ll be able to spread the cost of going lighter. But, if you’re looking to go as light as possible as quickly as possible, be prepared for the cost associated with it – as it’s likely you’ll need to spend quite a few hours in the salon at any one time, as well as repeat appointments just as you would if you were lightening in stages.
Either way however, you’ll probably be relieved to know that a good chunk of time will be spent on ensuring your hair is not getting fried, and so your stylist will regularly check sections of your hair and apply an appropriate treatment at the end (or beforehand) to ensure your hair remains in its best condition possible. Essentially, your stylist’s job is to ensure you’re well on your path to achieving lighter hair, but rather importantly it’s also to ensure your hair is being looked after and that you leave the salon with soft and shiny hair.
So, if you have a budget in mind for your transformation, have an honest conversation with your stylist and they will be able to work on a colour journey that suits your need – and your budget. Going blonde is definitely worth the £££s, but we don’t recommend going broke over it! Look after your pennies, and our stylists will look after you.
4. Consider making changes to your wardrobe and make-up
Ok, so when it comes to budget, we probably should’ve mentioned that taking your hair lighter could also mean that you need to spend a lil money on getting some new clothes… and make up. Some find that lighter hair doesn’t quite match up with their current style, so be honest with your stylist about this during your consultation. If you don’t plan on switching up your favourite colours in your wardrobe or make up, your stylist will be able to find a tone of blonde that will match your current style – meaning you won’t need to start wish-listing your asos order just yet, unless you want to of course…
5. Consider your hair haircut in advance
If you’re planning on taking your hair shorter, particularly if you want to cut off any split ends or damaged sections to give your blonde a healthy canvas, your stylist may decide to cut your hair before your colour service. Otherwise, if you’ve gone for highlights or a balayage or an ombre of sorts, you run the risk of cutting off lightened sections of hair – which would be terribly annoying, for you *and* the stylist who’s probably spent hours getting the shade you want!
So, to avoid disasters like cutting off lightened sections of hair you most definitely want to keep in your overall look, make your stylist aware of any fringes and inches you want cut off *beforehand* – leaving the rest up to your stylist. Knowing the type of haircut you’re after will also help inform your stylist’s choice of colour placement and technique, particularly when taking fringes and layers into consideration.
Final word
So, there you have it – the things you need to consider before you go blonde, but above all, don’t consider a DIY job! There are so many things that can go wrong with at home dye jobs, aside from mis-application, box dyes simply don’t deliver the results you can achieve in salon – which are unparalleled. Let us prove there’s no colour like a salon colour.
