Blonde Hair

Hair care is something that I would say takes a priority in my beauty routine/daily life. To say that I’ve put wayyyyyy too much money into my hair to think differently is putting it mildly. I’ve been a platinum blonde since 2017( if you haven’t read my blonde hair post, check it out here), and if I want to keep it that way I have to put some work in. So I’m constantly scouring the market for new products to see what can make my life easier and my hair healthier, and now I can confidently say that I’m in a very good place when it comes to my hair.

Treatments: Olaplex No.3 & Ouai’s Thick Hair Mask

Now there are multiple Olaplex products that have a place in my routine, but the OG No.3 holds a very special place in my heart. I use this product every week when I wash my hair. Of course, No. 3 is a preshower treatment, so while I am in the shower I love using Ouai’s Thick hair mask. All of Ouai’s products smell amazing (this one has Melrose Place, which is the same as the dry shampoo) and this mask is no exception; designed especially for thick hair, it’s a mixture of shea, almond, and olive oils plus keratin. So it’ll leave your hair feeling soft and smooth.

Shampoo & Conditioner: Bumble and Bumble’s Hairdresser’s Oil

This duo is my favorite when it comes to giving my hair hydration but not weighing it down. Cruelty-Free and sulfate-free(so the shampoo isn’t going to suds up), the six oil blend helps to soften and defrizz hair. It’s designed for those of us out here with dry, damaged and brittle hair.

Wet Hair Care: IGK’s Good Behavior Prep Spray & Smoothing Treatment

While you can definitely use the products separately, I feel like I get the best results when I use them together. Both offer heat protection up to 450 degrees and contain Spirulina which helps to smooth, nourish and strengthen the hair. I go in with the prep spray first on my towel dry hair before using a come to detangle and rough drying my hair. After it’s about 85% dry, I section, spray the smoothing treatment and round brush for that smooth, blowout look. All of IGK’s products are vegan, cruelty-free, and formaldehyde-free (which is a big one since I’m allergic), so feel free to use them guilt-free!

Dry Hair Styling: Ouai’s Texture Spray & Drybar’s The Chaser finishing cream

There is a reason that the texture spray from Ouai is a cult classic, if you want beachy-textured waves look no further than this spray. Honestly when I use this spray in my curls, I don’t use any hairspray (it’s kinda like if dry shampoo had a baby). It gives me enough hold and grit that my curls last all day, but if I brush it out, there’s not so much texture that my hair feels unbearably dirty (it’s a fine line I like to walk, lol). Also the scent is great (it’s called North Bondi, and it’s actually available as a perfume and candle on Ouai’s website). To smooth my ends and give them a bit of shine, I’m obsessed with the Chaser from Drybar. The shine actually comes from bits Mica infused in the cream. A little bit goes a long way though, so only use a pump.

And those are some of my favorite hair products. To be completely honest, there are literal baskets full under my sink, and I can probably talk for hours about my favorite dry shampoos (which deserve their own post tbh), these are my ride-or-dies. I know not every product works for everyone the same way, I hope that this can help you on your own hair journey. So that’s the post for this week, make sure to check back in next Friday to see what’s new. All of my socials are linked if you want to give them a follow, and until next week. See you then!

So from the very name of this blog, you can guess my hair color. The thing is though: I’m not a natural blonde. My hair naturally is probably a level 3 or 4 (aka like extremely dark brunette, almost black) and currently I’m a level 12 (platinum). Don’t get me wrong here, I loved my natural hair color, but my white hair has become my calling card in the three years I’ve had it. It tends to be the physical attribute people remember most, the telltale sign my friends look for in a crowd to locate me, and I appreciate that. Getting to this level of blonde wasn’t easy though, and keeping it this way isn’t always a joyride either. So here’s some things to know before going platinum.

1. It’s a Commitment That Takes Time and Money

We’ve all seen the memes or Tik Toks from stylists about clients who walk in with black box dye on their heads that want to be icy white in three hours for under $100, yet there are people that actually expect that. The truth of the matter is that if you want to be this blonde and still have hair on your head, it’s going to take time and it’s going to cost you. When I first started, I would do four hour sessions (since that’s what I could fit in between school and work) that started off as a balayage and we were able to slowly work it up to my roots while keeping most of my length. And since I had thrown box color on my hair, I knew it wouldn’t be a smooth transition, and I literally was probably every color of brassiness imaginable starting off, and in five months we managed to get me to the blonde I wanted. Now that I am, I’m literally back in the chair every six weeks to get my roots down, which is literally about three and a half hours. But more than just the actual coloring itself, you need to also think about hair treatments (deep conditioning, bond repairing, keratin) all of the specialty products you will need to use, these all add up real quick. Can you skip out on them? Sure, but your hair will also look and feel like straw with short bits sticking up everywhere.

2. There’s a lot more to upkeep than just purple shampoo

Most people assume once you go blonde, the only thing you need to stay blonde is purple shampoo, when it couldn’t be more opposite. I wish I was kidding when I say that there are four different shampoo-conditioner combos that I rotate through on the regular. Not only do I use purple shampoo, I also have purple conditioner, a purple toning mask, and leave in purple toning foam (for when I get near desperate towards the end of my hair cycle and there’s literally no toner left but I don’t want brass). However, also because of how damaging the bleaching process is to hair, I also have bleach repairing shampoo, intensive moisture masks, bond repairing treatments for both in the shower and that I leave in. Because I try to make my toner stretch as much as it possibly can, I only wash my hair about once a week, so I am a dry shampoo queen when it comes to that. So there’s a lot more that goes into taking proper care of your blonde shampoo than just running down and grabbing a $4 bottle of shampoo.

3. There’s always a risk

I would say that my hair is pretty healthy considering how many times I’ve bleached it, and a big part of that is the amount of care both my stylist and I put into it, but that wasn’t always the case. At the beginning of my hair journey, I didn’t really know much about keeping hair healthy, and my original stylist didn’t really help me. I suffered from a lot (and I mean a lot) of breakage, to the point that almost the entire bottom layer of my hair ended at the tops of my shoulders. My roots were always underdeveloped, and there was a couple of times I left the salon with dried bleach still in the back of my head. I’m not writing this to shame that stylist, she was fresh out of school when I first started going to her, and in the year I was with her, I saw definite growth in her style of doing hair, just my hair couldn’t have survived much longer there. I knew there was a risk when I first contacted her though and accepted it, and when we were no longer a good fit, my needs had changed and so I moved on. My current stylist has been doing my hair for a year and absolutely kills it, but we also have the relationship that I know if she tells me we need to do something about my hair, I do it because I know it’s in my best interest.

Now, I’m not making this post to tell you to not go blonde. Like I said in the beginning, I love being blonde, and have no future plans to stop anytime soon. What I am saying, is that there is A LOT more than most people think, and if you mess up, it’s something that takes a long time to fix and is going to cost a lot. So maybe instead of looking up tutorials and heading on down to the beauty supply store, put down your body of 40 volume and leave this to the professionals. Thank you so much for tuning in for this post, and I hope you enjoyed and learned something new. All of my socials are linked if you want to give me a follow, and check in next week to see what’s new.