How to maintain platinum & bleached blonde hair

A hair colour change is the perfect foundation for a drastic makeover or reinvention; and if you’re going use hair colour as a statement, going platinum blonde – or near to it – is certainly a striking way to do it. Looking at the key hair trends for 2013 and beyond, bleached blonde in it’s lightest incarnations sits high on the list, partly thanks to its 1960s Factory Girl connotations.

So if you’re thinking of taking the plunge into bleached territory, the next question is of course how to maintain bleached blonde hair? From caring for your hair to making colour last longer, our tips after the break.

First and foremost, if you’re dying your hair blonde for the first time – or daring to go a much lighter shade – do head to a salon and see a colour specialist. They’ll be able to assess the condition of your hair and give you personalised advice. We spoke to colourist Ricky Thompson for Tommy Guns, London, for the best tips on caring for blonde.

How to care for platinum blonde hair.

Use a protein-based shampoo.

Along with just cleaning the hair, a protein-based shampoo is meant to also rebuild and repair it. Ricky’s suggests trying Kerastase Intensive Nutrition Shampoo or Redken Extreme Protein Shampoo.

Alternate with a toning shampoo.

You’ll notice that, with time, platinum blonde died hair starts to turn brassy. A toning shampoo (usually purple in colour) subdues the natural warmth that your blonde hair will fade to, and will help keep it’s cool colour. Don’t use it every time: just with every second wash. Some options: John Frieda’s Sheer Blonde Tone Shampoo, Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo (10.1 oz.)

Condition.

Conditioning is imperative to keeping bleached hair in good health. Always condition after every wash – use a penetrating conditioner, not a surface one – and apply a deep conditioning treatment once a week. Ricky recommends trying Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave-in Treatment or one of Shu Uemura’s Treatment Masques.

Trim regularly.

Get rid of dry, dead ends by having regular trims. This is more necessary than ever once hair has been bleached, since it’s more likely to become damaged.

Protect from the sun.

Bleached hair is liable to dry out, so be careful when spending extended periods of time in the sun. Cover up with a hat or headscarf when sunning outdoors to protect the hair and prevent it from drying out in the heat and UV rays.

Vary up your colour.

Going a drastic shade of blonde doesn’t mean you necessarily have to go all out with every salon visit. Extend the health of your hair by going platinum (or whatever very blonde colour you choose) every couple of visits, opting for a warmer, darker shade of blonde in between. You can do this with foils and a toner at the roots for a milder level of bleach, or by using a vegetable die in between colours to mix it up and give hair time to recover before you bleach it again.

Elena Perminova rocks bright blonde hair.

Source : fashionising[dot]com