What Happens to Your Hair When You Go Blonde?

There’s something about the summer that makes everything feel a bit lighter. As the sun comes out and the weather warms up many of us feel tempted to go blonde. While there is something be said for changing up your look to match the feel of the season, going blonde is not without consequences.

Depending on what color you are coming from, making the leap to blonde can cause changes in your hair’s overall health. The severity of those changes depends mostly on how light you go and how quickly.

Leveling Up

When it comes to hair color, it’s all about the level. Professional colorists refer to hair color based on a level system that starts by indicating how light or dark a color is. The scale ranges from 1-10 with 10 being the absolute lightest, platinum blonde and 1 being black. Anytime you are moving more than two levels from your current hair color, it is considered a dramatic change.

In order to change the color of your hair, its internal molecular structure will be affected. Typically, this means causing damage. Since in order to lighten hair, you need to remove pigment, this is especially true for dramatic hair color transformations that move from dark to light. Dramatic sudden changes can result in hair becoming weaker, more brittle and prone to breakage if proper care isn’t taken to protect the hair.

Before You Go Blonde

The first thing to wrap your head around before you go blonde is that this is something best left in the hands of a professional. No matter how easy it looks on YouTube or Instagram, lightening hair is incredibly complicated, difficult, and potentially dangerous. It is very possible to irreversibly damage your hair if you attempt a DIY blonding job.

That being said, it’s best to book a consultation with your stylist, and let them know what you are looking for. Have them assess your hair’s health and together you can come up with a plan to achieve your desired look, without compromising the integrity of your hair.

Going blonde is a big commitment, of both time and money, as the upkeep for dramatic light looks is much more involved. It’s best to have your stylist involved from the very beginning, so that you both know what to expect.

Blonde After Care

Your hair care routine will likely change, as a result of going blonde. You will want to be sure to incorporate the right care products into your routine to help restore your hair’s health and minimize the likelihood of brass.

Your hair will most likely need a LOT of TLC following a dramatic blonde process. While it’s best to consult with your colorist on the right aftercare products for your hair, it’s safe to say that you will want to incorporate a lot of moisturizing products along with regular protein treatments, to restore and maintain the integrity of your hair structure.

Lastly, you’ll want to be sure that you are doing everything you can to minimize brass. Unwanted yellow and orange tones in newly lightened hair are the number one complaint amongst blonding clients. These tones can be caused by impurities in water and even just form naturally occurring undertones in the hair Using a purple-tinted shampoo and conditioner can help to minimizes brassy tones, in-between salon appointments.