What’s In A Blond?

Let’s talk about being blond! When I was in high school, I let my then-boyfriend bleach my mid back length, dark brown hair (yikes, but I did!) We had zero clue to what we were doing, and it resulted in awesome hot blond roots and a beautiful orange reverse ombre look. Haha I rocked this look for a number of years, and it is forever memorialized in my high school graduation photo (I am a firm believer no one is supposed to have amazing hair in high school). 

I can only imagine Brad Mondo’s face if I had made a video about it…..but it’s a right of passage to look back on photos and grimace at yourself! All these flawless, contoured, perfect hair teens will never know the fun of some sparkly or white eyeliner, blue mascara and lip smackers. Ahahaha When I finally decided to give up my reverse ombre look, and bring it to a consistent blond, it wasn’t easy.  Both for salon care, but also I’ve learned so much over home care too!

There is certainly a major difference in the integrity of hair and it’s all dependent on what is being done to your hair and what you do to keep it healthy. Let’s be real, no one wants straw for hair! Home products are also vitally important for hair health.  What you use (or what you don’t use) can have such a big impact on this!

Who knew, it’s so much more than slapping on some bleach and hoping for the best….whaaat?? (again, refer to my photo above!)

There are so many factors to consider when deciding to go blonder; your hair and it’s integrity, previous colour in your hair, your preference for future upkeep (like, if you do not want to be sitting your butt in your stylists chair every three weeks, going from a level 3 dark brown to a level 10 all over may not be the best route to take).  The best thing about this choice is being able to make it along with your stylist; they’re there to guide you by consulting with you about all these things to ensure that you are choosing the options that fit your lifestyle and your budget. Also keeping in mind, that SnapChat and Instagram photos can be so heavily filtered it makes it pretty difficult to actually achieve certain “blondness” in real life without some real time and investment. (For example, look up Khloe or Kim Kardashian’s transition to blond and you’ll note some not so great interim colours during their transition. It’s also worth noting that they have seemingly unlimited time and money to go through this quicker, but a good blonding mantra “go low and slow” is one many follow for good reason!)

I almost feel like there are infinite possibilities for how to approach going blonder. For me, once I was blond, I wanted to be BLOND and I HATED root regrowth. It made me feel “old” (weird because I had like no grey, it was just dark roots) and I loathed the idea.  Shadow roots, balayage, highlights, they’re all so beautiful- but when it came to MY preference, not for me.

And then….the pandemic hit. And it forced a whole lotta people to live with a whole lotta regrowth. When we were shut down, we were shut down. There was no secret working, even on each others hair. And I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t stand the root and so I dyed my entire head purple during that first shut down (and I used professional salon products).

It helped, I could see the dark less, but when we reopened and I wanted to be blond again…..well…..it was 11 hours of time spanning over a couple days to remove what I did, maintain the integrity of my hair and get me blond again. Ooops! (Seriously don’t recommend doing your own hair colour….)

Toning is a big deal. And you definitely do not want to skip this! It truly can change the entire outcome and overall look of your hair. There really is a science that our stylist have to think and formulate and decide what is the best route for what their client is looking for.

So, if you’ve been blond, you know it’s a progression.  A progression of not only looks, but also an internal progression of what your blond goals are! For me, the pandemic taught me many valuable lessons, one of which was, root growth, shadow roots, well….they simply are a lived in growth, and maintain the look longer than blond root to end. 

So now here I am, embracing my lived in, shadow root blond and continuously learning how to keep my hair healthy, maintain it’s integrity, while still satisfying my inner blond.

If you’re looking at going blonder, blond, icy, cool, platinum, warm….or a variation of adding in blond, the consultation with your stylist is so important. Discussing your goals, your investment into time and money, how often you want to have to be doing touch ups, and having photos to help express your desires is so important. And it’s just as important to listen to the information your stylist also gives you about if and how they can get you to your desired goals. Happy blonding!