In hairdresser speak my hair is naturally a level two or three, which in layman’s terms means almost black. I basically came in asking for every hairstylist’s nightmare, a dark-haired person requesting to leave the salon with their hair lifted to Kim Kardashian/Draco Malfoy blonde.
Check out my Pinterest board to see my inspiration for my hair.
It took me almost a whole year to get my hair to the colour that I wanted and the maintenance to keep it from getting brassy is intense. Ideally, I like to keep my hair in the realm of a grey-ish blond, so it effectively masks my greys (yes I have greys) and it doesn’t wash my complexion out too much which can be a struggle.
As a mixed-race person, my hair is strong and thick but at the same time, it is also very fine and coarse. It can handle quite a bit of bleaching, but even without colouring it, I never really have overly silky or shiny hair. In the summers especially my hair is begging for moisture, so I have to stick to a good routine so it doesn’t look too fried, especially since I heat style my hair almost every day.
What I Ask For When I Get My Hair Done
When I got to the salon, I usually get balayage with foils and a drop root. The drop root and the balayage gives my hair a beachy sun-kissed look so it grows out a little bit nicer allowing me some breathing room between treatments.
How I Maintain My Colour
Every bottle blonde will tell you that the key to stopping your hair from getting brassy is to use purple shampoo. I try to only wash my hair once or twice a week. My go-to purple shampoo is by Amika. I like it because it is cruelty-free and not as harsh as other purple shampoos that I have tried.
I then follow it up with a deep conditioner. Since I only wash my hair once a week, I want to make sure my hair gets some intense conditioning. If I have the time, I will leave my deep conditioner in overnight and wash it out in the morning.
Monthly Maintenance
Probably once a month or so I do my own at home toner. I use Wella T14 and mix it with two parts 20 volume developer. To avoid getting hot roots, I start with my ends and then follow up with my roots for the last 10 – 15 minutes. I leave it on for a total of 30 minutes. This usually allows me to maintain my colour so I can space out my salon.
My Daily Maintenance Routine
Getting Ready
When I start to get major regrowth, I use a grey coverage root touch up powder to soften the harsh line from brown to blonde. I usually buy the lightest blond and use it as a dry shampoo almost.
Before I heat style my hair I use a heat protector on the ends. Once I am done styling my hair, I spray some hair spray on my brush and then brush it through my hair for a little bit of hold and end with hair serum.
Before Bed Routine
Before bed every night, I will run a teaspoon of coconut oil through the ends of my hair and put it in a loose braid. Since my hair is naturally wavy, I never used to brush my hair but I read that brushing your hair actually help get all the natural oils from your scalp to the ends of your hair, so now I brush my hair every night before bed.
I usually try to use elastics that are gentle on my hair, like scrunchies or plastic spiral hair ties.
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