Beauty

8 things you need to know when going from dark to blonde

It's that time again: I want something different with my hair. I've been high blonde for about a year now and I'm starting to get bored. I have the habit that when I want something, it should preferably happen yesterday instead of tomorrow, so I immediately called Bryan and Justin from my regular place in Amsterdam for my hair: BRUSH Hair + Make-Up. After a number of completely failed hairstyles in other salons, I trust no one else with my hair.

Good news: both men immediately thought along with me. In fact, Bryan came up with a photo that made me think: this is exactly what I had in mind. More towards my own hair color (dark blonde), with highlights. Disadvantage: what if I want to go high blonde again afterwards? I once thought in a distant past that I could go from dyed black to strawberry blonde and the result was orange, green, and white. Not good. So that's why I asked the hair gods, namely Bryan and Justin: what should you pay attention to when going from dark to blonde?

1. Don't do it yourself
Okay, touché, I made that mistake right away. Really get advice from a specialist. They can assess whether the color you have in mind is even achievable and/or whether it will suit you.

2. Step by step
Again, I made the mistake here: going from black to blonde is not possible. It never goes well. So if you want to go from dark to blonde, you really need to take your time. Don't assume that you'll be done with one visit to the hairdresser. The number of visits depends on your hair color, structure, and those kinds of factors.

3. First do a short test, HAHA.
I've always skipped this, but doing a bleach test is really handy and often just necessary. By seeing how much your hair lightens, it can be better predicted how many treatments are needed for your desired result.

4. Don't be shocked by orange or yellow
Okay, so far I've been guilty of everything on this list because I completely panicked when I saw these colors. That doesn't have to be the case: the warm pigments in your hair come out stronger, which can indeed make it yellow or orange. The solution: a toner.

5. Aftercare is very important
Even when you leave the hairdresser with a completely new color, you need to keep caring for it, for example by using a protein mask every week. Believe me: your hair will be happy about this.

6. Just dyeing = a no go
Just slapping the dye in and rinsing it out is really outdated. No, we now add a Bond treatment. A what? This is a product that is added to the color. Bleaching is not necessarily great for your hair and this treatment minimizes the damage.

7. Is it turning yellow again? Silver shampoo is the way to go
Yes, I've always followed this tip. A bit too much though, so it turned a bit purple. That wasn't exactly what I wanted: use silver shampoo once a week for optimal results. Check out the very best here.

8. Don't jump in the shower right away
I don't understand why you would want to do this anyway, because I always think my hair smells so nice after I've been to Bryan and Justin, but apparently some people do. Don't do it: wait at least 48 hours before washing your hair, otherwise you risk that the toner doesn't come out as intended or that it doesn't last long.