Brassy Hair After Bleaching – How to Prevent it

If you have naturally dark hair and are in the process of transitioning to blonde, you know the struggle of keeping your fresh blonde locks from turning orange after just a few of washes. My natural hair color is extremely dark black and while I love it, every once in a while I like to switch it up. I have changed my hair color so many times over the years but have found that maintaining blonde locks to be the most difficult. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve started a journey to blonde hair only to get discouraged and end up quitting have way down the road. Going from dark hair to blonde is a process that requires time, patience and money… lots of money! If you have crossed to blonde side, I’m going to share with the (not so) secret product that has helped me my maintain and protect my investment.

What is Brassiness?

Brassiness is an unwanted warm tone color that typically happens after permanently dying your hair, particularly after bleaching (think gold, copper, orange and even red tones). Other causes of brassiness are chlorine from pool water and direct sunlight which can strip your hair and make it appear dull. While it can be difficult to avoid pools and the sun in the summer, you may want to use a swim cap and wear a hat if you’ll be in the sun for long periods of time. Whether you’re going for full on blonde hair or babylights, you’ll want to keep reading.

The (not so) Secret Product

In the past when I would express my grievances to my stylist about brassiness, they would recommend I come in for toning in between coloring sessions. The thought of adding another treatment or paying more to sit in the salon chair was always a turn off to me. Using a purple or blue shampoo is no secret when it comes to maintaining those blonde tresses, but I have discovered the best and ONLY shampoo you will ever need to keep your hair from turning orange. I have tried plenty of purple shampoos but have never gotten long lasting and real results, until now. Fanola No Orange Shampoo! This is a blue pigment shampoo that neutralizes orange, copper and red tones without drying out your hair. This shampoo has been a complete game changer for me. I can go so much longer without needing to bleach or tone my hair and swear by this product!

How to Use

Purple and blue shampoos are very concentrated, so I typically mix a half pump of my conditioner with one pump (ore more if you have longer hair) of the Fanola No Orange shampoo and leave it on my hair for about 5-7 minutes before rinsing. I wash my hair this way about twice a week and still use conditioner afterwards. Because bleaching is already damaging to hair, I also use a hair mask about every week to ten days. My stylist Diana recently recommended It’s a Ten Miracle Clay Mask for Blondes and it’s really helped to keep my hair feeling healthier and shiny while maintaining the ashy color I desire for the blonde in my hair.

Keeping it Healthy

• Use a hair mask or deep conditioner weekly
• Cut back on hot styling tools
• Use sulfate free hair products
• Avoid direct sunlight and chlorine
• Invest in a water filtering system

How do you take care of your blonde hair?

Feature image photo credit, Instagram: @tangledupwithdiana