Hair Care Adventures: How I Keep My Bleached Bronde Hair Healthy
To say that my hair has been through a lot in the past 16 months would be an understatement. Last year around May, for the first time in my entire life, I bit the bullet and decided to finally dye my hair. Here' s the thing, I've always been known for my shiny jet-black hair, but somehow after years of resisting, my desire to change up my hair color won over and I decided to finally get it done. To top it off, not only did I get my hair dyed another color, I made sure that the color I got was quite bright which required multiple rounds of lightening. Initially, I thought it was just a phase that'll last a few months, and I’ll change my mind and dye my hair back to black soon enough, but here I am one year later still trying to maintain my color-treated hair and still hesitant to go back to black.
Within a season, I bleached and colored my hair to a lilac-silver color, then an electric purple hair two months after that, and then lastly to a very cool blonde ombre which I’ve now been maintaining for a year. To get my hair to these colors, my hair had to be bleached 3 times and went through a lot of chemical processes; to say it was very damaging to my once healthy black hair would be an understatement.
This is currently how my hair looks! It’s a bit more ashy in person right after toning, but fades into this creamy blonde after a few weeks. I’m in love with how well my ombre balayage blended out! This was done by the lovely Dijana who is a hair sorceress! Find her on Instagram as @dijloveshair and be amazed at how well she does ombre blends!
To top it off in the beginning, aside from using a recommended shampoo and conditioner and masking my hair, I pretty much treated my hair like I did before I got it lightened — when it was still untouched and unprocessed! Crazy, I know! I clearly underestimated how much more care my hair required now that it’s lighter and quite damaged from all of the lightening and color processing. No, my hair wasn't damaged to the point that it wasn't salvageable anymore, but it was damaged enough that I felt how brittle and dry my hair was. Gone were the days where I can just run my fingers through my hair without getting caught in a single tangled section. After all the chemical process my hair felt like hay — very rough, tangly and dry. Because of that rough realization (pun intended, HA!), keeping my hair hydrated and looking healthy became priority number one and the search for the best hair reviving products for my damaged hair was on. Shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, hair oils, serums, protectants, stylers, bonders — you name it, I've tried it; all in the name of keeping my hair healthy while staying a half-blonde!
Below are a few the products I’ve tried and a few things I’ve done to help keep my hair as soft and healthy as possible:
Deep Conditioner/Hair Masks - Keeping my hair well conditioned and hydrated has been key to making sure my hair is soft and healthy. I always make sure I stay on top of masking my hair and do this at least twice every week. I’ve been using Briogeo’s Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask and Macadamia’s Deep Repair Mask. Sometimes when I have time, I try to apply Olapex Bond Perfector No. 3 or Kopari’s Coconut Melt to my bleached ends, put it in a bun or braid, and let it sit for my hair for at least an hour or overnight before rinsing it out with a clarifying shampoo in the shower.
Afterwash hair serums and oils - Making sure that I properly put serums after washing my hair has made such a difference in the way my hair looks and feels, especially in terms of preventing split ends from happening or showing. I use CHI Silk Infusion and GK Hair Taming System Serum on my ends and work them into my hair while it’s still damp before combing it with a wide tooth comb.
Bedtime Haircare Routine - I’ve recently developed an easy bedtime routine so that my hair is not tangly and dry looking the next day. First, I make sure to brush my hair with a tangle teaser, and then I apply a leave in conditioner and work it in my hair, I either use the GK Hair Taming System Leave-In Conditioning Cream or the Alterna Caviar CC Cream Hair Perfector. I then take a boar-bristled hair brush and brush through my hair again to really work through and spread the product to my hair. By doing this, my hair isn’t a tangly dry mess the next day, especially if I’m not washing my hair that day and I don’t have to spend a long time in the morning detangling my hair again. The best part about this mini routine? It makes my hair feel sooo soft and look shiny!
Olaplex - This my friends may be the unicorn product of most people who have lightened their hair. There are multiple ways to get an Olaplex treatment, one is during your salon lightening/coloring session or as a separate treatment add-on, which can also be done at home. The idea is that this treatment will help heal and repair broken bonds in your hair that occur when you are lightening or using developer on your hair when color-treating it. As a result, the treatment gives you healthier looking and feeling hair and it is healthy both inside and out. Not only do I make sure to get this treatment when I’m getting my hair touched up, but I also do it as an at home treatment at least every 2-3 weeks. My friend who’s a licensed esthetician bought me an Olaplex Bond Perfector set, but you can buy this from Amazon too. Here is the instruction on how to do an Olaplex treatment.
Brushing - My hair gets tangly throughout the day, so brushing my hair is something I’ve done more often recently. Before, I used to just brush my hair out with a tangle teaser in the morning and didn’t really pay attention to what brush I use for my hair. I may sometimes comb my hair in the middle of the day, but really I didn’t do much combing/brushing, unless I was styling my hair, because my hair didn’t really need it. Recently, however, I’ve been loving brushes that have boar bristles in them. The one I’m using is by Umberto by Beverly Hills, but I’ve bought it years ago from Target and I’m not sure if they still make it. I think most boar-bristled brush will work; I found a few on Ulta and of course, there’s also Mason Pearson, although a very pricey alternative. Aside from brushing my hair mornings and night, I also carry a small boar-bristle brush I got from Sephora in my bag now to brush my hair in the middle of the day or if I’m using the washroom and notice the need for it.
Dry Shampoo and Cleansing Conditioners - Before I dyed my hair, I tend to wash it everyday because my roots got really oily and I was working out a lot anyway. But since washing your hair can dry it out even more, I was being mindful about not washing my hair as often. For weekdays, where I usually workout then shower almost everyday, I opted to only shampoo my roots and then use cleansing conditioners towards my ends(lightened parts). Using a cleansing conditioner not only ensures that your hair is being cleaned but also that it isn’t getting dried out as you are washing it. I also still use a conditioner after shampooing my hair. The cleansing conditioner I’ve been using is Drybar’s Cleansing Conditioner which does a really good job of making my hair feel clean without drying it out. On the mornings when I haven’t workout yet, I use dry shampoo to help absorb the oil and refresh my roots. I have very oily hair and can usually go through a can of dry shampoo in a month or two depending on how often I use it (usually around 3-4 times a week). I’ve gone through a few that are really good, but quite pricey to keep up on a (bi)monthly basis. Finally about 3 months ago, I decided to try the Batiste Dry Shampoo in the Fresh sent which was the perfect dry shampoo for me! It is very good at absorbing the oiliness of my hair, smelled really light and fresh and came in a large can (13.5 oz.) for only $14. To put it in perspective, most dry shampoos in the market that worked well for me have about 3-4oz of product and cost $15-$25. I am so glad I found Batiste because I love how well it works and its pricepoint so much more!
Shampoo and Conditioner - I wanted to talk about shampoo and conditioner last because I really love the ones I use, but gosh are they so expensive! There are two shampoo and conditioner sets that I use. First, my sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner set for maintaining my hair healthy, which is the Pureology Nano Works Gold. It is sulfate-free and best for rebuilding and protecting color-treated hair. My second set of shampoo and conditioner are the purple ones that helps tone and remove brassiness from my blonde ends. I despise the look of brassy hair on me and I find that I tend to use this set when I’m closer to needing another toning session, because I’m also trying to prolong the periods between my toner touch-ups. I found that the best purple shampoo and conditioner is Drybar’s Blonde Ale line as I really see a significant difference with how well it neutralizes my brassy hair.
As you can see there’s quite a bit that I do to really take care of my hair. Yes, going blonde/bronde is definitely high-maintenance, but to me it is worth it! It’s also important to keep in mind that I didn’t start doing all of these in a day. This was a routine I’ve built over time, that required some observation, trial and error. Your hair needs will be different from mine, so some products/tips may not be as helpful and feel free to pick and choose which tips of mine you want to incorporate in your haircare routine. What are you favorite hair products to keep your hair looking healthy and shiny? Let me know of any tips or product recommendations in the comments — I am always open to suggestions!
