So, you want to go blonde with your one-hour appointment, previously coloured hair and supermarket bought products at home. This situation is all too common for us colourists and that’s why its time to dish out some real talk.
Truth #1: Your Appointment Might Take 3+ Hours Reality is, it can take up to 50 minutes for hair to lift to the shade you want and love. That’s an entire hour of your appointment that you’re just hanging out with us girls in salon, (lucky we have such great personalities hey)
Here’s why it’s worth it: Taking a transformation step by step with the proper processing times can help prevent your hair from lifting to a dark yellow or uneven tones that can’t be fixed as easy as a toner or purple shampoo
Truth #2: Your Stylist Will Know If You Used Box Dye- Just admit it! Bleach doesn’t lie! What happens when a client comes in with box dye and the stylist begins lightening, the truth comes out. Please let your colourist know a detailed hair history of colour, products, type of water you shampoo your hair with and medications. Medication itself takes a massive toll on your body and your hair.
Truth #3: Curly girls, This One’s For You! Let’s talk about highlighting curls. Here’s a quick breakdown of what curly girls should take into consideration when requesting bright highlights on naturally curly hair.
· Protecting The Curl Pattern: Your curls need to be healthy enough to lighten, so you don’t disrupt the curl pattern. Lifting too aggressively without a solid plan can result in a loss of curl pattern or damage.
· Trust Your Colourist. Just because your hair has heat or colour damage, doesn’t mean you can never try bright highlights, but wait until your hair isn’t too overly compromised. Be open to your colourist’s game plan and patient with the process to reach your dream hair.
Truth #4: You Need To Maintain Your Colour At Home You leave the salon digging your fresh colour, but a few weeks later it’s feeling brassy, coarse and dull, this isn’t uncommon. Colour maintenance is KEY. At Ataraxia we STRONGLY recommend home hair care. “Using Lakme Teknia Colour save shampoo/treatment and having your stylist create a Fab Pro Custom take home conditioner will help to lock in colour, and keep hair refreshed, Kinda like having insurance for your hair” advises Lauren Pender, Manager and Senior Stylist at Ataraxia “Following the at home maintenance routine provided by your stylist and using the salon products recommended is key” adds Emerging Stylist Liz Hensby
For clients with curly and textured hair, it’s also important to add protein and moisture although you must ensure they are used correctly.
“The Evo Curl Range, keeps hair moisturised and enhances a frizz free curl, naturally curly hair is one of the hardest to take care of” says Sarah Woodger “Focus on the little things, like using bobble hair ties instead of elastics, silk pillowcases at night time and if you’re suffering from dry hair, try adding an oil into your routine like Lakme Deep Care or Olaplex no7 every 2-3 days” recommends Lauren Wheatley senior stylist at Ataraxia
Truth #5 Starting Point: Your results will be based on YOUR starting point. How your hair will lift depends on what you already have going on with your hair if you already have colour or if you don’t these factors play a massive part in what we like to call ‘achievable results’
