It’s now been over 3 years as a platinum blonde, and honestly, I am quite surprised I’m still going. What started as a premeditated plan to finally knock Gwen Stefani’s hair off the bucket list, eventually took over as my new signature look. I’ve wanted bleach blonde hair ever since I was a kid. I find it a wildly fun aesthetic that can be both edgy and classic; depending on my outfit mood at the moment, of course.
However, it’s no secret that it’s also one of the most damaging hair trends out there. In fact, that was the reason it took until my mid-thirties to find a stylist brave enough to tackle the job. However, I’m gonna let you in on a very unpopular opinion: you CAN keep it going. As long as you want, if you care for it responsibly. Here’s exactly how to take care of bleached hair, and keep it healthy forever.
How To Take Care of Bleached Hair (The Right Way)
As a beauty client, I am like that nerdy, inquisitive kid in your middle school class that asks a million deeper questions in science class. I guess not much has changed since my elementary days: hi, yeah, that kid was me. If you’re not learning, what’s the point? I want to know everything: how I can best care for my hair, skin, you name it. It’s why I founded this site: so I can share the science of results with you. Results are in the details, and I want to learn it all from my hair/skin professionals.
So let’s get to it, shall we? Bleaching your hair requires great responsibility. It’s not for the faint of heart, and those who don’t take it seriously every day will end up with major damage. You’ve gotta really love it to not get lazy with it. The second major point? Make sure you go to a seasoned stylist that knows the calculus of bleaching. Never let them bleach over highlighted hair/color corrections. Wait it out, or risk breakage. I did at first (more on that later in this article). The most important part? You also need to be getting haircuts regularly. My stylist does a trim after every color. We kept trimming my damaged ends (balayage color correction remnants) until they were gone. It’s why I kept it in a bob for a year before letting it grow. That’s it for the scary part: let’s get to the fun part.
Purple Shampoo Is Your Best Friend (Some of the Time)
Some of the time is right. In order to preserve the tone of your hair from the salon, wait about a week before using a purple shampoo or conditioner. My hair may look like dog sh*t a week later from workouts etc, but hey, it’s healthy. Don’t worry, you can begin washing more regularly after that. If you want. According to my stylist, you really only need it every other week. I personally enjoy purple toning drops, as many brands of purple shampoos/conditioners can dry hair out. Additionally, it allows you to cater purple toning to products that work best for your hair. Prefer Olaplex? Add toning drops to it. Prefer Prose/Ouai? Same deal. The purple world is your oyster! These are my favorite products.
Alternate Between Bond Building/Moisturizing Shampoos/Conditioners
My top tip from my stylist is to look for products with bond-building properties. Your hair needs to repair and rebuild the protein bonds to keep it from breaking off. Enter Olaplex. It’s truly one of the best on the market, and when you alternate it with a moisturizing shampoo, it’s less of a price suck. Fun fact: it’s also bad to overdose on just Olaplex. You need moisturizing/hydrating products to balance it out.
Additionally, did you know if your stylist isn’t using the Olaplex 1-2 in the salon, you’re just wasting your money on the rest of the system? Yep. The salon-grade Olaplex deposits fake proteins into your hair. The shampoo/conditioner/etc is meant to supplement them. Therefore, if they never existed in the first place, it’s doing nothing, so save your money and go with another bond-building brand instead. I prefer Living Proof Restore for excellent results.
Next up, you need to balance bond-building with moisture. Why? Even as someone with insanely oily roots, I need a moisture boost to maintain my hair’s texture and preserve its integrity. This can explain why your hair is frizzy or dry even after using all 8 steps of the Olaplex system or countless hair masks. I wash my hair 2 times a week max, so I alternate accordingly. If you go days and workouts without washing it, it’s okay to do a double shampoo. Use this clarifying shampoo right before your other shampoo. It’s the only one that doesn’t strip my fine, bleached hair. These are the only products I trust for my hair, and I’ve gotta say, it’s working.
Invest In Treatments & The Right Supplements
I can’t stress this one enough. These two factors are the main reasons I can keep bleaching my hair every 3 months. I went into BTS detail on my hair growth journey on TikTok below to show you exactly how powerful this combo is:
@hauteunofficialTHESE are the holy grails of platinum hair care ⚡️##k18results ##k18hair ##wellbel ##platinumblonde ##bleachedhair ##blondehairhack ##hairtiktok ##blondegirl♬ Juless Edits – Shou
My latest addition to my bleached hair care routine is the very pricey K18 Leave-in Treatment. Yes, it’s $75, and I’ll explain why it’s worth every penny. Consider it the miracle product that repairs your hair on a molecular level. Similar to bond building, it goes even deeper into the hair to repair damaged keratin chains. Remember when I said I had breakage? Here’s the rest of the story. I had a piece on my crown break off during a root touch-up. Not my stylist’s fault, but an issue of my own doing. My hair was color corrected prior to bleaching, and it could never really hit its growth stride. Until I started using K18 weekly. It’s now happily growing and blended in 6 months later. Now, I use it once every 2 weeks and use a repairing or moisturizing hair mask on alternate weeks.
Choosing the right supplement is crucial for hair growth. You’ve likely also seen many people complain about their hair not growing after years of bleaching. It has to do with the supplements you take. I owe my hair length and health to Wellbel. Specifically formulated to solve the issue of growth and thickness, it’s like a fast forward button to long hair. Seriously. My hair is stronger and grows 3 months in length in 1.5 months. It’s fucking magic. I did a deep dive on the science behind it with their resident MD on Instagram and had him answer questions on all the important things you need to know on hair growth supplements. Reach out to them on social media and they’ll give you a 15% discount on your first bottle!
Always Let Your Hair Air Dry 90% Then Style
Less heat styling goes without saying. Post K18, I always start with a heat protectant and styling mist or cream. Many can be very heavy for fine hair: the ones linked below are the ones I love most that leave your hair bouncy and sleek. I’ve been using the Revlon dryer brush, and love it. These types of dryers can be damaging, but only if you’re holding it in one spot to get the curl locked in. Only use it on low heat, and maybe a zap on high if you have courser hair. I hardly ever use a flat iron or curler anymore, but if I do, they are GHD (for flat irons: I’ve had this brand for 10 years), and T3 for a hairdryer.
Oil/Serum is Mandatory
If you are not adding oil post blowout, your hair is in danger of damage. You don’t need a lot either. I’ve been loving my Olaplex 7 for the past 6 months, and while tiny, it will likely last years. I haven’t even made a dent in mine, and I use it after every blowout. For extra credit, oils actually work better chemically speaking when paired with a treatment like Olaplex 3, or mask. I add the oil to that on occasion, especially right after a root touchup (7 days out). It’s also important to have a serum as a treatment. I personally love the Living Proof Triple Bond Complex, as it makes a solid coupling with the benefits of Wellbel.
Follow the rest of my hair journey daily on Instagram! I go into detail on how my length and thickness are improving and give greater detail on how to shampoo correctly, detangle, and make sure I never have breakage, EVER. As I mentioned before, it’s a great responsibility that I do not take lightly, and love to do. Are you thinking about going blonde? I wanna hear your thoughts and story along the way! Let me know in the comments below. Lookin’ for more beauty advice? Find it in my beauty section here.
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