After having really dark hair for ages (I always thought life would be more fun as a brunette), then trying to fade and grow that colour out for over 6 months, I finally took the plunge and bleached my hair for the first time. Because I wanted to try and get back to my natural dark blonde colour, I entrusted Betty Lou salon in creating a gorgeous ombre/balayage effect on my hair, leaving the ends far lighter than the rest. While it isn't *that* light, I found that my hair took on quite a yellow-y blonde hue. Disappointed, I turned to Twitter to see what would be the best home remedy to my brassy woes. Silver shampoo was the unanimous response.
You may have heard of purple (or silver) shampoo being good for blonde-coloured hair. There are a few brands who offer these treatments, but I went with Pro:Voke (just because I knew they had a good reputation and I didn't want anything compromising my new hair). Purple shampoos and conditioners essentially tone your hair, ridding blonde do's of any brassiness- purple is opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so these lavender pigments help to counteract the yellow hues. Not only does it tone any brassiness in your hair, but it can also help to keep the colour looking fresh and revived in between trips to the salon.
So, with high hopes of these lavender lovelies fixing my hair, I bought this Pro:Voke brightening shampoo and intensive conditioner (part of their 'Touch of Silver' range) from Boots. I thought this was going to be a long term job, expecting to see results after a month of use. Nope! After the first use of these two together my hair looked brighter and far more muted. It wasn't even a subtle result; I was really disappointed with the brassiness left in my hair (they forgot to tone it afterwards!) but after one use of these bad boys, I fell in love with my new ombre hairdo. Using these two products once a week as an intensive treatment has been all I've needed to see a huge toning difference in the more blonde parts of my hair.
As I try to cut down on the amount I wash my hair, I've found that when I go to use these treatments another shampoo is needed to lift away the dirt and grease before applying the purple, brightening shampoo (I use this Fat Hair range and it is sublime). After my hair's already been roughly shampooed, the brightening shampoo lathers up a treat. Leaving this in for 5 minutes, washing away, and then leaving the intensive conditioner in for 5 minutes before washing out really gives blonde hair that extra toning boost it needs and leaves it feeling in beautiful, nourished condition. Leaving the treatments in your hair like this means you only really need to use them once a week to see amazing results. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take before and after photos, and while the blonde still isn't quite how I like it (another salon trip is due methinks), after 5 weeks of using these intensive treatments I can assure you that it has fixed the brassy, yellow tones a lot. At only £3.19 each, these are an incredibly affordable option you totally need if you have dyed blonde hair or are thinking about going lighter!
Have you tried purple shampoos? Which products do you swear by for blonde hair?
I had similar results with the brightening shampoo - so good! I've heard really good things about the Fudge toning shampoo, too, although I hear it's pretty intense stuff, so you have to be careful or risk giving your hair a bit of a purple hue. :P
ReplyDeleteI might have to give that a go, they make such an amazing difference!
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