How to Go Blonde This Summer, According to an Expert
Earlier this year, pop superstar Billie Eilish spent six weeks dyeing her hair from jet-black with slime-green roots to an all-over creamy blonde (she had been wearing wigs up until then), which she unveiled—to internet-breaking effect—on the cover of British Vogue.
Eilish decided to make the move after a fan made a mock-up of the singer with lighter locks. But, having already put her hair through a lot, the 19-year-old singer was apprehensive about what further bleaching would do to her locks, so much so that she nearly didn’t go through with it. In fact, the fear of hair falling out is one of the reasons why most people steer clear of bleaching their hair blonde—but it doesn’t have to be that way.
“I always say to my clients, ‘It’s like coming to me with a pair of jeans and me giving you a pair of dry-clean-only silk trousers to go home with,”’ says master colorist and founder of Bleach London, Alex Brownsell. “You can maintain the condition of those trousers just as well as the jeans if you look after them properly.” This is just as well because with summer here, and COVID-19 restrictions slowly starting to ease around the world, many of us are searching for a way to refresh our look.
So, for those of you considering reaching for the bleach, Brownsell shares some of her top tips for how to go blonde for your hot girl summer. But remember: always read the instructions.
Where does this idea that ‘if you bleach your hair it will fall out’ come from?
There's a lot of stigma around using bleach. It's a bit of a hangover from the 1980s, when everyone was getting perms and bleaching their hair, causing their hair to fall out. But that was because of the perms, the bleaching process and the crazy styling on top of it. Now, we use super nourishing products and there are ways to take care of your hair so that it doesn’t fall out.
There’s also a lot of misconception around bleaching Afro-textured hair—it’s more sensitive and delicate, so if you use bleach it [without taking extra precautions], it’s going to become more damaged. No matter what base color, it will lift up really quickly, but people assume that it will be really hard to bleach and take ages—so what happens is that people leave the bleach on for too long and it ends up damaging the hair.
How do you know which shade of blonde will suit you?
The same rules apply to hair as they do for makeup. It’s about whether you suit cool tones or warm tones. If it’s warm, then you can ask for caramel tones or move into copper or ginger, which is really big right now, or if it’s cool, then go for more ash and icy tones.
What do you need to remember when dyeing your hair, especially when doing it yourself?
The main thing you need to do is test your hair. If you've ever dyed your hair brown, even if you thought it was a wash-in-wash-out color, and even when you think it's not there anymore, it will be embedded in the cortex of your hair. As soon as you put bleach on that, it’s going to go ginger. That's the main thing you need to be careful of when you're bleaching your hair.
If you've got fully virgin hair—that means no chemical treatments, including straightening—that's the perfect base to start from and you can just go with it. If you are dyeing your own hair, follow the instructions and everything will be amazing—but you must read the instructions. That's another thing people don't do, you'd be surprised. There’s a process to it.
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Don't apply dye directly to the roots because they'll lift up quicker than the ends due to the heat from your head. Apply to the ends first and do the roots in the last 20 minutes, and that will give an even color. I don't agree that when you're bleaching your hair, you need to do it three times. I like to use a slightly lower level of peroxide, but leave it on for longer and do the roots towards the end.
With my clients who have Afro-textured hair, I usually leave the bleach on for 10 minutes maximum. Do that and you will be fairly blonde. For those with more resistant dark hair types and Asian hair, the opposite applies. It will need a lot longer to process, so you would need to leave it in for up to an hour or even longer. Getting your hair to the right shade in one go is much better than dyeing your hair two or three times. The color you want to achieve is like the inside of a banana skin or a custard-cream yellow.
If you have black dye on your hair or overly processed hair, then go to a salon or someone who is a specialist in going blonde. If you are naturally ginger, then you need to do a hair test because some gingers are naturally very resistant and others can lift really quickly.
What does post-bleaching hair care look like?
In terms of upkeep, you can't just grab your straighteners or curling tongs or a hot hairdryer and use it like normal. I rough-dry my hair once a month. I work with the texture because I want it to be colored. If you want to do it a bit, obviously you can, but your hair will end up a bit more damaged. You also need to look at your care routine; treatments are essential. Make sure you brush your hair a lot and use a silk pillowcase to protect the hair against the friction of your pillow.
The best products for Afro-textured hair contain a lot of oil, butter and natural ingredients. This is good for aftercare, but you also need to add in something a little bit more protein-heavy. So, use something like one of our Bleach treatments or an Olaplex-type treatment—something that's going to give you a bit more support.
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Billie Eilish’s British Vogue cover was a big blonde bombshell moment. Looking back in history, who represents the ultimate blonde bombshell?
[Actors] Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow, and [singer] Debbie Harry—strong characters who are unafraid of their femininity and use it in a powerful way.
How has the blonde bombshell look evolved?
Being blonde or dyeing your hair blonde is less to do with being sexy and more about expressing who you are and wanting to change. For gen Z, Billie Eilish is the new poster girl for being blonde. Yes, she was super sexy on the cover of British Vogue, but she wasn’t dyeing her hair blonde to be sexy—she was doing it to be herself. It’s also a good base to work from in terms of going for other colors or having different shades.
What shades of blonde are you expecting to see this summer?
We're seeing blonde shift away from cool, ash tones, which have historically been in fashion. (For the past ten years, everyone has been obsessed with it.) It’s going to be way warmer, from creamy tones to ginger or copper. People want to have a warm shade that’s a bit softer. People are coming out of lockdown and want to do something a little bit different.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
