Some FYI's and experiences thru my blonde journey and products that helped salvage my hair during the intense process.
It's been three months since I last bleached my hair in what seemed almost like an airplane ride back home to Cambodia at the salon, I was on that chair for 9 hours just the first day. And even then, the double process didn't get me to the platinum shade I had envisioned all year long via Pinterest boards - a year of salivating over a perfect Nordic tone against olive skin. Something about a drastic change prompted me to take a leap and $600 dollars later, I was all set up with Jessica (go check out her IG page, she's the bomb!)
The due diligence was extensive. I was fully aware of the risk I was taking and the painful labor of maintaining not only the color itself, but the overall health of my hair. All that aside, I still wanted to go through it, because .. again, you really do only live once, so why be so risk averse?
The first process took 9 hours at the salon, my hair could only handle one process today. I managed to get 6 inches of my hair cut off to accomodate this intense change. One important thing to note if you are deciding to bleach your hair, ALWAYS DO IT WITH VIRGIN HAIR. If someone else tells you otherwise, do not listen to them. Many Youtubers have forwarned me, but no matter how many times I ask different colorists they all seem to insist that the color will come out fine. However, I will assure you that your hair will not come out just ONE color, but rather patches of different shades. This adds a shit ton more work for you to maintain afterwards! If I were to go back and do this all again, I would have waited until all my previously dyed hair grew out so as to start with a fresh canvas for the bleach.
The second session didn't take as long, a quick hour of bleach and I was blonde! Not quite the Nordic, platinum I had hoped for ... but again, that was because my hair was previously dyed and doing anything more to it would have had me going bald. I wasn't too happy that there were tiny, but unnoticeable patches of yellow at my roots (the bleach processes differently near the roots, and it didn't help that I had 4 years of constant dying prior).
The stubborn, glass half full in me still believed that this platinum was attainable, so guess what I did? I went in for a third session (I don't know why I'm like this). Much to my dismay, it honestly didn't do much. Common sense is not so common for some people such as myself. Once you've hit the lightest your hair can go, any more processing will only kill you. This session was the last straw that turn my hair into straw. But at least I had my thickness and allowed me to just tie my hair back and give it a chic look.
Fast forward a month and a half later, I was at home in Cambodia visiting my parents for three weeks. By that point, my roots were growing exponentially mostly from the collagen supplement I was taking & needed a root touch up badly. My friend whose glossy tone of creamy warm perfectly balayage hair I envied recommended a Toni & Guy where she had gotten her color from. I was naïvely convinced and phoned in for an appointment. The colorist looked like he knew what he was doing, every girl that was walking out of the salon had the dopest, trendiest pastel color, so in my mind I assumed I was in good hands. Are you ready for the disaster to end all hair horror stories? After he washed my hair after the first round of bleach, huge handfuls of my hair fell off! In movies I've always seen people have panic attacks but never really knew what it was. Safe to say, I now know. My heart was pounding and it started to become really difficult to breathe each time she brushed my hair and chunks of it would come off. I wasn't going bald necessarily, but the breakage was so bad because they had overlapped the new bleach with the old, already bleached parts. My hair just couldn't withstand all the stress I was putting it under.
I was questioning a lot of things at this point - my decision making skills and my lack of planning in this matter. I should have waited to get my hair done by Jess whom I trust entirely. But shoulda, woulda, coulda... What happened already happened and now we have to move on... Call me a clean up crew, it's time to fix my hair up and have patience. With that said, I wanted to share a few products that have worked for me during this trial & error phase...
EVA Hair NYC
Pravana Purple Shampoo
It's A 10 Hair Mask
Maui Moisture Agave Anti-Breakage Shampoo
Badger Argan Oil
My hair is nowhere near its natural condition. I'm well aware this takes time and patience to stick to a rigid routine. I'm now back to dark brown and will show you guys in my next post. I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to answer them. Also, aside from my disaster story I just laid out to you I try to encourage people to switch up their look, or just go for it if you want a drastic change... life is short, experiment with your look! But do it with the right products and an honest stylist who will tell you the truth and nothing but the truth. Good luck xo
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