There are few colors as timeless as bright, reflective bleached blonde hair. It can be tricky to achieve, but once you nail your dream blonde hue, you may never want to look back. Achieving your ideal shade is only one small part of the equation, though: You also need a solid at-home haircare routine. But in order to determine how to best care for your bleached blonde hair, you first have to understand what hair concerns can arise post-processing. That’s where we come in.
Here, we’re explaining a few common concerns that can plague those with bleached hair, including damage, brassiness, and premature color fading. We’ll also answer some of your biggest bleaching questions and name our must-haves for bleached hair, from toning treatments that help keep brass at bay to bonding systems that help restore the look and feel of bleach-damaged hair. Find it all—plus a few tips for keeping your blonde in tip-top shape—below.
What Should You Know Before Bleaching Your Hair?
Platinum blonde, honey blonde, ash blonde—there’s no shortage of blonde hair colors pinned to our Pinterest boards. Blonde is chic, versatile, and timeless—which is why it consistently ranks among our favorite colors for a hair transformation. But we’ll be the first to admit that achieving blonde hair isn’t always the most seamless process. Bleaching—even when done by a pro—can damage your hair, contributing to dryness, brittleness, and breakage. A proper haircare routine can help mitigate these effects slightly, but if you’re planning on bleaching your hair, it’s wise to be prepared for at least some damage.
Good hair day by @byjordynbreanne.
Can You Lighten Your Hair Without Bleach?
There are plenty of supposed DIY hacks for lightening your hair without bleach (looking at you, lemon juice), but you’ll get far better results with bleach designed specifically for that purpose. We suggest visiting an experienced stylist for your transformation, as they have access to an array of hair bleaches and can tailor your service to minimize the risk of damaging your strands.
Common Bleached Hair Concerns and How To Address Them
Even if you visit a professional for your hair transformation, you may experience some concerns. Firstly, there’s damage—bleaching always causes some degree of damage, since the process requires chemically altering your hair. Bleached blonde hair is also prone to taking on a brassy (in other words, yellow or orange) tone over time. And, as with any hair color, blonde hair dye can fade with time, which may make that brassiness more prominent. Fortunately, all of these concerns can be managed with a proper haircare routine. Ahead, we’ll explain how.
Bleached Hair Concern #1: Damage
Bleached blonde hair is always going to experience some level of damage—it’s just the price you have to pay. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help minimize damage. Read on to learn about bleach damage and what you can do about it.
What does bleach damage look like?
Bleach damage typically manifests in the form of dryness, weakness, and brittleness. Your hair may feel rough or coarse and may lack its natural luster. It can also make your hair more prone to breakage—particularly if you undergo multiple bleaching sessions.
Can bleach-damaged hair be repaired?
While it’s not possible to reverse bleach damage, there are things you can do to help restore the look and feel of your hair and make it more resistant to future damage. Limiting heat exposure is key, as heat can further damage your already-weakened strands. Similarly, if you’re experiencing bleach damage, it’s a good idea to lay off all chemical treatments—bleaching, relaxing, perming, etc—for a while. Keep in mind that if you’re dealing with severe damage, your best course of action may be to get a haircut—at least enough to get rid of any split ends. If you’re not willing to part ways with your lengths, though, there are things you can do at home to give your bleach-damaged hair some TLC.
How do you care for bleach-damaged hair?
Adjusting your haircare routine is one of the most impactful things you can do to help revive your bleach-damaged strands. We suggest looking for bonding treatments, as these are specifically designed to help reinforce weakened hair bonds and prevent breakage.
We’re partial to Redken’s Acidic Bonding Concentrate collection. The six-piece lineup includes an intensive pre-shampoo treatment, a shampoo, and two conditioners—one thicker and one more lightweight—as well as a hydrating hair mask and a protective leave-in treatment. The sulfate-free system is formulated with citric acid and a concentrated Bonding Care Complex and helps strengthen and repair damaged, color-treated hair.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to use all six pieces every day to reap the benefits of this reparative lineup. Just using the pre-poo, shampoo, and conditioner can help reduce breakage by 63%, double your hair’s strength, and leave it up to 90% more conditioned than your standard shampoo. Plus, the trio also helps smooth the hair and adds shine to further help improve the appearance of bleached, damaged hair.
Bleached Hair Concern #2: Brassiness
Brassiness—or unwanted warmth—is another common concern those with bleached blonde hair may face (though, not-so-fun fact: Brunettes can experience brassiness too!)
Why does blonde hair turn brassy?
Bleaching the hair removes its natural pigment, exposing the underlying warm tones present in all hair. Hair dye can help temporarily conceal this warmth, but in many cases, those warmer pigments will begin to show through with time. This is known as brassiness and can make your perfect cool blonde hue appear yellowish or orange. The good news is that brassy blonde hair isn’t something you have to put up with—the right at-home haircare routine can help keep unwanted warmth at bay.
How do you get the brassiness out of blonde hair?
If your blonde starts looking warmer than you’d like, you can hit the salon for a professional toning treatment. Redken’s ammonia-free Shades EQ treatment, for example, helps tone, strengthen, and add shine to color-treated hair—all in just 20 minutes.
Aside from paying your colorist a visit for a refresh, there’s one key component you’ll need in your at-home routine to keep your blonde brass-free and bright: toning hair products. When you get an in-salon hair toner, your colorist uses a purple-tinted formula to neutralize any unwanted brassy pigments. Salon-quality toning shampoos and conditioners are the next best thing for brassy blondes, helping you minimize brass and brighten your hue at home when used once or twice per week.
The best toning hair products are powerful, brightening, nourishing, and don’t compromise the overall hue of your salon blonde. Matrix’s So Silver Purple Shampoo fits the bill. It deeply cleans and brightens blonde, white, and silver hair while helping to neutralize unwanted brassy tones.
You can follow it up with the line’s So Silver Purple Conditioner, or, for added nourishment, pick up the So Silver Triple Power Hair Mask. The deep conditioning formula helps repair damage and smooths the hair while helping to neutralize unwanted warmth in lightened hair. It’s formulated with a high concentration of pigments, so this mask isn’t for daily use—it’s best to reach for it when you want a significant brightening boost. The collection also includes a toning leave-in spray, which helps moisturize, detangle, add shine, tame frizz, and reduce the appearance of yellow undertones.
Bleached Hair Concern #3: Color Fade
As with any hair color, blonde hair can fade over time, losing its vibrancy and nuance. A color gloss or demi-permanent dye can help restore your color, but if you want to help prevent fading, keep reading—we’ll share how.
What causes hair dye to fade?
No hair color is truly permanent—any color will fade slightly over time. However, there are certain factors that can speed up the fading process. Using the wrong haircare products is one of the most common factors. Certain shampoos, like heavy-duty clarifying shampoos, can strip color, leaving your perfect blonde looking dull and flat. If you color your hair, it’s important to always use products designed for color-treated hair (any that are color-safe should say so on the packaging). One example is a system like Biolage Professional Color Last Shampoo and Conditioner. When used together, this duo can help preserve salon-vibrant color for up to nine weeks.*
Some habits, like heat styling, swimming in chlorinated water, and even showering in hard water, may also affect your hair color’s tone and vibrancy. Try to limit heat styling and chemical exposure when possible, and if you can, install a water filter on your shower if you suspect you have hard water. Finally, sun exposure can dampen your once-bright hair color. If you plan on spending a lot of time in the sun, protect your hair with a UV-filtering leave-in product or throw on a hat or scarf to shield your strands.
*When using the professional products system of Color Last shampoo and conditioner vs. a non-conditioning shampoo.
How to keep hair dye from fading
You can’t prevent hair dye from fading altogether, but the right haircare routine can help extend your color’s vibrancy. Start by limiting how often you lather up—frequent shampooing can contribute to color fading. If you find your roots look a little greasy between wash days, we suggest reaching for the Redken Deep Clean Dry Shampoo, which helps absorb excess oil for fresh, clean-feeling (and looking) hair.
When you do wash your hair, it’s important to be sure you’re using the right products. In addition to the bonding and toning products mentioned above, we love the Redken Acidic Color Gloss collection. The lineup includes four products—a sulfate-free shampoo, a conditioner, a once-weekly glossing treatment, and a hydrating leave-in treatment—that together help seal the hair cuticle, add shine, and protect color vibrancy for up to 32 washes. For a full rundown on the lineup—and why it’s a staple in one editor’s routine—check out our review of the collection.
Next Up: What Are Hair Levels and What Do They Mean For Hair Color?
Header photo credit (middle): @byjordynbreanne
