It was Clairol advertising salon colour in the 1950’s and 1960’s who first coined the phrase ‘Is it true… blondes have more fun?’ as a follow up to their famous ‘Only her hairdresser knows’ campaign. Up until this point, only those women considered ‘fast’ succumbed to this terrible deed of colouring their hair! Screen sirens such as Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot sparked the term Blonde Bombshell giving a certain glamour to the once frowned upon process of becoming a ‘bottle blonde’. Since then, ‘Blondes have more fun’ has become the motto for blondes world over. Is it true however? Blonde is one of the most popular colour choices, but I think we have all seen some truly appalling disasters floating around the internet! It seems that contrary to the phrase in fact blondes do not have more fun but are in for a life of brassiness, breakage and blubbering.
So how DO you have fun as a blonde? First of all, come to us at Bach Hair! A great stylist is the first step to fabulous blonde, and we are so fortunate to have some of the best in the business work at our Chelmer and Paddington salons. Being light myself, and a stylist with many years experience I have a few tricks to getting the blonde result you desire, but with such a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips I asked our colour specialists their top tips for Blonde Perfection.
Let’s talk about commitment. Blonde hair takes time. Most lightening products require a long processing time, and the application techniques used for lightening are often quite time consuming. Foils, balayage, free hand painting, and full scalp lightening are precision techniques, that need to be skillfully applied to give you the best possible results and to keep your hair in great condition. Which brings me to the next commitment, money. We don’t like to talk about cost but a brilliant blonde doesn’t come cheap. It’s important to invest in your colour, and that means that along with the cost of the colour you need to factor in your home hair care and salon treatment. We recommend at least a good repair shampoo, a colour saving conditioner and either a weekly mask treatment or a leave in strengthening treatment to keep your hair in the best condition possible. Utilising a re-bonding treatment in salon such as Wellaplex will really keep your hair strong and healthy. All of these things add up, so it is important to factor your time and money costs into your Blonde Ambition.
There are an almost infinite array of options when it comes to blonde. Consultation with your stylist is key. They will talk you through the aforementioned costs before you begin, give you the maintenance outline and make sure you are both happy with the expected outcome. Hairdressers love visuals so bringing in pictures of blondes that you like will help you both be on the same page about the end result you are looking for. Ash, creamy, golden… these all mean different things to each of us. When you consider the time and money you will be spending to keep your blonde spectacular , having a clear path to follow will certainly make your hair journey more pleasurable. It will also help you to have realistic expectations about what you can do with what you have.
It’s not all bad news! I have been lightening my hair now for 7 years and I absolutely love it! Having a light base means I can change my toners whenever I like to have a different colour, although I admit I go for pink most of the time. Despite the maintenance required, foiled blondes are really versatile and can give a bright, vibrant look with great coverage or a soft, natural finish which grows out beautifully, giving a more blended regrowth. Balayage has been so popular for years, for good reason, as it can give you blonde vibes without the regrowth. So, do blondes have more fun? There hasn’t been any scientific studies done, apparently there are more important things to research, like how to get rid of grey hair, but that’s another story! I will say this; it doesn’t matter what colour your hair is, if you love your hair and it makes you feel fabulous you can always have fun!
Sarah
