Bleached blonde hair care;

IN 2015 I wanted to really force myself out of my comfort zone and challenge my fear of not trying things out of self doubt, 

and then somehow I managed to get into the top 20 of The New Paper New Face competition 2015.

I'm naturally brunette, almost an ashy medium brown, but for the competition I was suggested to go lighter, which in my head translated to only a few shades lighter like a light brown/dark blonde...

but nope, we went full on platinum.

I've secretly always wanted to go platinum but feared that my thin hair would be so damaged I'd have to shave it all off...

However it was so well looked after and was gradually lightened after 2 sessions and 3 rounds of bleach, and turned out to be the exact shade I wanted. The after care is a pain but worth it to make sure it looks its best.

Here are my top 3 products for maintaining damaged hair and a platinum blonde colour.

Palmer's Coconut oil "Shining Head Dress" - 

this product is coconut oil formulated especially for hair (it's not edible) with added olive oil and other ingredients.

I actually used this product years ago when I was brunette but I had (stupidly) cut my hair shorter than intended, and this supposedly helps your hair to grow a little faster than normal.

It's best used at night or on lazy days in, as its quite greasy especially if you apply it at the roots. Sometimes if it's really dry I'll melt a a tiny chunk to smooth the ends and brush it through.

Having bleached blonde hair means the natural shine is unfortunately lost, at least for me, so using coconut oil brings back some life to it.

Goes without saying, but it has a strong scent of coconuts so if that's not your thing then there are many other odourless hair oils you could try!

Bought from eBay while in the UK - it lasts a very long time.

Essential dry oil - 

I already recycled the packaging with the English explanations about what this is but it's more or less a dry oil that repairs 5 signs of damaged hair, and is a little more useable during the day compared to the coconut oil.

I instantly feel the frizziness become smoothed, and the smell isn't too over powering.

It's quite a small bottle, and I feel as though I've used a lot already yet it hasn't diminished in visible quantity too much.

Bought from Watsons.

Conditioner and La Riche Directions Violet -

Conditioner and hair masks, as well as oils, are a must must must if you have processed your hair as much as us bleached blondes.

The other trick to help keep that platinum shade from turning into a brassy mess is to use a dash of violet toner or purple/silver shampoo, or in my case, make your own.

I hand mix La Riche Directions hair colour in Violet into my conditioner, until it turns a dark lilac, then apply to my hair and massage for 3 minutes. After rinsing, the violet will have counteracted the yellowish tones in your hair and leave it almost sparkling in visual freshness.

If you happen to remember your art classes (or are an artist, then u kno), this is because yellow and purple are opposite of each other on the colour wheel, so applying purple over freshly bleached yellowy hair will help lift it to a more silvery shade.

Likewise if you have brunette hair and would like to eliminate any coppery hues and achieve a more ash-toned look, you can add a little green hair dye to your conditioner - I actually have a Directions pot in Alpine Green ready for when I dye my hair back to my natural colour!

I bought my current Directions hair colour pots at Scape, but in the UK I used to get them from alternative clothing shops or sometimes eBay. I used to have bleached ombre ends, and I'd make them pink/blue/green/purple, until I got a bit tired of the upkeep and dyed everything back to brunette.

The conditioner I'm currently using is from Tsubaki damage and moisture lines, but I was previously using the Alba Botanica Hawaiian hair care line.

Back in the UK I use Aussie's Miracle Moist, and Reconstructing Leave-in Conditioner.

Finally got it to silver!
The process went from dark brunette -> auburn -> strawberry blonde -> to platinum -> silver.

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It's been fun experiencing life as a blonde, but after a while I just don't feel "myself" or feel that others have a different perception of me than who I really am.

I know from the New Face competition, some people's comments were typecasting or branding me as "the blonde one" instead of anything about my character or personality,

but I suppose that's the downside of a "superficial" competition.

Don't get me wrong though, I absolutely cherish the experience of New Face and I made some wonderful friends through it.

I'm happy that I pushed myself to not be so shy and had the bravery to show some confidence,

to have the will to attend the walk-in audition, actually pose in front of a camera (sometimes alone and vulnerable), and even got through walking in a fashion show without tripping and falling over.

Honestly I cried a little bit after the show was over, just through emotional relief that

I accomplished something I never would have imagined I'd be doing 5 years prior hahaha.

It was an incredible opportunity, and I'll never forget what I learnt and was lucky enough to experience!

It's 2016 now, and I'll be returning to an as-close-to-natural hair colour very soon,

it's really very damaged so I'll be giving it a rest after dying it back to brunette,

I recently got a lot of breakage and annoying short layers after the latest root-bleaching..

It's just almost difficult to let the blonde go, now that it's at this pretty Elven silver shade

and considering how long it took to get it like this, haha.

I can bet I'll be missing it in the near future.

Some of my memories from the comp ♡
I took a ridiculous amount of selfies that haven't been posted anywhere...
to preserve the blonde version of myself, of course.

Disclaimer:

This is not sponsored, opinions are my own and I hope it is helpful for some of you!