Aside from a very bad perm I subjected myself to back in my first year of university, I've never had my hair done. The most shocking change my mane's ever been through is probably that time I got a good eight inches shorn off; still, that was only a trim (albeit a drastic one), seeing as my locks sported the same straight cut, just much shorter.
'Til now, that is. Two weeks into parading my brand new head of hair around, I'm still—literally; see below—flipping out over its gleaming blondness. Or do I mean copper? Ash brown? In any case it's much lighter than it used to be, and I. Love. It.
IMAGE Gab Gutierrez
So much that I decided to write about it and find out for myself exactly what my tresses went through. After a quick phone call to the Hair Philosophie by Jing Monis salon in Salcedo, here are five things I learned:
1. You don't need to bleach your hair for it to get dyed lighter. Sounds like the kind of thing everyone should know, but I'm clearly a noob at this stuff. I walked into Hair Philosophie that day with but one request, "Please, sir, don't bleach my hair. It might fall out in chunks and that'll be the end of my kagandahan as we know it." That said...
2. Bleach isn't all that bad...if you're wholeheartedly committed to your color! A blonde mane certainly looks fantastic, but remember that it takes serious upkeep. Retouch your roots at least every eight weeks to keep your locks fresh, and go for regular hair treatments to avoid brittle strands!
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3. Yes, you need to use color-protective shampoo and conditioner (as a die-hard wash-and-wear-don't-care kind of girl, this is the hard part). For my coppery ash brown, the Wella Color Recharge Warm Brunette line is most recommended, but we're not all the same—pick a formula created especially for your hue!
4. Speaking of hues, it apparently is possible to mix shades. My particular color cocktail was an artful blend of Wella Illumina 8-1 Light Ash Blonde and 10-1 Lightest Ash Blonde that resulted in a red-toned brown I've completely fallen for.
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5. Lastly, leave the dyeing to the experts. Coloring your hair at home sure sounds like a cost-effective option, but any number of things could go wrong—you could, for example, turn banana yellow instead of buxom blonde. Let's not take the risk, ladies.
IMAGE giphy.com
