There’s nothing worse than watching your creamy, cool blonde turn an unflattering yellow! But, why does this happen, and what can you do about it? We’ll answer all of your questions and make sure you know how to prevent brassy hair in the future!
What is Brassy Hair?
If you’ve ever lightened your hair, you’ve probably experienced brassiness! It’s a common concern for blonde hair, but that’s not to say brunettes don’t experience brassiness too. Brassy tones occur when lightened hair starts to develop yellow or orange tones. We’ll be exploring how to avoid brassiness and keep your beautiful cool tones for longer!
Why Does Hair Turn Brassy?
So, why the hell does this happen I hear you ask! Well, there are many reasons for brassiness!
1. Your natural hair has brassy undertones
Unless you’re blessed with natural, milky white blonde hair, or you carry the ashiest of ash tones, there’s a big chance you’ll have to put some effort into the brassy battle! Sadly, it’s just life! Warm undertones will fight against bleach and toner so you’ll need a solid plan to keep your cool!
2. Chlorine and Sun
Although sunbathing and taking a dip in the pool sounds like pure bliss, it will be causing your hair some brassy stress!
3. Box Dyes and home lighteners
Do you know what’s inside dox dye and home lightner??? NOR DO WE! The list of chemicals and crazy ingredients is too much for us to handle! That’s why we stay well away! The best products = the best results! Always use professional colour!
4. Mineral deposits
Who knew our beloved shower could be to blame for brassiness? Some areas have particularly hard water, meaning it has a high concentration of minerals. Hard water can wreak havoc on your beaming blonde, turning it bitter and brassy.
5. Sulfates in your products
Shampoos that rely on sulfates to cleanse your hair are essential just stripping your locks of natural oils! This will leave your hair extremely rough and dry! Think scarecrow! When your hair is in this condition, brassiness is almost guaranteed!
How to prevent brassy hair?
Dry hair immediately
Leaving your hair to air dry is best right? Wrong! When your hair is left wet, the more the purple/blue molecule (the contrasting colour of yellow/orange) will be lost from the hair. Instead, dry your hair as soon as you get out of the shower. Of course, always use a heat protection spray! Alternatively, you can wrap your hair every so often if you are reducing heat styling.
Try:
- INSIGHT PROFESSIONAL heat protection shield 150ml
Choose natural
Find sulphate free products! Remember we mentioned scarecrows, you don’t want that, nobody does! Sulphates and chemicals are used to make your products super foamy, this is what strips away natural oils. All of INSIGHT’s products are sulphate-free, and we also offer products that double up as colour protection! We’re baffled as to why sulphate stuffed shampoo still exists! If only everybody knew the damage it causes! Spread the word!
Try:
- Insight Anti-Yellow Shampoo 400ml
Choose the Best Blonde for You
Are you a level 5 and want to work straight towards a 10? You’re asking for disaster! In theory you shouldn’t lighten your hair more than two shades from your natural colour, but of course we all like to push boundaries. Don’t say we didn’t warn you though!
Instead of an all over colour in a single session, you’ll need to gradually guide your hair lighter! Highlights are your friend! You have less chance of brassiness with multiple salon visits and gradually straying from your own natural shade. Talk to your INSIGHT colourist, they can best advise!
Turn down the heat
We all love a steamy shower, but NEWS FLASH, hot water is bad for your hair (and your skin while we’re handing out advice)! So, another tip on how to prevent brassy hair is to use cooler temperatures to help preserve your colour; that means stop using scalding water in your shower!
Has your hair dresser ever asked you if you wanted a cold rinse at the end of your shampoo and you’ve looked at them in horror wondering why they’re offering such torture? Well, they’re trying to close your cuticle cells and lock in moisture! You should just say yes next time, and always incorporate this step at home. Closed cuticles look shinier, healthier and stronger!
Protect from Chlorine
It can be tempting to arrive on holiday and want to jump straight into the pool! But that chlorine will strip your hair faster than you can think of a pool-side cocktail! So, how to prevent brassy hair on holiday? Read on…
Have you noticed there’s always a shower near a pool? There’s good reason, you should ALWAYS shower pre-dipl! This non-chemical water will act as a protection barrier. You hair will soak up the chlorine-free water and therefore not be able to soak up further chemically damaging, brassy hair turning pool water. When exiting the pool, rinse again in the chlorine-free water.
Use purple shampoo
There are plenty of shampoos out there specifically made to counteract brassiness! Most are purple or blue in colour as these are opposites of yellow and orange on the colour wheel and therefore cancel out the brassy tones! Investing in a great purple shampoo is the easiest way to keep brass at bay!
Check out our top picks! They’re sulphate-free too!
- INSIGHT BLONDE cold reflections shampoo & Mask
- Insight Anti-Yellow Shampoo 400ml
