Blonde Hair Color - Tips and Tricks For Sticky Situations

When blonde hair color looks good, it looks really good. When blonde hair color goes bad, it can feel like a tragedy to you and your client. There's a fine line between good and bad blonde hair color, and with all of the new techniques that are being used (think ombre and balliage) it can be easy to get confused about what is the best path to take towards beautiful, blonde hair color.

Some techniques and requests can be harder than others. I've highlighted a few scenarios that can be particularly difficult, and found solutions to help you next time you find yourself in the same position.

Your Client Comes in With Level 5 Hair and wants to be "Bronde"

All of this adds up to a lot of work, and you must be realistic with your client about how much you can achieve on the first try.

Celebrity colorist Kim Vo shares his tips for creating a beautiful bronde hair color, or as he has dubbed his signature color, the blondette. Vo says to first apply a Level 7 neutral (like Schwarzkopf Igora Royal 7-0) at the roots and lift the hair to a Level 6. Next, at the shampoo bowl, neutralize the warmth roots to ends with a Level 7 ash demi-permanent. After that, you're ready to highlight.

You Shampooed Your Highlights and what Looked Like Light Yellow at the Chair now Looks Orange at the Shampoo Bowl

It's a terrible feeling when you think you've lifted highlights to a desirable level, only to get to the shampoo bowl and realize once you've rinsed of the lightener that the hair hasn't lifted quite enough.

When you're opening foil packets to check them, you slow down the lightening process by exposing the hair to cool air. One solution to this problem is brought to us by Schwarzkopf BLONDME Translucent Gel Lightening System. The system includes a clear gel lightener plus transparent foils which allow you to watch the hair as it lightens, and you can stop processing at the correct level of lift. Genius!

Your Very Light Blonde Client Comes in and Declares She Would Like to Try Ombre

Any time you're taking a blonde client darker, you're coming up against a few different forces. First you have to think about the porosity and health of the hair and determine what you will use to create evenness and depth. Next you'll have to keep in mind that blonde clients that go darker are going to have to take some time to get used to their newly darker locks. Often times clients aren't realistic about how dark something will look when it's actually on their heads.

First you'll want to touch up the highlights around the face. Keeping lightness throughout this area will minimize the shock of having darker hair. If you darken the whole top of the head, this can often be too much of a contrast for your blonde clients.

After you apply the highlights, take your desired darker color and apply from the roots to the mid-shaft of the hair. Use a demi-permanent hair color which will be softer and more translucent than using permanent hair color for the darker shade.