Few feelings compare to the confidence boost of freshly bleached, toned, and styled hair. But there’s a catch: one wrong move in your hair care routine, and your dream shade can fade away in seconds.
No color lasts forever, but blonde is particularly tricky to maintain. Ask anyone who lightens their hair, and they’ll have a horror story or two about a toner gone wrong!
While everything here at Colorproof is perfectly safe for blondes, we know that when it comes to brassiness, no one likes taking any chances. If you’ve been looking to ramp up your blonde maintenance routine, now is the perfect time: from now through March 31st, our Toning Collection is 25% OFF.
When you purchase three or more Toning products, we’ll also send you a FREE Wet/Dry Toning Bag. You’ll love keeping your favorite products secure and dry in this waterproof organizer!
Ready to banish brassiness once and for all? Here’s how to keep your blonde hair bright, fresh, and vibrant this spring, summer, and beyond.
Step 1: Find Your Purple Shampoo BFF
In case you haven’t heard the purple shampoo lecture yet, allow us to do the honor. Anyone who lightens and dyes their hair blonde must use an anti-brass shampoo to maintain their color. It’s that simple!
Brassiness refers to the orange, yellow, and red hues that slowly emerge as your toner fades away. It’s a normal chemical side effect of bleaching, but the exact color and intensity depends on your natural hair color.
The good news is that although all blondes risk brassiness, it’s actually pretty easy to control once you get the hang of it! The key, of course, is a highly-pigmented purple shampoo that neutralizes yellowness.
Our Daily Blonde Shampoo does just that. With a concentrated anti-stripping formula, it tones, lightens, and brightens any and all shades of blonde!
If you’ve been turned off by the drying, texture-disrupting effects of purple shampoo in the past, you won’t have the same experience with this one. It does something most other purple shampoos don’t: it also combats drying, adding a soft, smooth, and glossy shine with every use.
In other words, you can even use it daily without any risk to your hair’s hydration! For maximum toning power, we recommend leaving it up for 1-5 minutes, depending on your brassiness levels.
Step 2: Find the Right Water Temp
There’s another strict rule all blondes are encouraged to follow: never washing your hair with hot water. As much as we love relaxing under a steamy shower, we promise the results are worth the sacrifice!
The basis for this step is rooted in hair science. Hot water opens up the cuticle of your strands, allowing your blonde pigment to escape and wash away.
Cold is best for shampooing blonde hair, but cool or lukewarm water will also help protect your color. If you absolutely cannot stand chilly showers, an easy compromise is washing your hair as normal, then doing a quick burst of cool water (just at your hair!) before stepping out.
Step 3: Double Down with a Toning Conditioner and Blonding Mask
Most blondes stop their toning at the shampoo stage. But you’re not like most blondes—you’re a Colorproof color enthusiast! To go above and beyond with color protection, the next step is a toning conditioner.
For daily toning, we recommend the Daily Blonde Conditioner. This nourishing formula detangles, nourishes, strengthens, and protects your shade against fading, helping preserve a vibrant, brilliant blonde with each use.
For a boost of both anti-brass toning and help with hair health, try adding the Weekly Blonde Masque to your routine as well. This one focuses on smoothing the cuticle for shiny, fluid, and radiant hair. It’s also one of our most pigmented toning formulas!
Step 4: Experiment with Toning Drops
Let’s say you already love your current Colorproof formulas and don’t want to remove them from your routine. Whether you love Smooth Shampoo, Volume Conditioner, Plush Locks Leave-In Smooth, Cuticle Closer, or any other cream or oil-based product, Toning Drops will save the day!
These highly-pigmented purple drops turn your favorite hair products into an instant anti-brass toner. Simply plop your desired amount into your palms, then mix your other formula on top. Voila–you now have another toning tool in your arsenal to keep your blonde, silver, and platinum shades cool and fresh.
Step 5: Add Moisture Wherever Possible
Dry hair is vulnerable hair. The more hydrated your strands, the better they’ll be at locking in your purple products!
That’s why we recommend incorporating members of our Moisture Collection into your routine wherever possible. For example...
- On weeks when your is toned to your liking, consider swapping your Weekly Blonde Masque for Moisture Masque.
- Before every blow-dry session, prep your hair with Moisture Styling Crème. Heat tools are especially risky on bleached hair, so you’ll love its heat-protecting power!
- After every shower, spritz Baobab Recovery Treatment Spray on your strands for extra post-bleach damage control.
With or without toning drops, they’ll only bolster your anti-brass efforts!
For Bonus Points: Water Filters and Sunhats
Want to level up your toning routine? Outside of actual haircare, we have two key tips.
First, consider installing a filtered showerhead, especially if your home has hard water. High mineral content can leave your hair susceptible to damage and fading, so a simple shower filter can make a world of difference.
Second, reduce your hair’s UV ray exposure as much as possible. Like your skin, sun rays can penetrate your hair, causing color pigment molecules to break down and altering your hair color. Just keep a hat with you on sunny days—your future self will thank you!
Brassiness doesn’t stand a chance this spring! We love seeing Colorproof in action, so share your bright, beautiful, brass-less toning results on Instagram and TikTok with the hashtag #ColorproofHair.
See you there!
Xx,
Colorproof
