Being a busy mother of two with a full-time job and a renovation underway, I can sometimes get a little overwhelmed. That's a complete lie - I am always overwhelmed. "Constantly frazzled" would be my tagline. So I often find myself overcommitting to things and inevitably having to cancel (often at the last minute). However, there is one longstanding diary entry that I never, ever, miss and that's the six-weekly appointment I have with my hair colourist. It's the one thing that I refuse to give up, to delay, to rearrange. When I leave the salon after that appointment, I am a new woman - one who is in control, who feels confident and looks, dare I say it, absolutely fantastic. Such is the brilliance and talent of my colourist James Samuel, my blonde hair is important to me and therefore I want to attempt to keep those feelings of optimism and self-assurance going by utilising the help of the best products for blonde hair at home.
Whilst blonde will always be one of the most popular choices of hair colour, it does seem that it's having a particularly exciting time in the spotlight. From warm blonde and linen blonde, to the luxury offering of Palm Beach blonde it's the hair colour of 2024.
But, if like me, you too are a blondie, you will know that it is the trickiest colour to maintain. Regrowth can reveal dark roots, life can dull its shine, use the wrong products and you could end up changing the colour entirely and unfortunately your your hair does suffer - damage comes hand in hand with bleach, it's inevitable.
As a beauty editor, I'm incredibly fortunate that I get to test out new products daily, which means that any time a new shampoo for coloured hair or a nourishing hair mask drops onto my desk, you can be sure that I'm taking that straight home. After years and years of personal and professional research, I have come up with the ultimate list of products for blonde hair. From the best purple shampoo to tone away brassiness to the best bond repair products that make my hair look untouched and not at all damaged.
How can I keep my blonde hair looking healthy?
At my most recent trip to see James (at Hershesons, Belgravia) he told me that my hair had never looked healthier. Which, for someone who does colour their hair as much as I do, I was thrilled to hear. And I can tell you that it's down to these two products.
1. Arkive The Good Calmer Cushioning Moisture Cream
I cannot tell you how much this product has changed my hair. I was tasked with judging it at the most recent Marie Claire UK Hair Awards and I haven't stopped using it. In fact, I'm on my second bottle of the stuff. After shampoo and conditioning my hair, I apply this to brushed damp hair. As I have long hair, I use about a grape size amount. I liken this to applying my moisturiser to my face in the morning. My slightly parched lengths and ends - a normal side effect of bleaching - drink it up. Once dry, my hair is soft and smooth. Oh, it won Best Styling Product at the awards, so don't just take my word for it.
2. Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures Serum
There are two reasons why I have split ends - because I dye my hair and because I refuse to get my haircut more than once a year. It would be incredibly easy for a hairdresser to rid me of my split ends, all it would take was a trim. But I'm stubborn about my length and therefore this is the hill that I choose to die on. But since I found this glorious serum, which I apply to my ends at any given moment - whilst on a Zoom call, before I head out for the day after a blowdry - I get fewer comments about my split ends. I think that's because they've all but disappeared...
How to fix dull blonde hair?
Getting your hair coloured is expensive - there's no denying it. Which is why when we leave the salon we want that colour to last and last, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Blonde hair is a temperamental beast and the slightest thing can cause it to dull or even change colour slightly. Locks of gold are the desired effect, not brassiness. I have found over the years that purple shampoo should always be in your bathroom cabinet for those days when you need to brighten things up. Most recently, I have come to appreciate how much a gloss treatment can add weeks onto your colour, which makes it ideal if you have to delay your next salon visit.
3. Bleach London Purple Reincarnation Shampoo
About five years ago, I used to use purple shampoo every time I washed my hair - I wanted to achieve that cool, ashy-toned blonde hair that the Scandis make look so chic. Now, my colour is more creamy, but I'm always sure to keep a purple shampoo to hand when I feel like my hair could use toning. I really like this one from Bleach London, as traditional purple shampoos can be quite drying, but this isn't at all. It removes brassy, yellow tones, whilst leaving nourishing the hair.
4. Redken Acidic Color Gloss Activated Glass Gloss Treatment
This stuff is a gift to us from the hair gods. Shiny, expensive-looking hair is but a mere five minutes away. I use this weekly for about three weeks before my next colour appointment, when the colour has started to look ever so slightly lacklustre and it's looking a little less polished. Whilst it doesn't help me with my roots, it does give me that salon-worthy glossy finish that I have not ever achieved before. If you do anything over the next couple of days, I urge you to add this to your basket.
5. K18 Peptide Prep Detox Shampoo
James recommends this clarifying shampoo to help bring life back to dull hair. When I was worried that I wasn't looking after my hair well enough, feeling like it was dulling quickly after appointments, he pointed me in the direction of this to help get rid of colour-muting product build-up and daily pollution and dirt. I now use this once every 10 days and the change to the colour is noticeable.
How do I help fix the damage caused by dying my hair blonde?
There was a time, years ago, when there was very little that could be done to help fix the damage done to hair through heat styling, daily life and, of course, colouring. But there is now a plethora of products on the market that help rebuild the broken building blocks of our hair's make-up and allow us to experiment and be playful with peace of mind. These are the products that I rely on for damage control.
6. Olaplex No.4 and No.5 Bond Maintenance Shampoo & Conditioner
The rumours about Olaplex are true - it really is as good as they say. I can't think of another product that has transformed the colour industry more than this. Thanks to its patented ingredient - bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate - it helps rebuild the bonds, broken by chemical damage, which hold the keratin in place. Whilst the in-salon treatments have a higher dosage of the special formula, I find that using the Olaplex shampoo and conditioner as my everyday wash and care routine makes my hair look and feel stronger.
7. K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask
This is another product that transforms my damaged hair. Whilst Olaplex is a bond-repairer, this works further into the hair shaft to fix the keratin chains. I use this leave-in mask in place of my conditioner straight after my colour appointments when my hair feels at its most vulnerable. I use as much as I need - which incidentally is a lot less that you would think - and massage it into my lengths and ends. Leave for four minutes to get to work and my hair feels like it's never been touched by bleach. It's soft, detangled and more manageable than ever.
What the colourist recommends
I asked James what he considers to be the best products for blonde hair and he said he tell all of his colour clients about the K18 range, but when it comes to blondes I was pleased to find out that the ones he always recommends are ones I use too.
