Blondes' best haircare routine for summer. Picture: iStock
When it comes to being blonde, there are many factors that you might not realise have an impact on your hair colour and condition, especially in summertime as the sun can change its colour.
Blonde hair is prone to brassiness (describing the warmer pigments in hair), which occurs when shades of silver or platinum blonde turn yellowish, or shades of golden blonde take on a reddish tinge.
Blonde hair is also vulnerable to colour fade due to sea water and salt content of pools that could increase the brassiness. Sometimes pool water could even make your blonde appear green when it is not properly cared for.
With purple being the opposite of yellow on the colour wheel, purple haircare is every blonde girl’s best friend. The purple pigment will neutralise the brassy and yellow tones in your hair by colour-correcting it.
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Sulphates are responsible for the foamy lather we associate with soaps, shampoos and household cleaning products. While it helps to effectively remove dirt and impurities, it can also be very harsh on your hair, leading to dehydration and damage.
It’s also known to strip hair of colour, which is why a sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner might be best when looking for the perfect haircare routine for blondes. This will enhance your hair’s moisture content, strength and colour.
Marc Anthony has recently launched a complete colour care range, including the Marc Anthony Complete Color Care Purple Shampoo and its accompanying conditioner for blondes and highlights.
This haircare duo has been formulated with violet pigments which ultimately helps to neutralise unwanted brassy tones while nourishing and providing a boost of moisture to blonde locks.
If you often lighten your hair with full colour or highlights, a bonding treatment or sealer might come in handy. Marc Anthony’s at-home Colour Bond Instant Colour Sealer is one such a product and it is rather affordable too. It locks in colour and adds shine while also maintaining vibrancy.
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Did you know that rinsing your hair with cool water is better for your colour? It closes the cuticle cells and helps preserve hair colour, while also helping to lock in moisture and ensuring the cuticles lie more smoothly, making hair appear shinier.
Your swimming pool’s chlorine can give your beautiful blonde a green tinge, while also stripping your hair from moisture. This can be prevented by dousing your hair with fresh water before hitting the pool, which will result in your hair soaking up the fresh water, saturating it and therefore limiting the uptake of chlorinated water.
After you have finished swimming, shampoo and condition your hair immediately to undo any damage. Creightons Sunshine Blonde Extra Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner contain Pro-Vitamin B5 and sunscreens to help protect and enhance your blonde colour.
Blondes often complain of dry hair and the soaring temperatures certainly don’t help. Consider investing in a product that hydrates your hair like Umberto Giannini’s Grow Mask Hemp, Coconut & Shea, which is perfect for dry, damaged and chemically treated hair. It comes with added coconut, hemp and shea to strengthen and condition your hair.
Marc Anthony’s Hydra Lock Moisture Recharge Conditioning Treatment could also give your hair that intensive shot of hydration, offering a burst of deep moisture thanks to a blend of avocado oil, grapeseed oil and hydrolysed quinoa. These ingredients help to hydrate hair from the cuticle, but also invisibly protects it.
One of the biggest reasons for blonde hair breaking, is the damage that gets done by heat styling (rather than damage done from the hair colouring process itself). Lower the temperature of your flat iron, curling iron or hairdryer to the lowest setting possible, and try not to use it every day.
A heat protection mist is also non-negotiable, especially for blondes. Hask Argan Oil 5-in-1 Leave-in Spray Conditioner is a multi-purpose argan oil spray that restores dry and damaged hair while also offering blondes the thermal protection they need.
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