The word "yellow" has been striking fear into the hearts of Blondes and their Stylists for a while now. It happens to the best of us, sometimes no matter how hard we try- we leave the salon with an icy-white tone and a couple weeks later our hair has more of a Big Bird-hue than an Ice Queen. That's the bad news, the good news is that there are steps we can take to avoid it. And to avoid it, we need to understand some of the causes...
Note- these causes are for delayed yellowing after you leave the salon. Sometimes it takes multiple visits to lift your hair- in this case I would recommend a toner to cool it down for each visit.
Reasons for Yellowing
1. Your toner has worn off. This is inevitable, but there are steps you can take to get the longest use out of it like washing your hair with cooler water. Warm water tends to open your hair cuticle which releases dye (like a toner) faster. Another precaution for toned hair is using sulfate-free shampoo. I understand you love the feel of a head full of bubbles, but those bubbles can be little toner thieves, washing out your toner faster than necessary. My all time favorite is R+Co's Analog Cleansing Foam Conditioner, this particular product washes and conditions at the same time so it's a must for travelers who need to save extra suitcase space. Plus, all of R+Co's products are paraben-free, sulfate (SLS or SLES)-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, cruelty-free and color safe- double bonus!
2. You have 'Hard Water'. There are minerals and metals in our tap water, and depending where you live there may be a ton or not as much. These minerals and metals get deposited over time in our hair and can especially affect blondes whose hair is left more porous from bleaching. Over time these minerals leave a yellow/brassy tint to your hair. Luckily there is an easy fix for this- get a shower filter!
These come in a full range of luxe filters like celebrity stylist Riawna Capri's Raindrops901 Line, to easily accessible filters you can pick up at the hardware store or on amazon like this filter/shower head combo.
3. You're a water lover like me. Whether it be swimming pools, lakes, or the ocean- all of them can wreak havoc on blonde hair. Chemicals, minerals and salt can not only dry out blonde hair making it more brittle, but also can get deposited in it and yellow the color. For me, salt water is always the culprit. It not only strips out any pastel color I may have at the time, but it also leaves me a not-so-lovely orange-juice hue. Staying out of the ocean is simply not an option for me (I am 100% 'bout that mermaid life) so I am left with one option, which brings me to every blonde's savior...
Purple Shampoo
Not everyone can get a toner every 2 weeks (that would be pretty crazy), sometimes shower filters still don't filter out all of the minerals, and some blondes are just water babies like me. So we end up with yellowing blonde, but alas, we have an answer for that too! Purple Shampoo! There are a ton of shampoos for blondes- most of which will be purple in color. I recently got ahold of some Fanola No Yellow shampoo and fell in love <3 Leaving it in for 1-2 minutes cancels out yellow that has built up in my hair, leaving it on for 3-5 minutes tones it to a grey-blonde and leaving it on longer than that (which I haven't tried myself) I'm told tones it to a slightly purple tint.
My stylist Michele always tells me how much of a difference it makes seeing clients of hers who use toning shampoos at home in between visits versus those who don't. Personally, I wash my hair with purple shampoo weekly or after being in the ocean to as a preventative measure to keep it from ever getting too yellow.I know I notice a huge difference in mine if I forget to bring my purple shampoo while traveling, I always go home yellower than when I left.
Hopefully you've all found this useful in your fight against 'TheYellow'! Keep fighting the good fight ;)
xoxo
Sarah