Maintaining my blonde + what I ask for from my stylist!

Before getting into the post… HOLY FRICK I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Seriously, you all are so good to me and I can’t thank you all enough for how amazing it feels to have a platform that I look forward to getting on and sharing my life with. I will forever say this, but I never once thought that I would love doing this as much as I do. So, thank you all for all the continuous support. Thank you for being so patient as I figure things out to make this better for us all. The messages, the likes, the comments never go unnoticed. <3

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As many of you may already know I am a hairstylist and am very particular on what I get done with my hair. Highlights are my specialty and a majority of my clientele are icy blonds. I love working with hair lightener(bleach) and take pride in how bright I can get somewhat while still maintaining the integrity of the hair. I’m not at all trying to be Hey look at me!!, so please don’t think that. I really wanted to say that because so many people assume that putting bleach on your hair automatically means it’s fried and unhealthy. I can promise you that your hair is a lot stronger than you think it is! I first what to touch base on what I ask for from my stylist before going into the products that I use because I am SO picky and will go a little in depth as to why I ask for all I do.

I’ve been super lucky that all of my hairstylists have been my friends and all are willing to put up with me and how picky I am. I am that client that freaks out over any slight bit of yellow and will constantly ask “are you overlapping?”. Katy, if you’re reading this. I owe you my life for putting up with my hair haha.

I consider myself to be an ultimate blonde meaning I want as many foils as possible and I want them so close together that you can barely see any hair in-between. I ask for a super fine weave so the highlights look more natural as they grow out. I switch off from a full highlight and a partial highlight. I personally don’t think it’s necessary to get a full highlight every single time and when getting a partial I’ll ask for a heavy partial highlight. Nobody is going to know I don’t get a full every time and you truly can’t tell!

As far as lighteners go I use the Redken Blonde Icing with a 20(sometimes 30) volume developer. Just know that it is completely safe to use a high volume developer with lightner as long as the stylist doesn’t overlap what is getting touched up with what is already there. Depending on how dry my hair is depends on if I want a conditioning agent added i.e. pH-bonder or ChromaTech Serivce. There are so many of these and it basically adds a layer between the hair strand and the lightener allowing the integrity of the hair to still be there while being lifted to the desire level needed.

My hair typically pulls a little on the warmer(yellow/golden) side and I prefer to be cool (ashy/white/grey tones). This gets fixed with a toner and a toner is a chemical service that only changes the tone of the hair by canceling out the unwanted tones. It is not permanent so maintenance for upkeep is required. Katy will use the Redken Shades EQ 9V (1 ounce) + 9P (.25 ounces) + 9T (.25 ounces) + Clear (1 ounce) = Redken Shades Processing Solution. This is my all time favorite toning formula. I use this on all of my clients and it turns the blonde super icy white!

A little toner break down to help you understand:

9V = Level 9 Violet. Violet will cancel out any yellow tones.

9P = Level 9 Pearl. Pearl is an irridesent color that helps make the tone more ashy and adds a lot of shine. It’s my absolute favorite toner to use.

9T = Level 9 Titanium. Titanium is a gray-blue color and really deepens the ashy tone it will give. The blue in it will cancel out any orange undertones that are there to bring the overall look to more of an icy white.

Clear = Clear is add in to bump up the levels. I add it because I want to dilute the blue tone that is deposited from the 9T. Definitely not necessary in this formula but it does make a huge difference.

And that is it! It’s a process but the outcome is worth it! I’ve been an ashy blonde for years and feel that it suits my skintone best!

Maintaining my blonde:

This is by far the shortest section I think I will ever post about on my blog lol! Since I play with hair so much I absolutely hate touching mine on my off days so I keep my routine short. I do have a post all about my favorite haircare products that you can find here, but this is strictly on keeping my ashy blonde.

What is pictured below is all I use. Seriously.

I wash my hair 1-2 times a week and use the Matrix So Silver Shampoo every other wash because it is a little drying. I use the Pravana Perfect Blonde Toning Mask every other wash as well. When I use the shampoo I don’t use the mask and vise versa. I let both sit on my hair for 3-5 minutes before rinsing out and that truly is it! I follow up with a really good hydrating cream, leave in treatment, and oil so my hair is still getting all the yummy stuff but that truly is it!

*This post does contain affiliate links.

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xx-Kendra