7 things you can do to keep platinum blonde hair in perfect condition.

A stunning cold ash blonde result. We used Ugly Duckling's 10.1b Extra Cold Ash Blonde after prelightening to achieve it.

1. Use Quality Products for Bleaching 

Assuming that your client is not a natural bottle blonde, you will need to bleach her hair first.

It really is worthwhile using quality products which can lift and tone effectively without excessive damage.

Bleach quality varies enormously. Some do not lift as much as they should and require you as the stylist to bump up the developer strength.

This is a sure way of damaging the hair quality.

So are multiple bleach applications - we shudder when we hear stylists tell their clients that "bleaching is a gradual progress."

This basically means that they are planning on bleaching their client's hair multiple times over a period of a few visits.

We respectfully disagree.

"Do it once and do it right" would be our motto.

For that, we would recommend using Ugly Duckling's Brilliant Blondexx with Bond Protect built in.

You will be able to achieve up to 7 levels of lift, so you can use it on even very dark hair.

The Bond Protection means that you can go near the scalp and do all the near root applications without irritating your client's scalp area.

And it also means that you avoid breakage on the ends.

Brilliant Blondexx works with 20 Vol developer in most cases, with 30 Vol only being required on dark hair.

Bleach with Bond Protect will keep the hair strong during bleaching as well as protect the scalp from irritation. Lifts 7 levels.

2. Get Your Toner Choice Right

The correct choice of toner is also really key if you want to take your client's hair all the way to platinum blonde and keep it in a perfect condition.

If your client's hair is level 8-9, in other words, if it still has a lot of yellow in it, we would suggest you use Ugly Duckling's intense pearl blonde and intense silver blonde toners.

These have an additional booster element which will help you to kick out any yellow.

If, on the other hand, the hair is at level 9-10, in other words if it has been very well lightened and there is minimal yellow left, we would suggest you use Ugly Duckling's regular pearl blonde and silver blonde toners.

These have equally strong toning properties as the intense toners. But with less lift.

And if you are just looking for quick glaze or blonde refresh, use Ugly Duckling's Blondify - Ammonia Free liquid toners. 

The latter can be used with developer strength as low as 7 Vol. So it does not touch the base or low-lights when you tone.

Use Intense Pearl Blonde Toner mixed with Clear to produce a stunning white blonde result like this one

3. Use Purple Shampoo & Mask at the Back Wash After Toning

After bleaching and toning, the hair will invariably still have some traces of yellow left in.

That's where Ugly Duckling's Purple shampoo and mask at the back wash come in.

Purple pigments (think Color Wheel) help neutralize the yellow, and they guarantee a pristine platinum white blonde look.

It's not just the purple pigments, though that makes the difference. It is also the unique formulation of Ugly Duckling's hair care products.

Ugly Duckling's Purple Shampoo and Mask are acidic. In other words, they are low pH.

So they act to close the hair cuticle as you apply them at the backwash.

This really helps to guarantee a good hair condition when your client leaves the salon.

Purple Shampoo & Mask should be used not only at the backwash but also as a regular home maintenance care routine.

We would recommend that your client uses Ugly Duckling Purple Shampoo & Mask once every week.

After using, rinse in tepid or even fairly cool water.

This will help her keep her blonde hair white and free from yellow.

Purple Shampoo & Mask in Use at the Back Wash. These products should also be used at home to maintain reflects. They are low pH.

4. Strengthen Blonde Hair with Bond Protect Products.

Blonde hair is typically finer and more fragile than dark hair. It can also be more prone to breakage at the ends.

This is where the use of Brilliant Blondexx Hair Care with Bond Protect comes in.

The Bond Protect in these products strengthens the hair fiber and makes it thicker.

We would recommend that your client uses these products at least twice a week.

When using the mask, she should saturate the hair with the product and leave on (ideally wrapped up under a hot towel) for around 10 minutes. Then rinse in tepid and ideally slightly cool water.

Blonde hair with Bond Protect 

5. Air Dry rather than Blow dry hair

Blow drying is one of the most aggressive acts you can do on very thin, fragile blonde hair, unfortunately.

If at all possible, ask your client to towel and air dry as much as she can.

Limit the blow drying and styling to only a couple of minutes at the end.

This will help maintain both hair color and texture.

6. Use Only Acidic Hair Products

Using acidic hair care is one of the most important, and yet the most neglected aspect of hair care for blondes.

Hair stylists frequently advise customers to only use professional hair care products to maintain blonde hair.

And they are right.

But what they sometimes forget to say is to use only acidic professional hair care products.

Just a little background:

Hair is naturally slightly acidic anyway.

When you color or bleach hair, you make it alkaline. After finishing coloring it is absolutely necessary to return it to its acidic condition.

By doing so, you close the hair cuticle properly.

By not doing so, you fail to close the cuticle properly, leaving it open to split and frayed ends and further hair damage.

All Ugly Duckling hair care products are acidic. 

If you are using any other hair care product, do check its acidity. The pH needs to be 6.5 and ideally much less.

Ugly Duckling masks have an acidity of around 5.5. That is why they close the hair cuticle so efficiently.

7. Ask your client to limit her hair care regime to 4 sessions per week only.

This might seem like a license to leave the hair dirty but really it is common sense.

Over washing of hair strips it of its natural oil which is what helps to protect the hair.

For blonde hair in particular, it really is important to give the hair some rest.

So, we would recommend you are thoughtful about your hair care regime.

Our recommended weekly hair care regime would go something like this:

Once a week: Purple Shampoo & Mask

Twice a week: Brilliant Blondexx Shampoo & Mask with Bond Protect (leave in mask for 10 minutes under a towel and using a little heat).

Once a week: a light acidic cleansing shampoo.

And that would be it. Less is more. Less blow drying, less shampoo and conditioning. And above all, use acidic hair care products only.

Do the above and your client should be able to keep her blonde white hair salon fresh for a long time!

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