Is your hair brassy? Or is it burnt?
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A few years ago I commented to my hairstylist that my blonde seemed to be turning brassy and dull faster than usual.
“Well, it almost looks like it’s burnt,” he said.
And it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. It did look burnt. And it made sense that despite using treatments and products at home to keep my blonde pure and toned, it was still looking a tiny bit orange.
I got serious about scaling back on the amount of heat I was using, which was already on the lower end of the spectrum but my fragile hair was proving to not be able to handle it well.
The right combination of lower heat use and heat protectors went a long way in protecting my color and making sure it wasn’t turning a yellowy-orange color.
If you have lightened hair and you’re wondering why your blonde may be looking a bit off, try to look hard at your routines to see if you are inadvertently burning it.
Blonde hair that turns brassy should still look and feel healthy, but simply be a little off in the ideal color. Blonde hair that may be burnt will look a bit orange, feel coarse to the touch, look dry, and possibly crinkly on the ends.
If you feel like your hair may be damaged from heat, a deep conditioning mask is the best way to care for your hair. Check this post that has a round up of my favorites!
If you feel like your hair is otherwise healthy, and the brassy tones are not necessarily from heat, look into a clarifying shampoo and an occasional purple hair treatment to help tone out the yellow.
A few of my favorite heat protectors are Bumble and Bumble Primer, Dae Agave dry heat protector, and Kerastase Resistance Heat Protecting Leave-In.
You may also enjoy this post about how I keep my blonde bright!
comments
But as a hairstylist yourself, didn’t you already know it was burnt?
I certainly thought there was some heat damage, but sometimes it takes a different set of eyes to help you see something in a new way.
that must have been so embarrassing. one hairdresser calling out another. #fail
my god. It wasn’t anyone calling anyone else out! What are you looking for?! It was an idea, a possible solution to a problem. A different set of eyes on something I see every day and am used to. Your attempt to construct drama here is so far off its laughable. Move on, go outside.
Oh wow! That does make sense. I just had a lightbulb go off as well haha. Thank you for the post and never mind the nasty commenters 💁🏼♀️ You’re blog and posts are fantastic!
Ive noticed in some of your posts that your hair has a green tint to it. Is that because of the pool? Part of the process of healing your hair? Any way to prevent that?
No, it could be a lot of things. The color on your device screen that you are looking at photos through, the sunlight versus interior lights of whatever photo I took, etc. I haven’t been in the pool in months and we don’t have chlorine so it isn’t from that!
I’m a brunette who gave herself a very damaging color job early this year. I have a few pieces that look orange no matter what I have done…I bet they are burnt too based on your description of the ends. I have never thought about that! I did so much damage with that at home job, I’ve had to just grow out and cut off what I can. Painful lesson learned! Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it does take outside eyes when we look at it every day!
Does this apply to undyed hair? My hair is naturally medium blond and I’ve never dyed it but sometimes I wish it were less brassy blond. Would a purple shampoo change that or does that only help with dyed hair? Would the burnt orange also happen with undyed hair?
A purple shampoo can for sure help tone uncolored hair. You just need to make sure it’s a light enough blonde to make a difference!
I enjoy all of your posts.
Thank you! 😊
Do you have a leave in conditioner favorite I could use to help (esp my ends?). Thank you!!!
check the blog post I wrote about my favorite conditioning products!
Is there a certain temp I should set my tools to for my toned blonde?
Start with as little heat as possible and work your way warmer as needed! Something in the 300’s is best!
This makes so much sense! I’ve definitely experienced this before. Thanks so much for all of your insight and knowledge Kate! I’ve followed you throughout the years and always come back to your blog whenever I need a good pick-me-up and helpful tips! (also- who has the time to write unkind comments? Clearly not anyone with kids or . . . anything better to do for that matter).