Textured Hair: Going Blonde and loving it

I remember about 17 years ago, when I was deep into experimenting with hair colors and colored weaves, I decided to try going blonde. I did it myself with a color kit.  Boy, I will never forget the looks; at that late date of 1994, many people still were of the mind that women of color just shouldn't be blonde.  Well, I say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or at least, if it is on my head, then "Oh well!"    Unfortunately though, I damaged my hair to the point of having it break off so much that it  looked like it had been  buzzed with a razor.  Sadly, we pay for our mistakes. Nowadays, it is nothing new to see a woman of color experimenting with blondes, reds and auburns. I am glad to see that attitudes are changing.

In this blog post, I wanted to share some information about those who want to take the big plunge and go blonde without damaging their hair. As always, I welcome comments and exchanging ideas.

Blonde without the damage

I've learned that if you want to go blonde effortlessly, it is important to keep several things in mind; remember, any blonde over black hair will look several shades darker initially.  From my experience, I think that it is better to gradually lighten the hair to the desired shade in order to lessen the strong harsh chemicals at one time. (I remember coloring my hair once a week trying to reach my desired color. No wonder my hair fell out.) I think that this is necessary even it you do it professionally. But, probably, the chance for damage is somewhat lessened.

Also, keep the skin tone in mind.  For example, lighter skin tones can go for the lighter shades of blonde such as ash blonde.  Brown, or medium skin tones can go with a strawberry blonde.  Darker skin tones can go with colors like caramel blonde or ombre tones.  I am medium dark complected-I experimented with honey blonde. I think that it looked fine with my skin tone.

Conditioning 

Also, remember to condition, condition and condition.  Moisture is zapped from the hair from the alcohol and chemicals present in the dyes, so give your hair what it loves and needs the most--moisture. Olive oil is a good choice.

Summing it up

Finally, in my personal opinion, I believe that you should forego relaxers if you want blonde due to the combination of powerful chemicals which cause dryness and breakage.  I know that many people do this, though.  If you are going to color and relax, it may be better to go to a professional. You should at least wait two weeks though between coloring and relaxing for you hair's health. As similarly waiting two weeks between relaxing and braiding.

I decided to go with lighter colored weaves to avoid hair damage at all. There are so many colors, textures and lengths to experiment with which makes the whole beauty experience so much fun!

Source:

Jackson-Cannady, Ayren "Living color: find your new hue" Essence Magazine