Calling all my balayage beauties and color-treated hair cuties – this post is for you! Soooo we’re right in the heart of summer and I’m sure you’ve seen this saying floating around Pinterest:
Let’s focus on that second part – “hair gets lighter.” I’ve always been a fan of the balayage look. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s a French word that means to sweep or paint. It’s much more natural-looking than ombre or highlights. I’m obsessed with how sunkissed your hair looks afterwards. But what I truly love and appreciate about this hair look is how low-maintenance it is. If your hairdresser does it right, your hair will grow out beautifully and get better with every wash. I’m no stranger to getting my hair colored. I used to dye my hair brown all the time, and then I chopped my long hair off during the great hair massacre of Fall 2014. I’m referring to this.
After I cut my hair, I couldn’t stop noticing how beautiful long hair looked with balayage. So, I started the long and grueling journey (yes, it was that miserable) of growing my hair back. Flash forward a year and a half to Memorial Day weekend this year. I was back home visiting my parents and had made a hair appt with my girl Eva at Luxi Salon. If you live in Elk Grove/Sacramento area, go visit her if you’re looking to get your hair colored! She does such an amazing job and she’s the sweetest. You can read my review of her salon here. If you want to get a visual of how dark my hair was before I went in to get it done, you can click here.
I had given Eva a photo of what I wanted, but she totally exceeded my expectations. She gave me a gorgeous caramel, but “ashy-toned” balayage. Here’s a photo of it right after I left her salon.
I cannot stress how important it is to up your hair-care routine after you get your hair professionally colored – especially if you’re doing something like balayage where the color is so multi-dimensional. I immediately headed to Ulta and picked up these products:
1. Matrix So Silver Purple Shampoo (on sale right now) – Probably THE best thing you can do for your hair if you’re going lighter. Everytime I use purple shampoo (at least once a week), I see a change in my hair. It completely eliminates any brassy tones and brightens your color back up. I highly recommend this brand too! I’ve also heard that the Joico purple shampoo works well. Another thing to note is that I use this on as needed basis. Any time I start to notice “brassy” tones creeping into my hair, I reach for that purple shampoo.
2. Joico K-Pak Color Therapy Shampoo (on sale right now!) – I didn’t want to use purple shampoo for every wash because I definitely didn’t want my hair to lighten too much. I alternate this Joico shampoo with my purple shampoo every other wash. It works well and most importantly, it hydrates/brings life back to my hair.
3. Redken Color Extend Conditioner (on sale right now!) – I love this Redken conditioner, it seriously makes my hair so soft again every time I use it. It nourishes my strands and I can feel the moisture creeping back in. I always mix it with the deep recovery mask so that I have somewhat of a double conditioning treatment. (My hair is naturally on the dry/coarse side so I need all the conditioning I can get!)
4. OGX Argan Dry Oil Spray – I use this dry oil spray religiously. A girlfriend of mine actually got it for me before my trip to Mexico and I have been obsessed with it ever since! I just spritz it on my hair anytime I want to smooth away frizz or flyaways. Right now with my colored hair, I spray it on the ends of my hair after I blow dry to mend the appearance of any split ends. I feel like it’s really easy for lighter hair to look “straw-like” so this product helps polish those ends right up.
5. L’oreal OleoTherapy Deep Recovery Mask – I am such a fan of deep hair masks. I don’t know where my hair would be without them. I’ve tried everything from Aussie’s 3-Minute-Miracle to Macademia’s Nourishing Moisture Mask. I love them all. I’m currently using this deep recovery mask from L’oreal’s OleoTherapy line, which is a sulfate-free oil based nourishing system. I love the smell and I LOVE how my hair feels after I use it! It’s under $10 and I totally think it delivers the same results as the Macademia brand for 1/3 of the price.
Other Hair Tips I’ve picked up along the way:
1. I never wash my hair more than twice a week. I’m sure you’re shaking your head and thinking that’s kind of gross but it’s so bad for your hair to wash it every day! Your hair needs all those natural oils that you produce between washes. I try to go at least 2.5 to 3 days between each wash.
2. Dry Shampoo is my best friend. It keeps my hair looking presentable and fresh even after I’ve gone through a full day of work, a workout at the gym, and a deep sleep. I currently use Dove Refresh + Care Volume Dry Shampoo. It smells so yummy and every time I use it people tell me my hair smells great. I’ve also tried Batiste (loved it) and Tresemme (didn’t love it). When I’m done with my current bottle of Dove, I want to look into Bumble & Bumble Pret-a-Powder or Dry Bar Detox.
3. Up your hair care like crazy if you’ve taken your hair from a very dark color to a very light color. Your hair deserves all the nourishment it can get after being bleached and colored. I’m also a firm believer that if you shelled out the money to get your hair colored, you should also invest in quality hair products to keep that color looking better after every wash 🙂
4. Your hair is going to get lighter with every single wash – there’s no stopping it. Color will inevitably fade. My hair is much lighter than it was a few months ago when I first got it done. However, the color it has developed into is still so beautiful and summery so I’m still as obsessed with it as I was when I left the salon.
5. Some other hair products that I use and love are Loreal Elnett Hairspray, Big Sexy Hair Hairspray, Redken Guts 10 Root Spray, and Got 2B Powder’ful Volumizing Hair Powder. All of these are great ways to get volume and hold in your hair! I use the hairsprays to tease and hold my curls in place, the root spray before I blow dry, and the hair powder to give extra oomph in my hair after I’ve completed my hair routine. I’ve never used all four together – just various combos of the four.
If you guys have any hair products you love, please leave them in the comment box! I always love trying out new products hehe. Hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a great weekend! I’ll see you beauties on Monday XO ♥