Blonde Ambition.

I have changed my hair entirely too many times this year. It’s been red, it’s been brown, it’s been blonde, and somewhere in between brown and blonde… but now it is decidedly, very blonde. I hate cutting my hair but love playing with color. I guess my rationale is that you can always dye it back, right?

A couple weeks ago, as a part of my collaboration with Nexxus {and after being inspired by Molly Sims’ transformation} I visited Aura Friedman {who also changed Molly’s hair} at Sally Hershberger’s salon in the Meatpacking District. We decided to take my hair even blonder… approaching platinum territory! Aura painted on highlights {balayage} instead of using foils {what I was used to} to really allow her to achieve a custom color… all my own. Painting allows you to make the color as solid or as piece-y/dimensional as you want to. So even though now my hair is very blonde, it still has dimension {which is especially important since my hair is wavy… when your hair is curly or wavy you need highlights and lowlights or your hair will look massive..}

{Don’t I look pretty?}

{It took two to get my hair dry!}

After my appointment I had the chance to ask Aura some questions about maintenance // preserving my new color… here’s what she said. So much good information!

 How is caring for colored blonde hair different than caring for colored red/brown hair? Blonde hair tends to be more dry and fragile than other colors, so it’s important to use conditioning treatments and moisturizing products like the Nexxus Color Assure Shampoo, Conditioner and Glossing Tonic.  These color-protection products are oil-infused with a blend of almond, coconut and argan oil, which help to nourish hair and lock in moisture.

How do you recommend best preserving the look of freshly painted?  Use the Nexxus Color Assure Pre-Wash Primer! Using this before your first wash especially will help to keep the tone from fading and lasting up to 2x longer (than if it’s not used). The Pre-Wash Primer also helps to protect your hair from build up, like minerals or chlorine, found in water and can cause color fade.

What are the worst things for blonde hair {water, salt, chlorine, etc.}? Build up in water can be a problem for blondes. Even your shower can have chlorine or different metals that can build up on your porous hair and discolor it, making it green or brassy.  It’s important to use a color protection line that will help protect hair against these color fade culprits, especially water.  Nexxus Color Assure’s oil-infused formula helps repel water to keep color looking vibrant longer.

I’m heading to Tulum next week and don’t want to mess up my new color… What are some tips + tricks to keeping my color looking good? Coloring your hair may leave hair feeling dry and the sun, chlorine or salt water you may encounter while on vacation, can also cause dryness, so it’s important to use a product that provides moisturization and hydrating benefits, like Nexxus Humectress Deep Conditioning Treatment

This post was a part of my collaboration with Style Coalition and Nexxus.