Swear to god, everyone around us is going blonde in this constant succession, like Children Of The Corn but adults and with better haircuts.
Everyone makes it look so easy, but we’d heard horror stories – strands snapping off, insane levels of dryness, yellow, brassy tones… what was it actually like to go platinum?
We sent Alex – our Associate News Editor – to give it a whirl. Alex was pretty blonde to begin with… here we are being dickheads, which is our disposition 90% of the time:
But her natural colour is totally brunette.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP61Lj3Fdth/?taken-by=alex__brucey
And as you can see above, she had dark roots and was more of a warm-blonde – definitely not the white, platinum vibe that people say makes your hair go nuts.
Anyway, we sent Alex down to MOB Hair to get her platinum on c/o owner & director Tarryn Cherniayeff-Walker. Here’s the result.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcmOYi4F9kz/?taken-by=alex__brucey
And here’s what she learnt.
NEWS FLASH #1: IT’S BEST TO GO IN WITH ‘VIRGIN’ HAIR
You might think being blonde already in some capacity makes for a better platinum result, but that’s not true according to Tarryn.
Virgin hair (hair that hasn’t been coloured or treated in any way) is ideal as we’re starting from a neutral base.
Alex had blonde in her hair already, so Tarryn’s fix for this was to match all of her colour up first via foils on her roots, then to go in with the treatment to take the blonde up several notches. This ensured an overall even look so the ends weren’t a different shade to the mid-lengths or roots.
NEWS FLASH #2: CRAPPY HAIR ENDS WILL BE A PROBLEM
Going platinum isn’t something you want to do if your hair isn’t in primo condition.
The ideal length for hair that’s going blonde depends on what condition your hair’s in – long hair in good condition should take a platinum shade well, whereas hair that’s sun damaged, dry or split will struggle to hold the colour.
Alex has medium-length hair and it was pretty healthy, so her results were clean and even. But if you’re thinking about going blonde and your hair’s not looking the best, consider a few months of regular trims and TLC before undergoing the process.
NEWS FLASH #3: YOU’LL NEED TO CHANGE YOUR HAIRCARE PROCESS
There’s no way to go blonde and not end up with high maintenance hair, unless you’re OK with it turning to, well, shit.
It’s up to you to look after your newly platinum locks; use the right salon quality products at home including shampoo, conditioner, leave-in treatments and moisturisers.
The best guide to what you need is to ask your hairdresser – platinum usually requires an at-home toning product (those purple/blue-purple shampoos and treatments) to keep it looking silvery and not yellow or brassy. You’ll also need to get real with moisturising products as blonde hair is notoriously dry and prone to breakage. As Alex noted:
I semi-panicked and went out and bought myself a giant hat (because I’m outside a lot), a swimming cap (because I swim a lot), baby powder (to put in the swimming cap), and a spray treatment specifically to spray on before I went for a swim.
Another no-no once you’ve gone platinum? Too much styling.
Avoid over-styling your platinum hair; excessive straightening and curling will damage the fragile hair and tying it up in a ponytail or topknot will also contribute to hair breakage.
Find ways to style your hair naturally – plaits before bed can create great waves, for example. You’ll find your hair actually ‘holds’ styles better than before, because the one benefit of blonde hair is it holds curls and waves way better than ‘virgin’ hair.
NEWS FLASH #4: PLATINUM TAKES MORE MAINTENANCE THAN ANY OTHER BLONDE
Seriously – prepare for the cost of re-visits to maintain your blonde. As Tarryn says:
“Our clients are always surprised at how quickly their roots begin to show and how often they have to visit the salon.”
Expect to be heading back for touch ups every 4-6 weeks if you’ve gone for an all-over blonde look, 6-8 weeks for balayage or anything with root stretch (where the roots are kept darker and close to your natural tone).
This is a trick hairdressers often employ so their clients don’t have the regrowth shock, and it’s what Tarryn did for Alex.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcmNwKNFcYQ/?taken-by=alex__brucey
Even so, expect to see regrowth – unless your hairdresser leaves you with roots exactly like your natural tone (which is a very specific dark roots/blonde hair overall look), you’ll get it quick as Alex learnt.
Tarryn did a fantastic job layering the colour into my roots (so my regrowth wouldn’t be so bad). But I have fast growing hair, so the dark started to come through a bit after a month and changed the overall look.
NEWS FLASH #5: IT’LL CHANGE YOUR STYLE A BIT
Or a lot, if you want that to happen. For Alex, it was more a push to get her to try new stuff.
I go pretty natural with makeup (when I bother to wear it), so my new platinum hair didn’t have any effect there. But it did inspire me to be bolder in my fashion for a month or so, and to try out things I wouldn’t normally wear.
Some people find platinum hair makes them realise their foundation colour was too orange or too “grey”, because it’s a hair shade that really contrasts with your skin tone. You might also find your lipstick needs to be darker to avoid looking washed out.
NOT-SO-NEWS-FLASH: GO TO SOMEONE BLOODY GOOD
This is not a colour to try with just any Joe Blow hairdresser – pick someone with cred, as Tarryn stresses.
Firstly, choose a hairdresser who’s experienced in platinum colours and knows the correct procedure – for example starting in the right place, avoiding the finer hairline areas, judging the length of time to leave the colour on, using PH bonder of Olaplex. Then book an in-depth consultation with your chosen hairdresser so they know your colourist history – anything that’s been done to your hair previously can alter the desired outcome.
Alex had no shocks when it came to the big reveal.
I became my most narcissistic self when I saw the finished result. Seriously, could not stop looking at myself in a mirror and must have taken about 50 selfies. My hair was so beautiful and silver and (most amazingly) silky smooth.
Even a month later, Alex’s hair remained in good condition.
It’s been a month, and it’s still pretty silver in places. Because I swim in the ocean AND chlorine quite a bit, the colour has faded a little no matter how hard I try to stop it. But there’s been absolutely no evidence of damage or snapping strands, thankfully.
