10 Tips to Platinum

 

Platinum hair has become one of the biggest must have shades of 2013, a direct contrast to the more naturalistic Ombre and in keeping with the inspired looks from the 1960’s and 1980’s.   

However, achieving Platinum is not a task that can be approached without some trepidation.    In my experience, Platinum hair is grown in and not obtained in one hit.  Should a darker base (be it natural or artificial) attempt to achieve platinum in one process they could at best find they have buttery tresses that won’t tone or (at worst) find their hair going into melt down, breaking and refusing to budge from a deep orange!

Below are my top 10 Tips for achieving Platinum Blonde safely and effectively

1.       REMOVE OLD COLOUR FIRST

If you currently have an artificial (darker) colour, use a hair colour remover to take this out, before attempting to bleach the hair.  Hair with artificial colour molecules sitting within it - will not lighten to pale evenly or effectively.  You should ideally wait 4 weeks from removal of the artificial colour to the first lightening stage, this allows your hair optimum time to normalise and gain strength.

2.       TRANSITION

Unless you are currently a medium to light blonde, do not expect to achieve platinum hair in one session.  For darker blonde to brunette bases, view platinum as a long haul transition and start by introducing highlights into the hair.  These should be built up over several months to lift the overall base.

3.       ROOTS

The best result found for achieving a pure platinum shade is when a lightener is applied to regrowth hair only.  Virgin regrowth hair will lighten evenly and quickly because it is so close to the scalp and the heat emitted by it.  Therefore, existing blondes should consider switching to regrowth lightening and opt out of foils if they intend to go for a long term platinum result.

4.       DARKER BASES

A natural Darker base is by far the hardest to achieve platinum in, it can be done, however you will need to firstly (and slowly) reach a new mid-blonde base via highlights and then start to lighten out the regrowth every four weeks or so as it grows through.    Eventually this pure regrowth will overtake the remaininder of the hair and begin displaying a platinum depth.

5.       PASTEL

During transition to platinum, using Pastel toners can give the hair an interesting/on trend effect and hue which will blend with darker areas.  Once the desired level of lightening has been achieved (over time) you can stop using the pastel shades and begin to tone platinum throughout. 

                                                                

6.       HEAT

Restrict heat usage.  Lightened hair is very vulnerable and it will not withstand regular high heats in the manner non lightened hair can.  Use of excessive heat could cause breakage in platinum and transitional platinum hair.

7.       CARE

Use a product such as Philip Kingsley Elastizer at least once a week to prevent breakage and after wash items such as Redken Anti-Snap.

8.       CHANGING YOUR MIND

If you are dead set on achieving a pure platinum, do not give up midway and colour dark if you feel there is a chance you will change your mind (again).  Bleached hair can often stain when darker permanent colours have been applied and once you do this, it will be unlikely you could recover a clarity from the shade via removal.

9.       HOME OR SALON

Remember, platinum hair is very high maintenance and for best results, regular regrowth should be conducted in a salon.  If you wish to do your own regrowth, ask a trusted friend to apply the lightener carefully to the new hair once every four to six weeks using a tint bowl and brush.  Any overlapping of the product onto previously lightened hair could cause breakage.

10.   TONE

There is no such thing as Platinum Blonde Hair without a toner.  Hair is naturally yellow in colour (due to the Keratin Protein).  Therefore, lightened hair will only ever achieve a pale yellow.  A violet based toner must be applied to newly lightened hair to neutralise the yellow and create white.  Using Colour Restore Iced Platinum immediately after each lightening treatment will keep the shade pure white and healthy. 

Lastly, all the above principles also apply to those who wish to have pale pastel pink and blue colours.  The hair has to be white in order for the applied tone to display.

Be sensible and approach this hair colour wisely and you will find in time you will achieve a pure platinum shade without risk of high copper tone or damage.

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