How To Enhance Or Transform Dirty Blonde Hair Color
The term dirty blonde hair color has a less-than-pretty connotation. It’s viewed as mousy and bland—neither here nor there, and not especially desirable. But depending on a few factors, this may or not be true. Here’s how to decide if your dirty blonde hair color is better saved or shifted, according to the hair color pros at Matrix.
Dirty Blonde – or – Dishwater Blonde Hair Color Defined
First it’s important to define dishwater blonde hair color. Experts say it’s a dark blonde or very light brown shade that tends to be cool in tone (silvery) rather than warm (golden.) Usually, people with dishwater blonde hair were blonde as babies or children, and their hair color darkened over time.
When To Keep Your Dirty Blonde Hair Color
It’s perfectly lovely to embrace dishwater blonde hair color, if it meets the following criteria:
1. It’s flattering to skin tone and eye color. Ashy blonde or brown hair usually looks best if a complexion is cool and eyes are blue or cool green.
2. It’s shiny. Because this hair color is cool in nature, it’s important to be sure it’s as lustrous as possible. This prevents dirty blonde hair color from looking too flat or matte. A great way to maximize shine is with a pre-shampoo sugar-infused hair scrub like Matrix Biolage Sugar Shine Scrub that exfoliates impurities the way a facial scrub exfoliates skin. And before styling, apply lightweight Sugar Shine Illuminating Mist which also provides thermal protection.
3. It has dimension. That means that rather than being one solid color, the color has lighter and darker pieces running through it. If it’s not naturally dimensional, a hair stylist can add a few lighter highlights, leaving the natural dark blonde hair color shade as the base color.
How to Transform Your Dirty Blonde Hair Color
If a shade of natural dishwater blonde hair color doesn’t make the grade, here is good news. Because it’s already pretty light, it’s easy for a hair stylist to create a new blonde shade because she won’t have to lighten the hair too much. And in some cases, she may not have to lighten the hair color at all; rather, it will be possible to simply alter the tone. Here are some great options for changing up dishwater blonde hair color:
- Buttery blonde hair color. To create this shade, a hair stylist will weave in lots of fine, pale gold highlights which will lighten and subtly warm up dishwater blonde hair color.
- Sandy blonde hair color. Using the natural base color, a hair stylist will add lots of cool, beige-toned highlights, concentrating on the sections off of the part, around the face and on the ends.
- Baby blonde hair color. To create this delicate blonde shade, a hair color specialist will lighten the base color to a pale, neutral blonde. Then she’ll add lots of tiny, vanilla-toned highlights for a beautiful, “kid at the beach” result.
- Rose gold blonde hair color. The trendiest blonde of the season is also just a few shades away from dishwater blonde hair color. A hair pro will lighten the overall hair color to a pale blonde shade, and then tone it all with a cool, rosy color glaze.
- Mocha blonde hair color. Mocha is a true balance between cool and warm hair tones—a little bit gold and a little bit violet. Mocha highlights are beautiful in a cool dark blonde base. For the most natural-looking mocha shade, a hair stylist will place balayage highlights that begin fine at the roots and gradually become wider and thicker on the ends of the hair.
- Tawny blonde hair color. This sexy and attractive shade evokes the dramatic hues of a lioness! A hairstylist will deepen the base color slightly to a rich caramel shade, and then add lots of honey and golden blonde highlights.
- Platinum blonde hair color. Nothing makes a statement like platinum blonde hair color. It’s light and bright and luminous. To achieve this shade, a hair stylist will apply lightener to lift out as much of the natural pigment as possible. Then she’ll tone the hair with a violet or pearly or pale mocha shade—depending on the desired result and the most flattering color for the complexion.
- Silver blonde hair color. This shade accentuates the cool nature of the natural dirty blonde hair color. The hair stylist will lighten the hair a few shades, and then tone it with a sheer, smoky wash of color.
Blonde Hair Care
No matter how much or how little the dirty blonde hair color shifts, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Add bonder to every formula. Hair color is healthier than ever these days, and now there’s a new hair color additive that takes healthy hair coloring even further. Bonding systems like Matrix Bond Ultim8 actually repair the bonds that are broken during the hair color process, and prevent the color from further damaging hair.
- Detangle with care. Blonde and highlighted hair is at its most vulnerable—prone to breakage and damage—when it’s wet. So handle with care! Apply a color care conditioner like Total Results Color Obsessed Color Care Conditioner after every shampoo, and while the conditioner is still in the hair, comb through with a wide-tooth comb to remove tangles. Blot, don’t rub hair with a towel.
- Ban brassiness. Exposure to UV light, minerals in your water and the relentless march of time can all cause cool blonde hair to become brassy. Regular use of a violet or purple-toned shampoo like Total Results Color Obsessed So Silver https can correct the situation and restore every lovely blonde tone.
