How do we make lifting Asian/Indian Hair to a Clean Blonde look so easy! Because let’s face it, the challenge of taking dark, coarse, thick hair into the light blonde is a challenge not everyone is prepared to accept!
Firstly, let’s establish why your hair is difficult. Why It’s Harder then others to Lift? Why does it always go so brassy?
Getting technical for a second here: Asian hair contains a medulla (innermost layer of the hair) which is filled with plenty of dark pigment. It is coarser, which means it holds a lot more blue and red than Caucasian hair. These are the hardest pigments to get out of the hair when you are bleaching and why the hair will resist and throw so much red and orange. For this reason, it’s especially important to take our time when lifting Asian hair to a clean blonde before applying creative color.
The cuticle layer in Asian hair is generally a lot thicker with more cuticle cells which creates several layers of orange\red pigments to get through before we can see a clean yellow undercoat. The Asian hair pigment passes through black, brown, red, orange, yellow, and pale yellow color’s while bleaching. Therefore when lightening it, the length of time for the development and strength of the lightener should be higher than for other hair types. With black, coarse hair you can only imagine how it’s extremely difficult to go blonde. However, nothing is impossible and your Asian hair with the right hair care products and high quality bleach will lift.
In the category of “hard to lift hues” falls Asian\Indian hair. If your a hairdresser, you will recall from your early school days, the result ended in a brassy or orange tone until you got the process down to a T. Whether you’re lifting in the form of a balayage or creating a clean blonde before applying a creative color, knowing the bleach dos and don’t can save you and your client a lot of stress.
Rule no.1: Lift First, Creative Color Second
Lift is very important, you don’t lift enough, your be a wotsit, yet If you lift to white you’ll get ramen noodles. At Ritzys, our colorist always aim lift to a pale lemon and then always pre-colour before toning to a cream, this will ensure good hair condition and longer lasting colour.
Rule no.2: Once hair is pre toned, we can place the final toner.
The main purpose of the toner is to eliminate brassy yellow, orange or red tones that will appear on bleached hair. Our toners are semi-permanent so it won’t damage the hair. It compliments the bleaching and is the last step of the whole process. Over our years of experimenting with asian hair, we feel very confident with our formulas to instantly banish brass. We have created with many different brands, equations and products for the best creamy results. Hands down: we have finally found the best most effective toner to work on Asian hair.
Reminder: As for clients, if you’re ever unsure whether your hair is healthy enough to go blonde, book a consultation first. This is necessary. Listen to your stylist, and remember, the stylist only wants your hair to look its best.
Rule no.3: important to use Olaplex when bleaching my Asian hair
Not using Olaplex treatments can cause irreversible damage to your locks during the lightening process. Did you know adding the Olaplex no.1 in all the chemicals we use, gives us hairdressers more control over our development process? The oil slightly dilutes the chemicals, making the product less harsh, giving us hairdressers more time to complete the full head in baby steps without worrying if the foil in over processing. You have to remember, your hair is very thick and we have to work baby fine in order to get the correct lift. This means your full head of foils could take three times as longer then a client with fine~medium hair.
Using the Olaplex 2 treatment, will complete the process by moisturising and rehydrating any of the broken bonds in the hair shaft to ensure a healthy glowing result.
Check out some of our gallery for executing a clean blonde on Asian hair.
How do I choose a flattering blonde shade for my complexion?
In a sentence: Choose a shade that complements your skin’s undertone to avoid looking washed out or sallow — and be realistic.
Those with paler or cooler skin tones look stunning with ash blonde, mint blonde, lavender blonde and pearl blonde shades. Those with warmer skin tones look good with golden, rose golden and peach golden hues.
It also depends on the variety of factors such including current hair situation, budget, client’s ability to maintain the right hair care routine. What we create in the salon, must be reasonable for you to maintain at home. The instructions of profession aftercare must be implaced.
What is the best aftercare to use for Asian/darker hair?
* Best purple shampoos to keep the brass away:
- Fanola No yellow or Fanola No orange shampoo
Depending if your very blonde or more caramel, using this violet based shampoo effectively kicks out all yellow/orange. Keep your hair looking Smokey and cooler with this intensively strong purple shampoo. We recommend using once a fortnight or once a week depending how much warmth comes through.
- Olaplex No.4P blond enhancer toning shampoo
Repairs, hydrates and brightens all blonde. We love the invention of this purple shampoo by the best-seller Olaplex. This is by far the most kindest purple shampoo on the market today, acting like a toner and safely brightening blonde without risking hairs condition.
*Best rejuvenation
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