Who is excited for this hair article?! You will officially get to travel with me through some of my hair phases in college. Those being, blonde, brunette, and jet black!

In this article, I will give my insights on healthy maintenance, top products, hair advice, and more!

The Blonde Stage

I know we scroll through Pinterest and Instagram seeing so many girls with this light, bright wonderful blonde hair. I used to run to my hairstylist with pictures begging her for it. To start off, most of the time it’s a filter that creates that bright, just bleached look. So, I was usually bringing in an edited unrealistic picture. With this being said, you can still go blonde, but let’s stop thriving to be exactly like the hair pictures we see on social media. I’m no expert but just as we all have different bodies, we all will also have different blondes.

For instance, my hair is brown, fine, and has a warmer tone to it. After knowing this you might see how my blonde would be a bit different than a girl with natural dirty blonde, thick, cool-toned hair.

When we go to get our hair done, it’s good to bring a picture as an idea, something to base your wants off of. This allows them to understand what you want, what you don’t want etc. When you have your picture, don’t expect your head to have that exact hair once you leave the salon. Look at the picture and talk to your stylist about how it would be done to fit you and your hair’s needs. Think of the picture as a language. The photo is French and you’re translating it into English. It will have around the same meaning while using different words and having its own twist.

While I was blonde, my hairdresser and I got super close, and it wasn’t for no reason. I saw her every six weeks or even five if I couldn’t stand my brown hair growing in. Going to the salon that often isn’t even half the battle. The biggest part of the fight is keeping your hair healthy.

I know how expensive it is to go/stay blonde, trust me, but DO NOT try and bleach your own hair. I personally bleached one of my best friend’s hair over quarantine and it was one of the worst choices we made. Going off of that, do not go to someone simply because they are cheap. There is a reason getting this done well is more costly. The last thing you want is cheaply done completely fried, frizzy blonde hair.

If you are going blonde and do not want to invest in quality hair products, it will end up costing you. I did blonde the right way and my fine brown hair could honestly no longer endure the bleach.

Let’s Talk Brunette

After being blonde for about a year, I decided to go back dark and chopped my hair to my shoulders! I enjoyed being blonde, but I am happy to be back home on the dark side. Over quarantine, I decided to use black box dye on my hair. Box dye is a big no, no. My hair had many different shades of black and brown in it. Keeping my hair dark has been an easy process. I go into the salon about every ten weeks or so. If you do decide to make a drastic jump like I did, make sure it’s really what you want. It’s important to understand you can’t dye your whole head brown and the next appointment start the back to the blonde journey. I use hair masks once a week and use a mixture of the products listed below.

My opinion of the best products for damaged hair or bleached hair –

Olaplex Bonding Oil – $28 Sephora

Olaplex Number 3 Hair Perfector – 28$ Sephora

Olaplex Shampoo and Conditioner (Mini Size) – $14 each

Olaplex Bonding Smoother - $28 Sephora

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Hair Mask  – $36.00 Sephora

Amika The Kure Shampoo + Conditioner – $22.00 Amika (separately)

Moroccan Oil Mending Infusion – $28.00 Sephora

Amika Soulfood Nourishing Mask – $28.00 Sephora

Coco & Eve Like A Virgin Miracle Hair Elixir – $29.00 Coco & Eve

Keeping up with healthy hair is truly for the best. Using heat every day probably isn’t the greatest, but with the right products, we can make it work and maintain a healthy head of hair. It’s all about how you go about the care of your hair. Some products I love aren’t designed specifically for damaged hair but have other great qualities. Some of these products may be more what you are looking for!

I don’t have a dry itchy scalp per se, but these products are amazing. The shampoo creates such soft hair with no lingering product build-up. The mask is good for a once-a-week situation and helps revive the scalp. The serum is amazing as well. I have repurchased it three times and use it every wash day! It’s very refreshing and keeps my hair shiny and soft.

Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Exfoliating Scalp Scrub Shampoo - Sephora $12 - 134

Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Cooling Mask for Dry, Itchy Scalp - Sephora $32

Briogeo Scalp Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment Serum - Sephora $32

I have repurchased both of these products I love them. They smell amazing and work wonderfully.

Amika The Wizard Detangling Primer - Sephora $25

Amika Vault Leave-In Conditioner For Color Treated Hair - Sephora $25

As for wash days, I wash every other day due to workouts and the Florida summer heat! Dry shampoo can only do so much in times like these!

I hope you found some new products to try! If you want to see some of my other hair products, check out my travel essentials article, it lists some more!