Everything you should consider before dyeing your afro hair blonde

It’s nice to switch it up, and there’s no thrill quite like hair dyeing. Heading into the salon as one shade, and leaving with another – the excitement. Course, if you have natural afro hair, there’s some prep needed first: research, consultation, and finding your most comfortable outfit (because you’ll be sat in that salon chair for a while). There’ll be no sacrificing curl pattern, moisture or all-round hair health on our watch. Here’s what you should know before embracing the colouring process.

By Rachel Spedding

• 
  1 Talk to your colourist first

  As with any hair appointment, a consultation should always come first. Your stylist will hear out your hair objectives, while assessing its condition too (to check what’s achievable). Head into the salon with a vision of what you want – to go bright and blonde – but be willing to hear advice from the pros. ​
• 
  2 Accept it can take a while

  Lifting natural colour to a much lighter stage can be a lengthy process – expect to stay put in the salon for six hours, minimum (some reads while you wait). If you have virgin hair (that means you’ve never dyed it before), it may take a while to switch from dark to blonde. Your hair will go through the sunset stages – orange to yellow – hence, toner…
• 
  3 Yep, not just bleach

  This is the next step. Toner neutralises brassy tones, manipulating hair colour from warm to cool. You know that yellow-toned blonde you often spot in the hair salon? That’s because the toner is yet to be applied. You can keep up the toning at home (with purple shampoo), but remember that natural hair is drier in texture, and needs serious conditioning, so follow up with a shampoo rich in moisturising oils – like jojoba, or coconut. ​
• 
  4 Be kind to your curls

  Speeding up the dyeing process can really affect your curl pattern. If your hair is lightened excessively in one session, it could affect your coils, causing locks to lose their elasticity. Get ready to go slow and steady with your colour switch (that’s why that consultation is so important – your stylist will know what’s best).
• 
  5 Your whole routine is about to change

  If you’ve never dyed your hair, you may well be the grab-and-go type when it comes to shampoo. But colour-treated hair is fragile, and will need some extra TLC to stop the colour fading fast. Sulfates in everyday products can strip natural olls from your hair, so be sure to check the ingredients when shampoo shopping (come on, that is so a thing). ​
• 
  6 Bleach can be bad news

  Alas, because bleach strips colour and oil from the scalp, this can cause hairs to break. The brighter you go with your hair shade, the more melanin is removed – that’s the hair’s ‘protector’ and it’s pretty impossible to avoid. If you have shorter hair, you can worry less about the damage of regular bleaching (you’ll most likely end up snipping drier strands with every trim). Lastly, get to know argan oil, that stuff should be everyone’s friend. ​

  Try it, it looks so darn good. With Treatwell, you can book beauty online at all your favourite salons – simple, hassle-free, and you can do it on the go. Discover amazing salons in your area.