How to Achieve Icy Blonde hair from dark virgin Hair

In this post we are going to give you a "how -to" guide on achieving icy/smokey blonde hair from virgin dark hair. We are emphasizing on virgin dark hair because you will achieve different results if there is previous hair dye residue on your hair.

Things that you will need :

1-Depending on the thickness and length of your hair you will need to buy 1, 2 or 3 boxes of Loreal Feria absolute platinum in extreme platinum. (For my hair, which is thick and cut into a lob, 2 boxes were just enough). This lightening Dye/bleach can be bought from your local supermarket, drugstore or Amazon.

2 - Wella T14 Color Charm toner. You will need 2 boxes of this just in case you needed to apply it twice like I did. You can either find this at Sally's Beauty Supply or Amazon.

3 - 20 Volume Developer . There are many different brands that carry a 20 Volume developer; I bought the one from Salon Care from Sally's Beauty Supply.

4 - A color application brush, a mixing bowl, gloves, hairbrush and hair clips

Instructions (Step by step)

  
1 - Start with unwashed preferably greasy hair so the lightening hair dye/bleach can take well without damaging you hair too much. In the mixing bowl; add 1, 2 and 3 in the Loreal Feria Absolute Platinum blonde box. I prefer to mix them in a mixing bowl instead of using the bottle that comes with the dye because the application is so much cleaner and precise when you use a bowl and brush. If you have 2 boxes of the dye, mix them all together in the bowl.

2 - Section your hair into 6 to 8 sections

3 - Starting from bottom to top start applying the lightening dye to each sections with brush. Make sure you cover the whole sections from tip to root and massage it in thoroughly. Use a mirror to do the back of your head or have someone help you do the back. I have personally dyed my hair so may times I didn't need to do that.

4- Make sure you apply the dye to ALL of your hair and all the areas (Don't miss the area behind the ears, nape of the neck and sides of your head. 

5 - When all of your hair is completely covered with the lightening dye, cover it with a plastic cap or a plastic bag and have sit from 40 to 60 minutes. I let mine sit for 40 minutes because my hair is medium brown (Level 5 or 6). Keep checking your hair throughout the process.

6 - Once the developing time is up, you should have yellow Slim Shady, Banana colored hair! Don't freak out! That's why we are going to be using a toner.

7 - Wash your hair with only shampoo and don't condition so the toner can take evenly on your hair

8 - Keep your hair wet in a towel. In a mixing a bowl, add whole bottle of T14 Wella Color Charm toner and add double the amount of 20 Volume developer. To get the measurements right I personally put the toner in the mixing bowl and then filled the empty toner bottle with the developer twice and added it in the bowl. Mix until becomes a uniform gel consistency. The toner will turn out into a greyish color.

9 - Section your towel dried hair ( Make sure its damp to wet) into 6 sections and start applying the toner from bottom to top into each section. Make sure your saturate your whole head with it and that you don't miss any spots.

10 - Cover your hair with a plastic cap/bag and leave it on for 30 minutes.

11 - Once developing time is done, shampoo and condition your hair with a purple shampoo and conditioner (These will be mentioned in a bit).

12 - Your hair should be an icy/smokey blonde tone by now. Style it as desired.

13 - In my case, I felt that my hair still needed extra toning, it was a bit too bright for my liking so 24 hours later i did steps 8, 9 and 10 again. That did the trick and it left me with a nice Icy/smokey ash blonde tone.

                                                                          RESULTS 

Before : Medium Brown Hair

After : Icy Blonde Hair

Icy/Smokey Blonde Maintenance: 

To maintain your Icy/smokey blonde locks, invest in a deep violet shampoo and conditioner. I personally use Not Your Mothers Blonde Moment Treatment Purple Shampoo and Blonde Brilliance Conditioner Toner (Cool Blondes). Using a purple shampoo and conditioner will counteract the brassiness in your hair. Using these two too frequently can give your hair a lilac or grey tinge so be careful how much you put them on or use the. It all depends on how ashy you want your hair to be.
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