Well it’s been a longtime coming. Two years ago I cut my hair and had the bottom half bleached and dyed green, and last month I went almost all the way blonde. The first time I did an Olaplex, which is one of the original treatments that eliminates breakage from a chemical service. Basically it’s used when with the bleach when you’re getting your hair dyed to repair the bonds in your hair while the bleach is breaking them; so net-net your hair is healthy. Now, there are some additional treatments on the market, and this time I went to Ammon Carver salon (Donna Rolon is my colorist), which uses L’ANZA Healing Haircare products. L’ANZA Healing Haircare is the global leader in sustainable, organic plant-based hair color, and hair care. They launched their L’ANZA Healing ColorCare system this past September, and as some of you know I’ve been trying to go more green with my beauty regimen across the board makeup, skincare and hair.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The L’ANZA Healing ColorCare system, is a botanically-infused Color Attach System that includes a two step in salon treatment as well as two take home products to help keep your color healthy and on point.
The in-salon part includes, Color Attach Step 1, which primes hair for more even coverage and helps improve how color adheres to hair. Then the Color Attach Step 2 adds shine, strengthen and helps seal in the color.
Since the salon treatment a month ago, I have been religiously using the two at-home products to maintain color and shine. Since up to 70% of color fade is due to water-washout, Color Guard Hair Protector Spray ($29) is a pre-shampoo, pre-pool, pre-beach spray that helps extend color and highlights life up to 107%. Featuring a unique blend of plants and flowers to help extend hair color, Color Guard also offers triple UV protection so it can also be used before heat styling and or going outside to protect color from UVA, UVB, and UVC rays. Whenever I go to a blowdry bar, I bring it with me and ALWAYS use it before showering or having my hair washed. The other product is the L’ANZA Color Illuminator ($34), which I use on dry hair when I need a shine boost. It also boosts hair color up to 36%, and is just a great refresher when your hair is looking flat or dry.
Now I’d love to tell you all I’ve had no breakage and bleaching your hair is no biggie, but that’s not being realistic. If you want shiny, healthy hair then you have to put in the work into it and use the proper products. Most importantly be gentle on your strands right down to the hair elastic you choose to put your hair up. I’ll write a more comprehensive list this week for maintenance but the first step will always be getting a high quality in-salon treatment with some type of bond repair service. If a L’anza salon isn’t accessible an Olaplex or some type of bond repair service will be. It may cost extra in some cases but having the treatment mixed with the bleach, is almost a non-negotiable if you don’t want to kill your hair.
If you’re in NYC, I can’t recommend the award-winning Ammon Carver salon enough. It’s private, and comfortable with an unbelievable professional and fun staff. They only take a few clients at a time so it’s not loud or overwhelming — which as many of you know when you get color it can take many hours, so being in a pleasant atmosphere is everything.
Learn more about the salon at ammoncarver.com and L’ANZA products at lanza.com