Being that I’ve dyed my natural hair before, I can tell you I have always struggled with keeping my blonde hair from fading to an orangey tint. Ugh. This time around I am determined to keep the color as vibrant as possible. Through my researching, I found out about the Shimmer Lights shampoo. Though I have heard of it before, I was skeptical to use it – why? *shrug* I really don’t even know. But after speaking with hair stylist Pekela Riley during my recent color transformation, she assured me that using a purple based shampoo would help keep the tones in the blonde cooler and, therefore, appear brighter as the color oxidizes during wear. Cool.
But the real question came when I was trying to decide which brand to use for the process. I googled “shampoo for blonde hair” and found a few different brands to choose from plus a couple of before and after pics. Ultimately I chose to work with the Generic Value Products Conditioning Shampoo. It is equated to that of the Clairol Shimmer Lights Original Conditioning Shampoo and can be found at Sally’s Beauty Supply Store. I purchased it for $6.59 which was a steal compared to the other brands.
Ahhhhh – Purple!!! I loveeeeeeee it!
The Process
I started with a pre-poo using Shea Moisture 10-in-1 Renewal System Head and Scalp Serum and let that marinate for uhhhh… about an hour. Next up, shampooing time. The directions on the GVP Conditioning Shampoo weren’t too hard to handle so it wasn’t any confusion on how to use the product. I washed and rinsed my hair the first time through, concentrating on the roots mainly (to get the scalp clean). After that, I lathered up again with the shampoo, this time leaving it on all of my hair for about 5 minutes. I followed up with Shea Moisture 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Masque for a great deep conditioning session which lasted about 30 minutes.
I finished up the styling process by defining my coils using the Creme of Nature with Argon Oil from Morocco Twirling Custard Curl Styling Gel and Eco Styler Gel with Moroccan Argon Oil.
The Results
For me, there was a less than obvious visual difference in the color, but my bestie and hubby said they could tell it was lighter. It wasn’t until I took this picture that I could see that it was, indeed, a lighter shade of blonde! I want my blonde to come out as bright as possible (the warmer undertones have got to jet) so I will be using this with every wash instead of every other as suggested (only because I wash my hair once a week anyways). I will have to be careful to not over do it, though. The purple can ultimately stain my hair and leave a purple tint which will be no bueno … I mean, at least not for what I’m going for right now! Purple hair is always cool to have though! More result pics coming soon – can’t wait to see what’s in store!!
What have you used to preserve your blonde hair?
Thank you soooo much for sharing this. I recently colored my hair blonde and have been searching for a winter hair regimen. However, my beautician did tell me to use the purple shampoo.