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If you’ve ever gone a shade of blonde before, you know how hard (and expensive) it can be to maintain that coveted look. Blonde hair requires special attention in between salon visits to keep it healthy, moisturized, and balanced with color.  

There’s a word that floats around a lot when it comes to the topic of blonde hair: brassiness. In the last couple of years, blonde services have mostly gone toward “ashy” or “icy” shades, aka cool shades of blonde, while warmer shades of blonde have become less popular and can sometimes be seen as “brassy”. Today, we want to explain the difference between brassiness and warmth so you can not only identify the difference but understand what kind of products your hair needs to maintain your desired look. 

Brassiness is a discoloration of the hair. This is usually an error or unintentional. Now when it comes to brassiness, the scope is pretty wide. In its least noticeable state, your toner has faded, and any natural warmth is coming through. In its most apparent state, you will notice an unnatural-looking pigmentation. You can usually detect brassiness pretty easily by looking for any patchiness in the color. 

There’s a variety of reasons why this occurs: 

• User error 
• Mis-formulation of toner 
• Incorrect product usage (using the wrong maintenance products in between salon visits) 
• Using tinted oils (aka darker colored hair oils) 
• Environmental factors (ex: hard water, UV rays, etc.) 

Fun fact: natural blondes can still experience brassiness from environmental factors, as well as using the wrong products.

Warmth is an intentional coloration of the hair. It’s usually considered a hue or a tone. This is an intentional choice or can occur naturally. You’ll see this most often with natural blondes or light brunettes. The basis of EVERYONE’S hair color is warmth, so keep that in mind. 

If you’re looking to keep warm hues in your hair, we recommend staying away from the blonde collection, unless you’re looking to tone every once in a while.  

Manage your expectations! 

• Blonde will look different in every single light 
• Toner is not permanent and coasts you longer in between salon visits to reduce the look of brassiness. 

Now that we’ve got that cleared up and you’ve pick which shade of blonde you’re after, it’s time to customize your maintenance routine. Here’s a hint...stay tuned this month!