Lightening/whitening blonde hair?

[Pandora.]

I know there's already a recent thread about blonde shampoos but I wasn't sure if the OP was wanting to whiten her hair like I do. So does anyone know any good products (shampoos, conditioners, etc) or some homemade remedies that can make blonde hair lighter/whiter without damaging it (like bleach, eek!). I have some good blonde shampoo sets but I was wondering what other blondes do to make their hair as light as possible.

[Pandora.]

Or just anything that takes away the goldy/brassiness out of your hair?

[Veaslea93]

I use a dark blue silverizing shampoo from sallys, only once a month though as it's quite drying but it makes it really platinum even with just one wash.

[louzen]

I find a white vinegar rinse brightens it up a bit for me. I've also tried a Chamomile tea rinse which was good too.

[louzen]

FYI: I've tried the John Frieda 'Go Blonder' ranges which turned my hair into straw and caused severe breakages. It totally ruined my hair and turned it into a horrible brassy orangy colour (thankfully it went after stopping the shampoo). I have heard similar complaints from others about this shampoo range. It might be ok for some, but just thought I would give a head's up

[luckyshot]

I use an actual whitening shampoo and conditioner about once a month or so. It's called Light Blue Shade, and can be found at Walmart. It really gets rid of my brassiness, but it can be pretty drying, so I do a DC afterwards. I've tried lots of purple/blue shampoos and conditioners (Joico, Clairol Shimmerlights, John Frieda, etc.), and it's the best one.

I don't find that the "blonde" shampoos really do much, they might lighten my hair a bit, but they also leave it brassy.

[akilina]

A purple shampoo would help with the brassieness over time by toning it a tiny bit. When I was platinum, purple shampoo did nothing for me.
Why don't you just tone it???
If you are worried about damage (which is nearly NOTHING when using a toner anyway), you could use manic panics virgin snow toner. I have used it. It is a bit of a pain but worth a try :)

[Pandora.]

A purple shampoo would help with the brassieness over time by toning it a tiny bit. When I was platinum, purple shampoo did nothing for me.
Why don't you just tone it???
If you are worried about damage (which is nearly NOTHING when using a toner anyway), you could use manic panics virgin snow toner. I have used it. It is a bit of a pain but worth a try :)

I used a purple shampoo years and years from Paul Mitchell, and from what I remember it worked pretty well.

Do you have any good toners that you'd suggest?

[akilina]

I used a purple shampoo years and years from Paul Mitchell, and from what I remember it worked pretty well.

Do you have any good toners that you'd suggest?
It says you are in the UK, I don't know whats available to you...:(
I liked the manic panic virgin snow. It was a fun experiment for me but generally, toners don't last a long time. You need to re tone occasionally. If purple shampoo has worked for you in the past, why not use it still (if you aren't currently)?
There are so many different lines of color out there and they all have a platinum toner.
I am a professional though and have access to real supply stores so it makes it really easy for me. I dont know what kinds of stores you have there or anything. I don't know if you have Sallys there but I despise that place and refuse to go in there so I couldn't recommend something for ya that they would have there. If you have a supply store, maybe someone there could help you out. Hopefully they actually know what they are talking about though.
Something though with violet hue. If you are going to tone at home always use a 10 vol developer for that and be sure not to over process it and have it turn purple or greyish. Toning it can always freshen it up and make it look much better :)

[afu]

I've been searching for natural ways to tone but nothing herbal seems to do much unfortunatly. I've tried Directions white toner (similar to manic panic) and that didn't do much either - I left it on for 4 hours instead of 15mins and it still hardly made a difference! but it might be worth a try as everyone's hair is different. The best I've found is Revlon colour creme in platinum (you can get it from amazon), it is really conditioning and while it isn't a strong toner i can usually notice an effect after using it.

Im considering getting a professional toner and just doing it properly, would you have any suggestions akilina, or could you offer any tips on what to look for/avoid? The Goldwell system seems easy to use from a non-professional perspective

[akilina]

I've been searching for natural ways to tone but nothing herbal seems to do much unfortunatly. I've tried Directions white toner (similar to manic panic) and that didn't do much either - I left it on for 4 hours instead of 15mins and it still hardly made a difference! but it might be worth a try as everyone's hair is different. The best I've found is Revlon colour creme in platinum (you can get it from amazon), it is really conditioning and while it isn't a strong toner i can usually notice an effect after using it.

Im considering getting a professional toner and just doing it properly, would you have any suggestions akilina, or could you offer any tips on what to look for/avoid? The Goldwell system seems easy to use from a non-professional perspective
I have never used anything herbal for toning. It just never seems to work, like you said. I guess at best maybe someone could put lemon juice and water in a spray bottle and set in the sun for a while?? But I could see this being very drying and possibly more damaging than using a chemical toner. I mentioned the manic panic because in some parts of my hair, it literally turned it white. It was very nice looking, yet did not last long whatsoever. But it is a "veggie dye" and that makes some people happy.
Doing it properly is always best IMHO. I don't know much about goldwell. There are some color lines I know about, and some I don't. They are all the same basic idea though in a way. They all just have different ways of categorizing it. Some go by letters, some by Numbers, some by both. I imagine something with the terms "10 V" would be good. Like a level 10 for the lightness, with a violet hue added. Or as an example my favorite toner in one of the lines I used in school was a 10/8. Something similar would be what you would use to tone. Hope I am not being too confusing :)

[afu]

no thats great, thanks :) Next time I have a bit of spare cash i'm going to order some i think, I've spent so much on violet shampoos/conditioners/deposit toners that it would be better off in the long run to just do it properly and get a good result

[Oksana]

I haven't tried this myself but noticed it in Boots this weekend:

http://www.boots.com/en/Colour-Restore-Cool-Ash-Hair-Toner-developed-by-Scott-Cornwall-100ml_1262298/

[Pandora.]

I managed to find the purple shampoo I got at a salon years ago! It's called "Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo" and I guess it works as a toner. I can't wait to start using it again. From what I can remember it's pretty drying, so some hardcore conditioning will be needed afterwards.

[afu]

Thanks Oksana, it looks good but the only thing I worry about is that I can't find anything which says how long it lasts (even if it does work), it's not cheap so I'd want some lasting effects from it

[jojo]

I tried the clariol silver and gold shimmer shampoo yesterday, it brightened my silvers up and blended them in lovely but supposed to be a good toner. My friend uses one by proclere ( I think that's how you spell it) her hair is bleached though, but she says it's a good one for getting rid of brassy tones.

[Dovetail]

Huh, I want to lighten my hair, but keep the golden yellow color it has, would a toner let me do that?

[afu]

Huh, I want to lighten my hair, but keep the golden yellow color it has, would a toner let me do that?

If you want to keep the golden tones you would be better using honey and/or lemon juice - toners tend to be aimed at reducing yellow/gold/brass. Cassia can also enhance golden shades but wouldn't lighten

[Pandora.]

Huh, I want to lighten my hair, but keep the golden yellow color it has, would a toner let me do that?

I agree with afu, oh and I also tried this shampoo called Timotei Golden Highlights and it brought out all the golden tones in my hair. I guess it would lighten gold tones too.

[afu]

Huh, I want to lighten my hair, but keep the golden yellow color it has, would a toner let me do that?

Also Tony & Guy do a shampoo called 'colour reviver' which looks like gold glitter in the bottle and it deposits shimmery gold onto the hair, my housemate uses it and it's amazing

[afu]

Ok UK girls I have news, I just tried a product called 'Colour effects - cool blonde conditioning hair colour' by Superdrug and it actually seems to have done something!! If anyone has ever tried the Wella shaders and toners sachets it is very similar but more of a grey than a blue colour and comes in a bottle of 3-4 applications. Beware though, there is nothing conditioning about this product whatever it claims, you're going to need a good SMT after this one!

It says to apply for 5mins, I usually apply thing like this for way longer than directed but as this says it isn't suitable for bleached hair (I have some bleach highlights) I thought id stick to the instructions. I know bleached hair is meant to grab onto colour, but mine really doesn't. Anyway, I do think my hair looks a cooler shade, but next time I will be leaving it on longer.

Oh and it's also super cheap, it costs less than £2 for the bottle

[Vanilla]

I love Aubrey organics chamomile volumizing shampoo for lightening. It works well to bring out natural highlights in the hair.

[jojo]

Ok UK girls I have news, I just tried a product called 'Colour effects - cool blonde conditioning hair colour' by Superdrug and it actually seems to have done something!! If anyone has ever tried the Wella shaders and toners sachets it is very similar but more of a grey than a blue colour and comes in a bottle of 3-4 applications. Beware though, there is nothing conditioning about this product whatever it claims, you're going to need a good SMT after this one!

It says to apply for 5mins, I usually apply thing like this for way longer than directed but as this says it isn't suitable for bleached hair (I have some bleach highlights) I thought id stick to the instructions. I know bleached hair is meant to grab onto colour, but mine really doesn't. Anyway, I do think my hair looks a cooler shade, but next time I will be leaving it on longer.

Oh and it's also super cheap, it costs less than £2 for the bottle
Oh sounds promising! I will pick one of these up when I'm next down town. I do love those violet shampoos I feel they brighten my hair up. My hair is a mixture of blondes, reds, browns and a few silvers, these shampoos kind of make it look brighter and give it a more ashy look, although I have some reds my hair is more cool than warm if that makes sense. I think too citric acid helps with brightening up hair though would probably dry it and strip any toner off the hair, so a weak version:eyebrows: also be sure not to use these shampoos too often they will dry the hair out else!

[afu]

yeah i'm a CO'er so I want to avoid using the purple shampoos, and they are very drying to use on a regular basis - I'd much rather just use a toner every few weeks the forget about it for a while.

[babyblonde411]

I know this thread is kind of old? Ah but I guess ill post anyway! My favorite favorite toner ever is Joico. TBB (True beige blonde). This toner is incredible. All of their products from their Vero-K Pak line are amazing. I never ever use purple shampoo as my toner never fades and always stays true. It looks like I put it on yesterday. Their color line I swear buy. It never smells and leaves your hair super soft and the colors feel like your putting conditioner on your hair. They're so creamy. I'm obsessed!

[katfemme89]

I'm not blonde but I once was (I used to love bleach) and I really liked a shampoo I got from walmart, it's colored bright purple and it's made by Jhirmack, it's for brightening blonde/silver/white hair and it worked really well. A bit drying, but yeah. It definitely removes EVERYTHING that's built up on your hair.

Also, investing in a water softener would probably be beneficial. Minerals in hard water tend to turn blonde hair brassy.

[katfemme89]

Also, if you want to go natural, try lemon juice, vinegar, or baking soda rinses.

[justgreen]

I quit using toners over two years ago and have not had a brassy problem since then. I just bleach to a platinum silver. I use So Silver purple shampoo once or twice a month, mixed in with my diluted shampoo, so it's not too drying.

[justgreen]

I'm not blonde but I once was (I used to love bleach) and I really liked a shampoo I got from walmart, it's colored bright purple and it's made by Jhirmack, it's for brightening blonde/silver/white hair and it worked really well. A bit drying, but yeah. It definitely removes EVERYTHING that's built up on your hair.

Also, investing in a water softener would probably be beneficial. Minerals in hard water tend to turn blonde hair brassy.

If you want to keep the minerals from attaching to your hair after washing, use about 12 ounces of distilled water to sluice them off your hair. I've been doing this for years. I have horrible hard well water.

[MonaMayfair]

Pandora, when I had my natural color (now mostly covered by henna though I'm growing that out) I used to use Aveda color conditioners (they do matching shampoos too)
The Blue Malva conditioner was what i used to make my hair more silvery blonde and the Chamomile made it more golden.
They're quite expensive though, I can't remember how much offhand. I also used to use Clove conditioner (from the same range) to make my hair temporarily brown.

[Krystall]

Is there anything that actually lightens blonde hair, not just removing brassiness/makes it more golden toned, like the different colored shampoos? I'm a natural blonde, but my hair turns darker and duller in autumn/winter months because I'm less exposed to sun I guess. I know chamomile and lemon juice can lighten at some degree when exposed to heat, but I kinda want something that is in a bottle and is meant for hair. (No I'm kidding, I would do anything that gives a noticeable result and doesn't make my hair fall out lol).

Any suggestions? Experiences with the lemon/chamomile or honey maybe?