Thursday 8 December 2016

Brass be gone!

If you have blonde hair and want to stop it from turning copper, brassy, yellow then this post is for you!

About 8 months ago I went from being an au-naturel brunette to complete blonde. This came with a few hurdles especially in maintaining my colour. Today, I’m going to share with you a tip my beautiful hairstylist taught me to keep away the brassiness in your blonde hair.
Use Gentian Violet!



 
 
Gentian (pronounced “gen-shen”) or Crystal Violet is a topical antiseptic. It’s similar to the red “Monkey Blood” our parents used to put on our cuts and bruises when we were little, except this is a deep purple liquid.
Basically, the purple counteracts the yellow (because they’re at opposite ends of the colour spectrum) and lightens your hair.
It really works in removing coppery tones and giving you that beautiful platinum look. You can buy gentian violet at any pharmacy. A tiny bottle will last you ages and is very cheap (less than R20*)! It’s usually in the same aisle as bandages or natural remedies.
You have to be careful when using it though, it stains anything it touches: your hands, your nails, your face, your neck, your nose, your bathtub, your shower curtain!! This has never happened to me but if you’re clumsy, use gloves and a bucket instead of your bathroom sink.   
 
This is my two methods of applying it to my hair:

1.

·         Mix a few drops in a bucket of water. The water should be a light violet colour, not dark purple. Don't add too much, or you may end up with purple hair!

·         Dip all of your hair in the bucket. Leave your hair underwater for 30–60 seconds.

·         After this, dry and style your hair as usual. Keep in mind that your towel may be stained purple (again, it’s never happened to me).

·         Repeat the process as often as you need but not more than twice a week.

2.

·         An easier method is to add a few drops of Gentian directly to your bottle of shampoo (2 or 3 drops should be more than enough). It won’t affect the quality of the shampoo and you just have to wash your hair with it as normal.

Remember to use gloves and be cautious with the gentian or you’ll end up looking like Barney the Dinosaur.
There are many Silver shampoos out there that already have this violet formula in them, but I find this works much better and faster especially if you need quick fix…
My advice is to use the bucket method in addition to your Silver shampoo.
You can also add Gentian to a good brand conditioner and use it as a toner by applying it to your hair and then rinsing out.  I haven’t tried this technique but have read a lot of reviews about it working well. The amount of time you leave it in depends on how brassy your hair is (brassier=longer) but don’t go over an hour.
A final tip. If you accidently tinge your hair purple, just pop back into the shower and wash your hair with bicarbonate soda and a non-purple shampoo. It should even out.
Happy hair days!
, Sana xx

*All prices and details are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

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