How I chelate my hair | Cleanse & Tone

It's been 11 months since I started on this journey to become a blonde. If you've followed me sometime between May of 2015 and now you've probably noticed gradual change each month. Going from black to light ash blonde isn't the easiest nor the most visually pleasing experience. I'm all for (modern) brass fixtures but when it comes to hair , like most of you, I want to run and curl up in a ball every time I see a hint of that dreaded orange peek through. Each time my stylist breaks through whats left of the dark in my hair , I dreadfully go through the "ugly stage".

 So by now, I kind of feel like a self-proclaimed damage control expert when it comes to blonde hair. I'm sure I'm not the only one who scoures google for hours looking for the best methods and products  not only get the ugly out of my hair but also keep it healthy, or as healthy as it can be with 40 volume bleach every 4 weeks ( lets be honest). I thought I'd share something that has worked wonders for me ; takes less than ten minutes and almost everything you'll need is probably in your kitchen already!
   

   I actually just recently found out the technical term for this "process" is called ,  chelating.
Basically, you are deep cleansing the hair to remove build-up from shampoo, conditioners, product, oil build-up etc..

  There are two ways/times I like to do this ... right before I go to get highlights and about a two weeks after I get new highlights. When I chelate before getting my hair colored I focus on getting all of the gunk out my hair , product build-up etc , so that when I go get a fresh set of highlights my hair will be prepped so that the color can penetrate into my hair instead of into the gunk matted on top.

How to Chelate :

1. Wet/rinse hair with warm water
2. Apply 2-3 drops of Dawn ( Yes, Dawn dish soap! ) to your entire head
3. Rinse the Dawn out
4. Slice a lemon in half and squeeze both halves on your hair , leave for about a minute
5. Rinse the lemon out ( your hair will feel squeaky clean , too clean almost but it's OK..promise! )
6. Lightly towel dry your hair ( Pat dry)
7. Apply a hair mask or deep conditioning treatment ( Trust me, you will feel desperate for it)
8. Rinse hair with cool water after 5-10 ( cool water will seal the cuticle aka: lock in the moisture )
9. Let your hair air dry (as long as possible)

and wallah your hair will feel like a million bucks and ready for fresh highlights!

At the two week mark I like to, what I like to call "clean & tone " my hair. I basically like to chelate to clean my hair really good and then I add a purple shampoo to tone down the brassiness so that I can manage another two weeks before getting my hair colored again.

How to Chelate + Tone :
1. Wet/rinse hair with warm water
2. Apply 2-3 drops of Dawn ( Yes, Dawn dish soap! ) to your entire head
3. Rinse the Dawn out
4. Slice a lemon in half and squeeze both halves on your hair , leave for about a minute
5. Rinse the lemon out ( your hair will feel squeaky clean , too clean almost but it's OK..promise! )
6. Apply your favorite purple shampoo ( not all are created equal , I use THIS one)      
7. Leave on for 1-5 minutes
8. Rinse with warm water
9. Towel/Pat Dry
10. Apply a deep conditioning hair mask or your regular condition , Let sit for 5-10 minutes
11. Rinse will cool water
12. Let your hair air dry ( if possible)

I am in no way shape of form a "professional" but this has worked wonders for my hair, I would defiantly recommend at least mentioning this to your stylist, I know that some salon even  offer in-salon chelating treatments so if you're not sure about doing it at home , that might be a good option for you! Ellebangs did an awesome video showing how she does it and recommends it to her clients , defiantly worth a watch!

 If you're struggling with brass or build-up I hope you found this helpful and maybe even give it a try!