Shades of Blond



Honey, caramel, platinum, golden, ashy...there are many descriptive words that can be used to describe different shades of blond. The challenge is communicating the perfect blond adjective to your colorist BEFORE they start the highlights. You may want to mention that you prefer golden blond over ashy blond before your head is covered in tiny square shaped tinfoils. I have been through a few traumas myself due to lack of perfect communication. That is why I am vowing, with this post, to never mis-communicate my vision ever again. I am going to stick to these: 3 Golden Rules of Communicating Your Perfect Blond. (Sounds like a self help book)

1. BRING PICTURES. We all have numerous magazines lying around at home, let's start using them. Cut, cut, and cut those blondies out, and bring them with you to your salon. Your stylist may not know what you mean by "caramel". You may be visualizing a light tawny blond shade, while she may consider "caramel" to be a light brown shade. Big difference. Don't use descriptive words unless you have pictures to go along with them.

2. PRE-FOIL DISCUSSION. This is the part where you will spend at least 5 minutes discussing your highlights/color with your colorist. You will need to be very specific about what you want for highlight thickness in addition to what you want for your highlight color. Make sure he/she fully understands your vision before they begin mixing!

3. POST-FOIL ORGANIZATION. Now that you have the perfect blond head of hair, make sure that your colorist is keeping a record card for you at the salon. This will come in handy to make sure you get the same thing next time, especially if your colorist moves away (happened to me), is sick (happened to me), or is too busy every time you try and make an appointment (happens to me all the time). I also suggest keeping the same pictures that you brought with you this time in a folder at home. You can bring them with you each time.

Happy blonding!!

Blake Lively

Blond adjectives: Honey blond with platinum highlights. 

Highlights are thin-medium thickness.

Elisha Cuthbert

Blond adjective: Platinum.
This is a warm platinum. Ashy platinum would look more white/grey.


Jennifer Aniston
Is she blond? Is she brunette? Jennifer is what we call "bronde".
She can swing either way depending on the lighting and current highlights.
In this photo, Blond Adjective: Dark blond with caramel highlights and some light golden blond highlights.


Kate Moss
Blond Adjective: Ashy / Ash Blond with light blond highlights.
Verdict: Approach with caution. Ash can look grey easily.